Corona doesn't even stop before the Wild West!
Not enough "Wild West" in 2020 - Corona is to blame
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October 12th, 2020
Autumn has now arrived in the valley of the beavers and the leaves are changing their color in the most beautiful tones. Usually this is the perfect time to meet on the premises, take photos in authentic outfits, cook together, hold workshops or make music with one another.
But the Corona year 2020 has so far put a big crimp in our plans. Already in the middle of the year we were faced with the big question whether the Authentic Camp 2020 should have taken place. We decided against it at that time and cancelled it - to the great sorrow of our guests and members. However, we met with a lot of understanding, because the responsibility would have been simply too high for us as organizers. In such an exceptional situation, the health of all involved is clearly at stake.
Of course we regretted this decision at the time it was made. After all, there has not been a single year without the Authentic Camp since our establishment in 2006. The camps were always well attended, you could meet good friends you hadn't seen all year round, you could celebrate extensively and exchange news. We therefore understand why the pain is especially severe this year, but we also hope that the corona situation will improve as early as 2021.
What about Thanksgiving and the Christmas celebration?
Now we are facing tough decisions again. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the preparations for the TRP Christmas celebration should be initiated in the coming days. But with the currently unfortunately increasing cases, we are forced to cancel these events as well.
Our position on this matter is quite clearly oriented:
We'd rather skip it this year before we have to register even a single person getting infected with Corona at one of our events! We could never forgive ourselves for the potential consequences, which can also be very dramatic...
What happens during the Corona time?
At this point, it is not apparent to anyone when normality will return. In the meantime, the TRP committee is working on ways how we can stay in touch without endangering each other. Online platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Discord offer great potential, but are of course no substitute for face-to-face gatherings.
Facebook and Instagram should help us to stay in touch with the world and share our wonderful hobby. We have collected tons of photos over the last few years, of which we want to show some selected ones. Our hobby is something special and we are happy to share it!
Discord is currently being tested by the committee in order to maintain better online contact. This would give us the opportunity not only to communicate via text, but also to talk to each other via video calls. This makes things a lot easier because we don't have to meet on site and can meet quite spontaneously when the need arises. If everything works out and the solution seems to make sense, we want to open the TRP Discord to our members and guests as well, so that there is the opportunity to exchange information in the group.
But we also think about our personal meetings - even if the "all-in-one solution" for this is not so easy to find and we have to work on a concept.
Beaver Creek Valley should not become a ghost town. We'll ensure that!
Furthermore, we want to promote the "Beaver Creek Valley Pioneer" here on our homepage. We will initially publish current information and news through our "newspaper" online format, so that no one is left behind and stays up to date.
How will things continue in 2021?
We really do hope that from 2021 on we will be able to pursue our hobby again, at least without the massive restrictions. Of course, there is no guarantee for this, at least we can't assume that yet. When we see improvement on the horizon and the contact restrictions are reduced, we plan to reestablish the Authentic Sundays.
As before, we will meet internally once a month to pursue various historical activities in which everyone can participate at their own pleasure. It is not without reason that the motto of our hobby is "living history" and "history you can experience". We want to share knowledge and experiences, to educate one another and to try out new things.
We will announce here when this will be possible, how we will start and how interested people can participate, once we are able to evaluate the general Covid situation more accurately.
Stay safe and keep your powder dry!
Chet McCay & Colton White – Beaver Creek Pioneer
