RE: Pop Up Camping Clubs

[camper4pack]

 
We have started the PA Pop Up Camping Club and have our own website.
 My DH and I have been struggling with " What to do"  once we all have our first outing?!
 Do we need planned activities for the weekend?  Is a potluck on like Saturday Night good enough, that way if the others want to go and do things on their own without the club they may?
 Any input on what you have done on your club campouts would be appreciated!
 
 Happy Camping []
 
 Camper4pack
 Evans City, PA

[SactoCampers]

 camper4pack
I organized (and I use that term loosely)our first Nick-Neff-Cough outing last June. So here are my tips, which may be of little value:
 
 Keep it simple the first time. Nobody really knows each other yet and some people are apprehensive about feeling " tied down"  and/or obligated to group events. I recommend just a Saturday night potluck. Since you aren t organizing a big, regional rally, don t worry about entertainment and events for the first trip. Kids will play with each other adults will meet each other and before you know it, the weekend will be over. It will be lots of fun and you will soon be organizing your second trip, which you can then try scheduling more events if that s what everybody wants. Kinda have to get a feel for your group before assuming you know what they want! The best part about the first rally is being able to put a face to everybody s screen name.
 
 []
 
 Good luck, you ll have a blast!
 
 Oh, another recommendation I learned the hard way: Hookups and blocked sites are real crowd pleasers at a rally. [&:] []

[Y-Guy]

 camper4pack
I ll second what SactoCamper said, keep it simple and low key and find out what the group wants to do in the future.  We all had a blast in June and after that the club really kicked off when we got home and wanted to go camping again as a group.  Try to get folks close together; signs made up help people see who is who when they walk around to meet folks.  I think you ll find some people will stay on the edge and view from a distance until they feel comfortable and some may never join in.  That s all okay too.  Even with the more established club we were members off before the Nick-Neff-Coughs got going it was clear that only the Saturday night potluck was the only group event, the rest was just open to the members to decide.

[gsm x2]

 camper4pack
After I attended Sactocamper s Rally in June, I organized, and I use that term loosely, an Southern California event in September.  Actually I say I spearheaded the event by saying " Here is where it will be and this is when it will be.  If you are interested in organizing anything, please let us know."   Before we knew it, we had a Bocce Ball Tournement, Hawiian potluck, raffle, two story times and an arts and crafts time.  They were organized by people who were interested in each item.  NOTHING was mandatory.
 
 Turned out to be a great time.
 
 I agree with Sactocamper....hookups and sites close together really help bring out a lot more people.
 
 Good luck,
 
 gsm x2

[rednekrubbrduck]

 camper4pack
Sice we re still basically new...and only had one outing so far (Hanibal, MO), keeping it simple is the basic rule of thumb.  A potluck (with theme) is always good.  We did the tour of the town, and of Mark Twain Cave, but it was more impromptu then organized, and we were a little rushed to do both in just a 3 day weekend.  On the Branson Rally....I was trying to set up discounts at places for folks so they could have a choice of things to do...but not a structured form.  Best thing to do is just book a CG, and just go with the flow.  I found that live entertainment was rather expensive, and unless you can afford to foot the bill yourself...not a good idea.  At Hannibal....Linda and I had brought some stuff from various places like the dollar store to make goodie bags for the kids.  (stuff like kid camping kits(binocculars and stuff), and since it was close to Halloween....some Haloween type stuff like drink cups shaped like pumpkins and stuff, and Rev Steve brought sticky eyeballs).

[don]

 camper4pack
I think if somebody is willing to have a fire on Friday night that posting a note about that and the site number is great. People haven t on Friday had much of a chance to meet and letting everyone know they are welcome at one place could help. Weekends go by quick and fireside chats are my favorite so don t let Friday sneak by []

[Trlrboy]

 camper4pack
Click on the NTPUCA link by my signature and you can check out what our club does both from someone attending the rally and how we set them up.  Like everyone else here we keep it fairly simple with a welcoming campfire on Friday night and a potluck on Saturday.  Occasionally we ll have some to-do stuff for the kids but that is almost always an impromptu thing.

[garym053]

 camper4pack
I started a camping retreat weekend with our church s Fellowship Club about 5 years ago. We go to the same State Park the same weekend in June every year. That way everyone knows from year to year when it will be!
 I would echo the thoughts on keeping it simple. The only two planned activities we have is a Pot-Luck Dinner in the campground shelter on Saturday night and a short Sunday morning service before we break camp! Otherwise, everyone is on their own to do their own thing! It s grown from about 30 campers to about 51 signed up for this year.

[YellowXterra]

 camper4pack
Our first TPUC trip we had only one thing planned. Watching the TN Vols play FL Gators. We had a big time. Now we kinda got this thing going now " Set Up & Sit Down"  Its a running joke as thats really alll we did that first trip.
 

[greyhounds4me]

 camper4pack
[font=" Comic Sans MS" ]I belong to the Florida Pop-up Campers group and I m so impressed with the way Lynda Jones has organized everything.  You should visit her website www.floridapopupcampers.com.  You ll get lots of ideas.  FPUC has been around for a couple of years and has the group camping thing down to a science in my opinion.   Good luck![/font]

[tlhdoc]

 camper4pack
The others have the right idea, keep it simple and informal.  A few activities are all you need for the weekend.[]

[missteri]

 camper4pack
Where in PA are you?  Jo-Ann has started a Western PA pop up club, and Tracy sort of heads up an Eastern PA/NJ/CT/NY group.  I m in central PA, near State College, so I figure I can travel either direction.[]

[camper4pack]

 camper4pack
Hi Everyone.
 
 Please feel free to visit our Website.  This weekend we will be updating our tenative schedule.  
 
 Would love to hear from you all, any comments/questions are welcome.
 
 We are from the Butler Area.  About 30 minutes north of Pittsburgh.  We are planning camping trips throughout the state of PA, a trip to Maryland and Ohio for sure!  
 
 Membership is free  []
 
 

[YellowXterra]

 camper4pack
TPUC just held a Mid Winter Meeting " non camping trip"  to have lunch and plan for the upcoming year. We had lots of new faces show up and it was a great success. It was a good meet and greet event.