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So yesterday I was looking around online for Halloween activities to take Piper to, and wound up comparing the Gaston County Gazette's page of Fall events to the one at the Charlotte Observer. We're only a few miles from the Gaston County line, so a lot of those activities are just as close (if not closer) than the ones in the Charlotte area. They're certainly fucking cheaper.
As you can see, the GCG's page is pretty streamlined and straightforward: When, Where, and What's Happening are all clearly labled. There's contact info after each blurb. Most of the stuff is free or very low-cost. I got there via a very clearly labeled button right on their front page.
In constrast, the Observer's page seems cluttered and the info disorganized. Though the list is much bigger, there is exactly ONE free event on the list, which is a light display in someone's yard (and it's in Concord, 25 minutes away). Most of them cost upwards of $10. The page is hosted by "MomsCharlotte" and I find that more than a little annoying for some reason. Perhaps it is because it took me 15 minutes with the Observer's site search function to find this article. It is listed not-terribly-clearly on the MomsCharlotte homepage, but since I've barely registered the existence of "MomsCharlotte" before this and I didn't think taking my kid out for Halloween fun was a moms-only deal, why the hell would I look there first?
This whole thing is a pretty good example of our ongoing gripe with Charlotte: I'm sure it's a very nice place to live if you are a white upper-middle-class family with $100 to blow on an afternoon's hayride. I'm sure it's fun to take your family on these kinds of outings, which you will know about because you've joined one of the seemingly endless string of mommy-centric Charlotte-area websites and don't mind digging through eighteen pages of misspelled ramblings by rich conservative Christian women to find some useful information. Oh, and you naturally will all go there in your big giant SUV, and meet up with a bunch of other families just like you, people which you're already best friends with and therefore you have no need or desire to make any new friends. But since that description does not apply at all to us, I wind up frustrated and shrieking at my computer on a peaceful Saturday when all I wanted to do was take my kid out for some inexpensive fun.
We did eventually end up at the (free and very fun) Halloween Bash in nearby Belmont, where we met up with the always-lovely batsonian, her very cute son, and her very patient husband. My kid generally made a nuisance of herself while I snapped photos of batsonian's little cherub, monopolized the conversation, and tried to avoid accidentally whacking anyone with my heavy camera. Really, I shouldn't be let out in public without some sort of handler present...
As you can see, the GCG's page is pretty streamlined and straightforward: When, Where, and What's Happening are all clearly labled. There's contact info after each blurb. Most of the stuff is free or very low-cost. I got there via a very clearly labeled button right on their front page.
In constrast, the Observer's page seems cluttered and the info disorganized. Though the list is much bigger, there is exactly ONE free event on the list, which is a light display in someone's yard (and it's in Concord, 25 minutes away). Most of them cost upwards of $10. The page is hosted by "MomsCharlotte" and I find that more than a little annoying for some reason. Perhaps it is because it took me 15 minutes with the Observer's site search function to find this article. It is listed not-terribly-clearly on the MomsCharlotte homepage, but since I've barely registered the existence of "MomsCharlotte" before this and I didn't think taking my kid out for Halloween fun was a moms-only deal, why the hell would I look there first?
This whole thing is a pretty good example of our ongoing gripe with Charlotte: I'm sure it's a very nice place to live if you are a white upper-middle-class family with $100 to blow on an afternoon's hayride. I'm sure it's fun to take your family on these kinds of outings, which you will know about because you've joined one of the seemingly endless string of mommy-centric Charlotte-area websites and don't mind digging through eighteen pages of misspelled ramblings by rich conservative Christian women to find some useful information. Oh, and you naturally will all go there in your big giant SUV, and meet up with a bunch of other families just like you, people which you're already best friends with and therefore you have no need or desire to make any new friends. But since that description does not apply at all to us, I wind up frustrated and shrieking at my computer on a peaceful Saturday when all I wanted to do was take my kid out for some inexpensive fun.
We did eventually end up at the (free and very fun) Halloween Bash in nearby Belmont, where we met up with the always-lovely batsonian, her very cute son, and her very patient husband. My kid generally made a nuisance of herself while I snapped photos of batsonian's little cherub, monopolized the conversation, and tried to avoid accidentally whacking anyone with my heavy camera. Really, I shouldn't be let out in public without some sort of handler present...