Free Booze and Food! January 11th 2024

[mdwest]

Its that time again!

Open invitation for AH members... Thursday, January 11th (Opening night of DSC) 2024 from 7PM until whenever we are done.. the mdwest family will be hosting a @Bos en Dal SAFARIS house party at our home in Allen, TX (DFW suburb).

We'll have plenty of South African wines on hand, beer, and some choice spirits available.. enough food to feed a small army... a few door prizes to give away (more on that later..)..

Whether you're local the DFW area, or coming into town for the annual convention, we'd love to see you.. We're admittedly a bit of a haul from downtown (about a 30 minute uber/cab ride from Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center to our front door outside of rush hour time periods).. but we'll make it worth your while..

The 2023 party was a great success (I think so at least) with about 40 AH members participating, so I anticipate a nice turnout this year as well and great opportunity for members to get to know each other a bit, pick up some swag, have a few drinks, eat some good chow, tell a few hunting tales (i.e. lies ), and have a good time...

I'll provide the address via PM to anyone interested (don't want to put that out in public)...

Hope to see a bunch of you guys here in January to kick off DSC on the opening day of the convention...

Thread related to last years event: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/free-booze-and-food-january-5th-2023.72294/

 

[wesheltonj]

I think I can actually make DSC in 24, if so I will be happy drop by.

 

[spike.t]

Luckily for you I won't be doing DSC.....

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I plan on making this years event!
Looking forward to it DaveI have 1 bottle of Richelieu left!

 

[mdwest]

Looking forward to it @Mark Biggerstaff and @wesheltonj ! We had a great time last year.. I think this year will be just as much fun

 

[cash_tx]

Yay, and putting in my RSVP right away! Let me know if you need any of my help on the preparation or supplies, and I'm happy to do so.

Cheers!

 

[Rare Breed]

Its that time again!

Open invitation for AH members... Thursday, January 11th (Opening night of DSC) 2024 from 7PM until whenever we are done.. the mdwest family will be hosting a @Bos en Dal SAFARIS house party at our home in Allen, TX (DFW suburb).

We'll have plenty of South African wines on hand, beer, and some choice spirits available.. enough food to feed a small army... a few door prizes to give away (more on that later..)..

Whether you're local the DFW area, or coming into town for the annual convention, we'd love to see you.. We're admittedly a bit of a haul from downtown (about a 30 minute uber/cab ride from Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center to our front door outside of rush hour time periods).. but we'll make it worth your while..

The 2023 party was a great success (I think so at least) with about 40 AH members participating, so I anticipate a nice turnout this year as well and great opportunity for members to get to know each other a bit, pick up some swag, have a few drinks, eat some good chow, tell a few hunting tales (i.e. lies ), and have a good time...

I'll provide the address via PM to anyone interested (don't want to put that out in public)...

Hope to see a bunch of you guys here in January to kick off DSC on the opening day of the convention...

Thread related to last years event: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/free-booze-and-food-january-5th-2023.72294/

i won’t be in until Friday so will miss this but good on you sir for getting people together and opening up your home!!!!!

 

[mdwest]

i won’t be in until Friday so will miss this but good on you sir for getting people together and opening up your home!!!!!

We'll have to catch up at the AH dinner on Friday night then!

Hate you'll miss it.. we'll hoist a few brandy and cokes in the honor of friends that cant make it through the night

 

[steve white]

Looking forward to it!!

 

[Rare Breed]

We'll have to catch up at the AH dinner on Friday night then!

Hate you'll miss it.. we'll hoist a few brandy and cokes in the honor of friends that cant make it through the night

please do!!!

 

[mdwest]

I mentioned door prizes above..

@R&M FIREARMS has very generously offered up a pair of Meopta Meopro Optika HD 10x42 binos that we'll be giving away to a partygoer.. Thanks @Mark Biggerstaff and @R&M FIREARMS ! Im already jealous of whoever gets to take these on their next hunt!

and I have mentioned in a couple of other threads that my wife and I have met and become friends with a simply incredible South African artist named Anet Kruger (2023 SA Wildlife Artist of the year no less!).. we commissioned a wonderful painting by her about a year ago and brought it home with us last July (will be on display during the party). she's working on a couple of other commissions for other AH members now..

anyway.. we talked Anet into doing original art representing the big 5 in black and white and we've worked with her to turn that art into limited edition, signed and numbered prints.. giclee printed on museum quality paper (very high quality, collectable art worthy prints).. we'll be offering up a 5 print set as door prizes as well.. We purchased #1 of 100 of each of the prints and are in the process of having them framed and displayed.. I think they make a super nice addition to any trophy room.. the set someone leaves with as a door prize will also be a low # within the limited edition of 100..

more door prizes to follow.. just throwing a couple of incentivizing teasers out there for now

come drink some booze and take home some binos and artwork!

 

[MontanaPat]

Thanks for the invitation to everyone to come to your home. I will be at DSC this year, coming down from Montana to stay at my daughter and son in laws home in Frisco. I would love to join you that evening and meet some other AH members. Please send me a PM with your address when you get a chance.
Pat

 

[Tbitty]

Thanks @mdwest For hosting, and to all who generously donate time or door prizes, including @R&M FIREARMS @Mark Biggerstaff from your above info.

I'll be a game time decision (the Mrs. and I are expecting our firstborn soon, so I'm not making many official plans), but as a nearby neighbor in Plano, let me know if I could help supply some food, drinks, or supplies for the event.

