Please let us know if you plan on coming andwhat you'd like to bring.It's great if you cook, but even if you don't,this is anopportunity to share a bit of yourself with the group--fancy crustless sandwiches, the best X from your local deli, simple dessert that looks like ghosts, etc.try to be creative. Our potlucks have become super-fabulous and the more you participate, the more fun you have, I think.

You can reply to this thread and MLs will update this post. You can bring non-writer family or friends to this social occasion, but please indicate how many people.

• What: Kickoff Party
• Where:Naperville Municipal Center
• Room: lunch room (this is in the lower level of the center.)
• Note you can park in the lower level garage
• What else to bring: games (short ones),a favorite stuffed animal for the group photo
• Date: October 25, Saturday
• Time: 11:45 AM - 2:45PM

If you're aren't sure what to bring, please try to atleast pick a category.

1. main course in a crock pot or on an electric warming tray
2. main course - that can be room temperature (or will stay hot in your container)
3. raw vegetables & dip
4. fruit salads
5. green salads
6. side dishes (vegetable, gluten-free, pasta, whatever)
7. cheese & crackers
8. snack item
9. desserts
10. Other food
11. cold soft drinks in cans orcold bottles of soft drinks and plastic cups
12. cold water in small bottles
13. plastic forks, knifes, spoons - have from last year
14. good sturdy full-sized paper plates -
15. sturdy small plates (for desserts) -
16. Napkins- good quality -

Who is Coming: (RSVP to this thread and the MLs will add you to the list) - 33DEFINITE and 1 MAYBE (as of 2014-10-25)

MAIN DISHES

• KatherineWriting & FinnBarrMcG & Sabrina- main dish - double-baked potatoes as well as cheese pasta
• silverwolf42 - main dish in crock pot
• TeenWriter and brother (Mike/eganworks) - lasagna/pasta bake dish
• Cee-Bee - bringing Bart just for the lunch part of things. He will bring things from Naf Naf like pita, hummus and baba ghannouj. Hopefully also some falafel.

SIDE DISHES/SALADS

• (NewMexicoKid and his wife Nan) - meatballs in a crock pot
• Luke1133 - side dish
• fishmama + hubby - a southwestern bean salad
• CJEGV - tossed salad & Dressings
• BetsyD - Autumn Salsa and Chips. The salsa can actually be a side dish too.
• Tink 5050 - fruit salad of some kind

BREAD/CHIPS/VEGGIES

• Basil CLiffside - some sort of bread (banana bread, pumpkin bread---something like that.)
• P J J Walton - Cheese and Crackers (and my wife's special secret dip!)
• cableshaft - chips & dip
• CubFanBrian - a raw vegetable plate with dip
• (writerbeeme) - rolls w/dip and/or butter

DESSERT

• writerbeeme - dessert (cookies or muffins)
• kayjayness - dessert & chips
• NewMexicoKid and his wife Nan - pumpkin pie cheesecake
• TypesetJez - cookies
• Judy Blue Eyes - homemade chocolate chip cookies

CUPS/PLATES/PLASTICWARE

• Sydney! - napkins
• SarahK06 - dessert plates
• fdahlman - forks, knives, spoons
• InspectorStevi - large plates for the main dishes
• DJRM - cups and plates

DRINKS

• Anastasia007 - case of water
• RLShepherd - three twelve packs of soda
• jenniferbuh - soda
• kdhealey - coffee

Maybe

mochomito - desert - cookies or something

Thanks for setting this thread up, Katherine. I'll be there, definitely!

As to what I'm bringing... that will require additional thought :-)

It's been a while since I've made/brought a cheesecake...

Maybe a pumpkin cheesecake.

Hello! I will be there. I'm brand new to the area, but am excited to meet all of the Wrimos here in Naperville!

16's got my name written all over it.

Hi! I'll be there! This is my first NaNoWriMo that I'm participating in, so I'm excited to get to know how things work! I'm planning on bringing a dessert and some chips. :)

Hello Again! I am super-excited as this is my 2nd NANOWRIMO!! I really hope that I can hit my word goal this year! Looking forward to seeing everyone from the Naperville Region again. I plan on bringing item #7 Cheese and Crackers (and my wife's special secret dip!). See you soon! :)

I am planning on being there with a dessert!

I want to go, but I'll be out of town. :(

I plan on attending and will bring a tossed salad with a couple of home made dressings. CJ

I might be able to drop in for an hour, but I kind doubt it. :( I have a concert that day.

I should be able to attend, but I won't have time to cook, so I'll bring some sort of snack item. I'm thinking chips and some sort of dip I can throw together quickly.

I'll be there! And I'll bring a main dish in a crock pot... probably chili. I can't wait!

Hi - my name is Holly (writerbeeme). I will be attending and I will bring rolls w/dip and/or butter and dessert (cookies or muffins).

Thanks - can't wait!

