Since Bay Area Friends (BAF) has no dues, and no budget, no officers and no social directors, we rely on our regular  members LIKE YOU to volunteer to organize events that they think others will enjoy - such as Happy Hours, picnics, hikes, bike rides, museum tours, beach parties, dancing, ball games, movies and dinner, house parties, BBQ's, ski trips, surfing, camping trips, concerts, bowling nights, Bay-to-Breakers, skating, wine-tastings, comedy shows, theatre nights - you name it!   It's up to ALL OF US to VOLUNTEER to organize the sorts of things we'd like to do!  This group is whatever you make of it!  

Look for the Blue Balloons!

BAF events are often held in public places such as restaurants or parks, etc.   In order to help people find us more easily, the organizers usually bring a few BLUE BALLOONS.  Sometimes organizers use other ways to help members find the group and that is usually explained in each event listing.

Attending Your First Event(s)

If you have never attended a BAF event before and are a little shy - don't worry!  We were all *new* to the group at least once!  We all have stories about how we got over our shyness and finally came to our first event(s) - and how everyone made us feel so welcome!  New people attend events all the time - in fact, many of us are pretty new to the group ourselves.  If you would like to talk to someone before attending your first event(s) -- and get your questions answered and possibly meet up with them there so that you have someone to talk to and introduce you to other people -- just tell the organizer of the event you would like to attend and they will put a "BAF Buddy" in touch with you. We will try to assign you a "Buddy" who is around the same age, the same sex if possible, or maybe lives near you - someone you can comfortably talk to and maybe carpool to an event with.  Or, if you do not have a particular event in mind but would like to ask someone questions, please feel free to email our Yahoo Group Moderators at bayareafriendsSF-owner@yahoogroups.com.

Organize an Event!

BAF members live all over the Bay Area and beyond - from Sacramento to Santa Cruz, Marin, the East Bay, South Bay, San Jose, the Peninsula, and of course, the City of San Francisco. If we haven't had an event near you in a while, you should organize something!  Or,  if there is something you would especially like to do (i.e. salsa dancing, hike Mount Tam, attend an art show opening or jazz festival, etc.) - please go right ahead and organize that kind of event so that you can meet other people who like to do the same thing!  To organize an event, all you have to do is check the Calendar here AND on our Yahoo Group Calendar to make sure nothing else is scheduled.  If you need help or want to get ideas or good dates from the group, feel free to discuss your event idea(s) on our Yahoo Group Message Board. Although last-minute events are sometimes posted on our Yahoo Group Message Board, it is usually best to post events at least a month in advance to get the best turn-out.  When you are ready to post an event - here's what to do:

- Go the the BAF Yahoo Group Home Page at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/bayareafriendsSF/ and sign in

- Click on "Calendar" in the left hand column

- Go to the date for your event and click on "Add Event" at the top of the page.

- Fill in the form with all of the information about your event.  Make sure to include your first name and your email address so people can RSVP or ask questions.  So many times, people forget to include their contact info - so don't forget!  Also don't forget to mention how the group can find each other - e.g. "Look for the blue balloons!"  It is also good to post links to the event venue and directions if possible.

- If you do not have all the information yet for an event, but you are sure about the date, you can still reserve the date on the Yahoo Calendar.  Just click on "Add Event" and tell us the nature of the event, and "Details TBD" and leave your first name and email address in case anyone has questions.  Fill in the details later when you have them.  Try to have your event details complete and posted at least 2 weeks before the event is supposed to happen.  If you are not very sure about the date, please don't reserve the date yet, so that other people who are more sure can post something if they want.

- Unless your event is a regular monthly or weekly event, your event does NOT "repeat" and you should select "Don't Repeat."

- On the first date of your event, select to *Remind* the group at least 2 weeks and 1 week before the event.  This feature will send out automatic reminders to everyone in the group.  You can reset the reminders to 3 days before the event later on if you feel it necessary.

- If your event takes place over a few days, please post the same information on each other day of the event (except please only use the "reminder" feature for FIRST day of the event.)

- When you are through posting to the Yahoo Group Calendar, please send a copy of your event information to the webmaster at web@bayareafriends.org so that it can be posted here on the public website (http://www.bayareafriends.org).

- If you are a paid member of Antopia/MPWH (http://www.mpwh.net/) or have a friend who is a paid member, then please also post your event on H2OFriends.com, Antopia's website for listing H-Events.  Only paid members can post event listings on H2OFriends.ocm.  When filling out the form, under "website" - please copy the link to this webpage on the Bay Area Friends public website at http://www.bayareafriends.org/events_calendar.hrm.  This web page already contains the required reciprocal link to MPWH/Antopia.

- Don't forget to bring some BLUE BALLOONS or some other way to identify the group so that others will be able to find you/us!

Questions?  Just ask the webmasters at web@bayareafriends.org

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For more information on these and other events, please join our Yahoo Group Message Board at: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/bayareafriendsSF/