We’ve had “pool parties” in enough decades that people will stumble across references to them; probably worth explaining what they are.

The very short form is that they’re a Minn-StF meeting held in the Minicon hotel for that year, with access to the pool. They’re normally scheduled in late winter or early spring, when the pool is perhaps more interesting as winter draws to a close. In the Radisson / Sheraton / DoubleTree South, we mostly got one (or sometimes two, one above the other) of the pool-side suites.

The space is bigger than most people have for hosting MNSTF meetings at home, and it’s somewhat more accessible, wider doors, elevators, and such.

Somebody (or a small group) volunteers to host them. This is an opportunity for people who don’t have facilities to host at their home to run a meeting (or just to not worry so much about cleaning up afterwards).

The pool parties are generally well attended, more people than most Minn-StF meetings, and often people who don’t come to very many of the regular meetings still take the trouble to get to the pool parties.

They end up feeling rather like a mini-convention.

Providing the rooms is part of the Minicon contract for that year.

They began as a negotiating ploy by the hotel. In 1979 we used mostly Radisson hotels for a long time; in 1985, we started using the Radisson South (and stayed with it through 2 changes of chain). We were big, and we were looking at hotels that might handle the space. One of them that we were talking to seriously was the downtown Hyatt. As I’m remebering it, they did something symbolically nice for us (anybody remember what?) and the Radisson asked what they could do. And we suggested the pool party.

Frequently there’s a Minicon committee meeting that day as well, since it’s a chance to be in the hotel and see things there.