[MR] event fees

[Allegranza/Cathy]

I know that for us there are many reasons that event attendance has dropped 
from 2-3 events a month to 1 event every two months.   Part of it is 
financial, we simply cannot afford to go that often. Part of it is our 
family dynamic has changed.  4 years ago, my son was little and it didn't 
matter if an event offered Youth Combat or not.  Now it matters.  I will be 
honest, I am not going to put out money to go to an event if my child is 
going to be bored out of his mind all day, and most youth activities don't 
appeal to bigger kids.  As it stands, we get the most bang for our buck at 
War of the Wings, Sapphire Joust and Pennsic (haven't ever been to a Gulf 
Wars, so I can't say there).   I can justify the expense since they are 
several days worth of entertainment, otherwise, I usually daytrip and try to 
carpool with others to bring down my costs or leave the kiddies at home.

The other factor that affected our rate of attendance is the increased 
involvement my children have had in other activities.  My high schooler is a 
Marching Band nut, so I sit on bleachers most weekends from August to 
November, my middle boy is involved in BSA (yeah, let's not beat that dead 
horse), but realistically, for the same price as an event, he is entertained 
all day on a Saturday camp.