19 May 2007

My 20th high school reunion is coming up, and I'm undecided about attending. It's not so much the mixing with former classmates who I rarely see, but the idea that I'd have to pay $110 to do so. With a cash bar on top of that.

There are other logistical issues, too, but I'm finding myself particularly irritated over the cost, perhaps too much so. But comparing this to reunions past (my own and those of friends and co-workers), I think my umbrage is at least partially understandable.

There are a couple of people who I have not seen in ages that I would really like to catch up with, and that would at least give me some justification for coughing up the dough, but there's no guarantee that they'll be there.

So I open the floor to you, dear reader, and your well-crafted and possibly even offered-while-sober advice.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that $110 for just you or does the wife get to come along? If they're feeding you dinner $55 per person isn't outlandish, but $110 would be a little steep.

Mark said...

It is for the both of us, but given that the reunion is in the local American Legion hall, I'm at a bit of a loss to see where it's $55 a head. Our wedding rehearsal was in the same place, and we spent about half as much per person for a much smaller group, which you think would cost more given the economy of scale.

Anonymous said...

Given that my reunion a couple of years ago was $40 a head, and in Alabama, I'd say that the $55 might only be a litt outrageous. From what I can recall about the hall, you won't be getting gouged on drinks at least.

Paul Crowley said...

I'm skipping my 20th. Although there are some folks I'd like to catch up with, a couple of years ago BC High stopped doing individual class events and went with these grand reunion dinners. They'll be guys from every class reunion from 10th all the way to 40th. You don't get an individual class event until the Golden Jubille at 50. Not worth hoofing it out from British Columbia for that. Our price is comparable, I think they wanted $45 a head. Not worth it my opinion.

James said...

My high school has gone the "grand reunion" route as well. This year (which is my 15th anniversary reunion), there will be a reunion luncheon after the Saturday afternoon football game for those who graduated in a year ending with a "7" or "2".

I wrote to the school's director of alumni relations to complain, noting that, at least for me, I will be bringing a guest (my wife) who would be a tad uncomfortable with a group of strangers, and doing 10 reunions simultaneously may be too much for some to handle. She said it was a simple case of economics -- that they weren't making enough money with individual reunions to justify keeping them going.

My stand on the 15th reunion is up in the air. As for as your reunion, $110 + cash bar is ridiculous. You'd be better off getting a group of classmates to a local eatery and reminisce.

For want of anything better to post, here's a breakdown of if I've been to the most populous 100 cities in the US, and if so for how...