Tea Promenade Report & Anniversary! ~ ExGld
Hello Explorers!!
Tomorrow, March 29th, the Explorers Guild will officially celebrate 10 years of organized whimsy! Looking back is full of memories, friends, and grand adventures. We were originally planning to do a big celebration, but with all of the work and planning going on behind the scenes for Adventure Camp, we’ve elected to move the celebration to July 27th. We’ll update more on this event after Adventure Camp, but for now I want to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has shared in our wanderings over the years. I took a little time this morning to go through some of the photos and reports from over the years and I’m just floored by everything we’ve done together.
Today’s dispatch also features our Tea Party Promenade Captain’s Report and a reminder of our play testing and workshop dates.
Tea Party Promenade Captain’s Report
It was a beautiful sunny day as I set out teacups in the Shakespeare Garden of Golden Gate Park. I had been looking forward to the Tea Promenade ever since I received the invitation from Willow Wink, Whimsical Wanderer of Wildflowers. I had never met our esteemed host, but they left careful instructions for me and some dedicated helpers to set up several stations with activities around the park.
As our guests arrived, excitement was in the air. We admired one anothers’ fanciful tea garb, and debated the rules of croquet as we awaited the signal to begin promenading. As I explained to the intrepid explorers, we knew very little about our host. Willow Wink has never contacted the Explorer’s Guild before, so I made sure everyone had a pen and a field guide to take notes. As I sent small groups out into the park I waved goodbye, full of faith that their goals of sipping tea, nibbling snacks, and learning more of the Wanderer would be accomplished. Then I waited in the sunshine.
As the groups returned they gave their reports that we dutifully recorded in the stellar cartography book. Here are some things they reported:
Reading paper maps is a dying art that we as a guild may need some practice in.
Willow Wink just missed our explorers at the first station, but left their planner. Examining it we learned that the Wanderer has a different experience of time than we do.
Stickers are fun.
At the second station, along with some delicious lemonade, guests wrote some letters for leeway. There seems to be some connection between our host and the very early mail systems, powered by the color teal.
The stick collecting was very good.
After trekking across the JFK promenade, our promenaders found themselves using bubbles to divinate answers. Useful as our host was still nowhere to be found. Here we learned that Willow has “one very strong child.”
Nearby, explorers encountered some friendly time travelers. This was unexpected, and it’s unclear if they were also guests of Willow Wink, or perhaps the day of our tea party was somehow more open to the space-time continuum than usual.
After finding that the Wanderer had just stepped away from the final tea station, our explorers hoped to lure them back by adorning themselves in paper flowers.
Returning to the beginning of their journey, spirits were high. Upon learning that Willow Wink had regretfully returned to their dimension, many groans and protests were expressed. We shared stories, consoled ourselves with banana bread, and said our goodbyes. Perhaps we will have another opportunity to meet the elusive Willow Wink, but I was happy to be sharing tea and treats with so many friends both new and old.
Semper Explorandum,
Lark
Comings and Goings for Adventure Camp
There’s lots going on behind the scenes for Adventure Camp. This weekend (and next) we’re holding play tests (this is where we try out various game mechanics for possible experiences we want to incorporate in the larger event). We’re also offering Workshop days. These are days in which we open up our workshop for available hands to come help us create and craft elements for the experience. This can be as straight forward as cutting out a dozen patterns in foam, or as complicated as imagining and executing on a larger build concept (such as artifacts, puppets, or game elements).
In general, play tests will be included in our dispatches (like this one you’re reading now) and Workshop Days will be announced in our Slack channel #adventure-camp-2025. DM Dr. Professor to be added to this channel if you want to help on builds, there are light spoilers in this channel which is why it’s private. Occasionally I will also announce Workshop Days on dispatches.
Our next play testing date is this Saturday, March 29th, from 2 - 4:30pm at Precita Park (San Francisco). You can sign up for updates on the Partiful link, or just arrive ready to jump in and help out.
We’re also planning another play test date for Sunday, April 6th, 2-4:30pm at Snow Park (Oakland). This event also has a Partiful link.
This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, we are also hosting Workshop Days out in Oakland’s Laurel District. These go from 10am-5pm and we have a range of needs: from crafting off a template to helping assemble a large puppet with foam and fabric. This weekend we also need help with laser cutting and mechanical gear planning and assembly. Sound like fun? Find us on Slack for location details.
Of course we’re still actively looking for teams of 5 to join the big adventure (if you have one to four people interested, let us know as we have smaller teams actively looking for teammates too). Next week we’re hosting an Adventure Camp Q&A and Mixer on April 2nd, 6-7pm. This video meeting is intended for existing and interested participants. The first half of the meeting will focus on your questions, while the second half will be a chance for some matchmaking.
Once again, happy anniversary y’all and SEMPER EXPLORANDUM EXPLORERS!!!