Incorrect Party Announcement - No Party at Elk View Lodge on New Year's Eve

Just heard from a friend who's on his way up there to bounce anyone who tries to go anyway. He's a big fella, and nice as he might be, you ain't gonna get past him. Find somewhere else to have fun! Happy new year.

It now seems that some of this is crossed wires. There is a party arranged at a place called the Mansion up at the ski hill. I know that many people will have been confused and may well therefore think it is the Elk View Lodge as it had a party last winter and people referred to it as the Mansion. So, to clarify, the party is up at the Mansion at the ski hill (I don't know where that is but it is certainly not at Elk View Lodge down Cokato Road.
Thanks

so let me get this straight

a group rents the lodge for new year's, a lodge that promotes itself as a "meeting" facility--"easily seats 60" for dinner-- and now the lodge says it's illegal to an event there?

there must be a bit of a story here that is not getting told and i hope the guests get their money back if they are stuck up there alone for the evening. that's a pretty penny to pay for a cold empty house on a hill for new year's.

This party was unknown to the guests who had rented the lodge.

Hi Zippy,

You're right, the lodge is a great place to hold a planned event for 60 or more people - assuming the people who booked the place actually want a party, and organise it accordingly.
This was all crossed wires and so hopefully no-one traipsed out to Cokato to end up at the wrong venue. If they did, we apologise, we weren't the ones who organised the genuine party at the "Mansion". We hope that went well.
The guests staying at the lodge were in town enjoying their New Year's at the Bulldog.

[quote=elkviewlodge]Hi,
Unfortunately it has come to our attention that our guests at Elk View Lodge have announced around town that there will be a party at the venue for New Year's Eve. Such an event would be illegal and as such there will be no entry for any non-guests.
Please don't make the trip out as it is a long way back into town in this weather.
Apologies for any inconvenience, and I hope you have a great New Year.
Regards
[/quote]

mr elk view,

so you have yet to explain why it would be illegal for your guests to host a party at a venue promoted as a meeting venue that they rented for the weekend.

all mis-understandings and mistaken assumptions on your part aside, why?

I am not a part of the lodge but the hosts (guests) would have needed a Special Occasion License to serve liquor at this party. That is the legality of the issue.

You can read all about it in www.bcliquorstores.com/files/attachments/specialoccasionlicences2007.pdf

That's the law in this province.

do you get a license to serve wine at dinner when you have people over? and for the after dinner drinks?

I'm not involved in the Elk View Management either, but I have been dealing with this sort of thing for about 20 years.

A party may not have been technically 'illegal' but the manager would have been within her rights to call the RCMP if the booking party filled the place with people who were not registered guests. When you rent any property, you state the number of guests who will be there. Most properties will allow a little discretion in terms of additional guests dropping by for dinner or a casual drink, but stretching the boundaries to invite an entire bar-load of people back after 2am for a DJ gig is pushing 'discretion' to it's very limits.

Most places I have ever worked have had quite clear rules on late night/overnight guests. It's harder to be clear about these in larger rental properties, but they certainly still apply. I don't know what the EV rental contract looks like, but I'm sure you'll find something in there about '# of guests' (or if it's not there now I'm sure it will be for any future guests!) Serving or consuming alcohol has nothing to do with it.

Now I know you already know this zippy, and are just stirring the pot, but don't try to make out that it's up to a manager to know what the guests plan to use the property for beyond the ordinary uses of a rental (and yes, socialising is totally normal- but charging potentially hundreds of strangers to come to an after-party is a little less ordinary.) If it's okay to have loud all-night parties, why do renters never okay them with the managers beforehand? And why do the managers always break them up when they get out of hand?

yes, alba, i'm stirring the pot. but the elk view folks decided to place the pot out in the open with some very questionable information (later shown to be false) and a rather outlandish post about the illegality of a gathering at a venue marketed on both the old and the new website as a large group venue. and without question, the lodge is a great place to hold a large event, by the way.

kind of like hanging a target and opening the season for everyone all at one time. illegal? holding an event at an event site?

if i rented the lodge and wanted to have a party, i'd be upset if the managers put a "big guy" at the bottom of the drive and only allowed guests up the hill. if i rent the place, i rent the place. as long as it is returned in reasonable condition, i should be able to utilize the facility the the fullest. that's what renting a place is.

there is nothing in this thread about charging people for attending or charging for booze. there is only a claim it is illegal to hold a party at the lodge from the lodge management.

if you want to fill in the blanks completely and lay it out, lay it out--with verifiable sources, not with insinuation, half-baked rumour mongering and questionable bar talk.

from the elk view posts, there is no justification for canceling a party hosted by guests. on the simple face of their post, they are out of line.

and they have apparently decided to not face the issue they started, drop out of the discussion, while leaving you and other surrogates to take the heat.

cute.