First of all, a huge thank you to everybody for supporting MinnMax on Patreon and submitting a town as a contender for the big community meetup in September. We had a blast going through the options, you can watch that by clicking here in case you missed it. We ruled out Los Angeles (since we're having a meetup there on Sunday, June 9th at 7pm PT at Button Mash Arcade), Seattle, and Minneapolis/some other midwest locations since we'll have more meetups there in the future. So we narrowed it all down to seven, now it's time for you to lock down where we'll be going.
Please only vote for a town if you're planning on attending the meetup, we want to get a rough estimate on how many folks are showing up. Vote for where you want to go, you're welcome to vote for more than one town. We've held off on encouraging folks to fly in for community meetups in the past, but we'll be celebrating MinnMax's fifth anniversary with this big meetup so you're welcome to join us on this adventure. Obviously, please don't travel to the meetup if it causes any financial stress whatsoever. While we will be flying in as many cohorts as are interested, we won't be spending the entire weekend as a big communal group. The community meetup itself will just be a nice opportunity to meet some folks in person for several hours at a restaurant/event space and give us a chance to thank you in person for supporting MinnMax. We'll also be producing a travelogue chronicling the adventure as well, so you can watch the video and feel as if you were there if you can't make the trip. We'll lock down the date for the meetup once we have a location.
Feel free to leave a comment with suggestions for activities in any of these seven cities, make your case and try to persuade others for where we should all go. The poll ends on Friday at midnight.
Here is the (randomized) list of potential towns and some details about each.
Ketchum, Idaho
23 minutes to Friedman Memorial Airport (2.5 hours from Boise)
A small, beautiful ski town
Very walkable and there's a free public bus system
Great for biking, hiking, and running.
We'll be just ahead of ski season, so it won't be very busy.
Submitted by Remington Novak in the community.
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
33 minutes to Wilmington Airport (50 minutes to Philadelphia, 1.5 hours to Baltimore)
The "Mushroom Capital Of The World"
Everything in this small town is mushroom-themed
Mushroom festival happening on September 7th
Great Mexican food (not mushrooms)
Submitted by Jeremy Banks
Asheville, North Carolina
25 minutes to Asheville Regional Airport (two hours from Charlotte, 4 hours from Atlanta)
Quirky city in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Hikes, biking, kayaks
Explore the Biltmore Mansion
Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway
Submitted by Caroline
Williamsburg, Virginia
20 minutes from Newport News/Williamsburg Airport, 40 minutes from Richmond Airport, 60 minutes from Norfolk airport. Also on an Amtrak line.
Busch Gardens amusement park
Ye Olde Ghost Tours
Field of massive, decaying president heads
Board game/RPG festival (September 21st), Renting out an old art house movie theater
Submitted by Stackhouse
Gloucester, Massachusetts
35 miles from Boston airport, train access as well
America's oldest seaport, the town from "The Perfect Storm"
Beautiful beaches, can go on boat rides
Great seafood
10 minutes away from the witches in Salem
Submitted by Seabass
Akron, Ohio
Akron has an airport, 40 minutes from Cleveland airport, 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh airport
Can rent out a movie theater
Bike into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park along an old canal system
Famous for rubber - tour a functioning blimp hanger, the Goodyear mansion, it's the birthplace of Lebron James (who is known for holding a rubber basketball and he has rubber in his shoes)
Animatronic band at Luigi's pizza, also there's a zoo
Submitted by Cory S.
San Marcos, Texas
35 miles from Austin airport, 45 miles from San Antonio airport
Tubing, kayaking, swimming in the San Marcos river
Glass bottom boat tours in the river
Largest outlet mall center in America - with over 220 stores
The Whitliff Museum - Collections from artists in Texas, Mexico, and the Southwest
Submitted by MrButtons
Remember, please only vote on a town if you're planning on attending the meetup. Choose wisely!