Unfortunately I need to un-rsvp for this event. I'm not going to be able to attend after all which makes me :( But I hope to see you all at some of the other workshops and write-ins as we get going!

I will be there and will bring a raw vegetable plate with dip.

I'll be there and will bring my hubby and a southwestern bean salad, which he will be making!

I will be there. I'll bake some kind of cookies, but I'm not sure which kind(s) yet.

I will attend, with a side dish.

--Cheryl

I'll be there, with a main dish in a crock pot. (Pumpkin soup? Curry? Curried pumpkin soup? Hmm, I'm gonna have to think about this.)

I will be there and I will bring some soda and possibly my boyfriend.

Scratch that my work schedule changed and now I will not be there :(

Put me down, with some sort of side dish.

AJ

My brother and I will be there! And we'll be bringing a lasagna/pasta bake dish.

I will be there with an Autumn Salsa and Chips. The salsa can actually be a side dish too. You'll understand when I come. Thanks for the invite.

I will be there! I'll bring dessert plates.

Sorry, but un-RSVP-ing (is that a word?) this Saturday event, and will attend the Sunday KO party at Thai restaurant in Warrenville. (I have signed up for that.)

I will be there with fruit salad of some kind

I'll be there and I'll bring a case of water

No one has signed up for soda (and I'm against it on principle), so if you want it, you'd better plan on bringing it.

Put me down as Maybe. I really want to go - but I live far away now. If I do go - I'll bring desert - cookies or something.

- Alex

I'll bring some soda since no one has offered(and also I can't think of anything else to bring) I can bring three twelve packs. unless a cookie plate is preferable.

I will be there and since no one has put silverware on the list I will bring a bunch of forks, knives, and spoons.

I'll be there. I'm planning on bringing some sort of bread (banana bread, pumpkin bread---something like that.) See you then!

Oh yeah. And I haven't been able to make it to any of the workshops yet. Is there any way I can get a hipster PDA? Thanks!

I'll be there, and I can bringlarge plates for the main dishes. :)

Has anyone signed up to bring things like cups or plates yet?

If not then I could probably bring some.

My ever-changing work schedule strikes again: I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to make the kickoff potluck after all. :( (I'm still not sure about Sunday's alternative - I'll let you all know.)

I will be there with homemade chocolate chip cookies.

I'll bring soda!

I'm in! Sorry for the late notice, kept forgetting to post my RSVP. I will bring some coffee (writers like coffee, right? It's like a thing?).

So I've made my pumpkin spice cheesecake for tomorrow.

Me: ... so the 30 minutes are up. How do I tell if it's done?

Nan: Jiggle it a little.

Me: (fumbling for a potholder)

Nan: Here, use a stick.

Me: (whack, whack, *inadvertent poke*) Oops!

Nan: (licking the end of the stick) At least it tastes good. :-)

So that explains why there is a little divot on one edge of the cheesecake :-)

Still to do tomorrow morning: put the meatballs and sauce into the slow cooker and turn it on. Fortunately, no jiggling is required. ;-)

--Tim

Edit: I'll be bringing Nan for the lunch part of things

I made double-baked potatoes as well as cheese pasta for tomorrow. Carb overload!

I'm coming and bringing Bart just for the lunch part of things. He will bring things from Naf Naf like pita, hummus and baba ghannouj. Hopefully also some falafel.

Oh, Sabrina is also coming to the lunch part.

Someone forgot their serving spoon:

Thanks to everyone who came out! I had a lot of fun. Special thanks to Katherine (for organizing the event and running the ice breaker and keeping us on schedule), Barry (for all the behind the scenes stuff he does), Sabrina (for her help), Frank (for running the raffle), Sarah (for organizing the library crawl), and to Brian and Jez for the last part of the clean-up (thanks again to Katherine, Barry and Sabrina for the first part of the clean-up). If I've forgotten to acknowledge anyone, sorry and thanks!

I'll be posting pictures very shortly...

--Tim

Carol and Cee-Bee helped a lot with the early clean-up as well.

Oh, and that may well be my spoon.

For everyone wondering what all of those well-dressed children were doing outside the Municipal building, I'm pretty sure it's this: there was a conference for the American Choral Directors Association hosted this weekend by NCC at Wentz Concert Hall.

https://www.facebook.com/NorthCentralCollege/photos/a.10151883903039672.1073741825.12201279671/10152854086624672/?type=1&theater

KatherineWriting wrote:Carol and Cee-Bee helped a lot with the early clean-up as well.

Oh, and that may well be my spoon.

Katherine, I also forgot to give you your share of the stickers--I'll bring them to the Alternate Kick-off tomorrow (along with your spoon).

Here are the photos from the kick-off! (click through the posted photos for more; http://naperwrimo.org/wp/2014/10/25/a-fun-kick-off-2014-10-25/ is the explicit URL)

--Tim

Picture telephone pages (scanned). I think one ended up upside down--sorry!

I had a lot of fun with this activity, can't wait to try more!