 

[Flipper Dude]

The squeeze and I will be driving up from Houston on Thursday. Will surely try to make it, if you’ll have us. Will know more when it gets closer

 

[mdwest]

Thanks for the invitation to everyone to come to your home. I will be at DSC this year, coming down from Montana to stay at my daughter and son in laws home in Frisco. I would love to join you that evening and meet some other AH members. Please send me a PM with your address when you get a chance.
Pat

PM sent. Looking forward to you joining us!

 

[mdwest]

The squeeze and I will be driving up from Houston on Thursday. Will surely try to make it, if you’ll have us. Will know more when it gets closer

Sounds awesome! Hope you guys can make it. We’d love for you to swing by!

 

[mdwest]

Thanks @mdwest For hosting, and to all who generously donate time or door prizes, including @R&M FIREARMS @Mark Biggerstaff from your above info.

I'll be a game time decision (the Mrs. and I are expecting our firstborn soon, so I'm not making many official plans), but as a nearby neighbor in Plano, let me know if I could help supply some food, drinks, or supplies for the event.

We had so much food and booze left over last year I spent most of the next week eating leftovers and swilling beer lol…

All you guys need to bring is yourselves… the Mrs. doesn’t have a clue how to prepare for a crowd of 40-50… we’re going to end up with 70-80 portions of everything lol..

 

[abnhog]

I mentioned door prizes above..

@R&M FIREARMS has very generously offered up a pair of Meopta Meopro Optika HD 10x42 binos that we'll be giving away to a partygoer.. Thanks @Mark Biggerstaff and @R&M FIREARMS ! Im already jealous of whoever gets to take these on their next hunt!

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and I have mentioned in a couple of other threads that my wife and I have met and become friends with a simply incredible South African artist named Anet Kruger (2023 SA Wildlife Artist of the year no less!).. we commissioned a wonderful painting by her about a year ago and brought it home with us last July (will be on display during the party). she's working on a couple of other commissions for other AH members now..

anyway.. we talked Anet into doing original art representing the big 5 in black and white and we've worked with her to turn that art into limited edition, signed and numbered prints.. giclee printed on museum quality paper (very high quality, collectable art worthy prints).. we'll be offering up a 5 print set as door prizes as well.. We purchased #1 of 100 of each of the prints and are in the process of having them framed and displayed.. I think they make a super nice addition to any trophy room.. the set someone leaves with as a door prize will also be a low # within the limited edition of 100..

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View attachment 570047

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more door prizes to follow.. just throwing a couple of incentivizing teasers out there for now

come drink some booze and take home some binos and artwork!

Sir,
Jenni and I get in to Dallas around 1600 on Thursday so we will try and make it out. I was wondering if she selling the prints? I hope to complete my Big 5 (elephant hunt in July) and would love to have those prints for my game room.
Thanks
Dan

 

[SFRanger7GP]

Me and Mama plan to be there.

Safe hunting

 

[mdwest]

Sir,
Jenni and I get in to Dallas around 1600 on Thursday so we will try and make it out. I was wondering if she selling the prints? I hope to complete my Big 5 (elephant hunt in July) and would love to have those prints for my game room.
Thanks
Dan

We're working on getting a website put together now where people can order limited edition prints.. I think it will be ready to go within a week or two tops.. but, yes.. that actually was the intention from the beginning..

short version of a very long story... we met Anet and were blown away by the quality of her work (the commissioned elephant painting she did for us earlier this year is easily worth 3-4x what she charged us IMO.. and the quality of the work is simply incredible.. we were further blown away about how simply wonderful a person she is.. she's a PhD, church minister, international award winning artist, with just an incredibly vibrant and sweet natured personality, and truly a God given gift for art.. whose struggling to get her art career off the ground (very limited market in South Africa, and Anet by her own admission doesnt really have a head for the business side of the equation.. she just wants to paint beautiful things that make people happy and try to make something of a living doing it..)..

So we (my wife and I) decided to try to help her a little bit..

Step 1 - my wife has a little cottage business that makes high end, very pure/natural candles, thats been a fairly successful sideline business.. she has wanted to find a way to use that business to help promote and earn money for wildlife conservation efforts.. so she designed/built a line of candles called "Candles for Conservation" where all proceeds from the sale of any candle in that line goes toward 2 different wildlife programs in South Africa.. We asked Anet to partner on this project and provide original art of each of the big 5 that would be used on the labels for the candles in the line.. in exchange we'd put her website on the candles, credit her with the artwork, etc.. and hopefully get her a little exposure to the hunting/conservation communities in the US that way...

Step 2 - upon seeing the art (the pics in the post above) we realized theres a greater opportunity for Anet to obtain exposure to the US market.. the art was exceptional in my opinion for simply charcoal sketches.. and I thought they'd make great prints.. and that while everyone that hunts Africa may not be interested in a unique commissioning of art (that costs several hundred to several thousand dollars depending on size, complexity, etc), many might be interested in a limited edition (exclusive) print of some of her art if the price was right (8"x12" is about $39.. for a giclee print on museum quality paper, etc.. and the quality of the art/artist.. thats at or below market prices from what we can tell... I think all of the big 5 sold as a set will go for about $179).. We thought some folks might be interested in just prints.. or after getting prints, they might be interested in speaking to Anet about commissioning a painting of THEIR leopard or THEIR elephant or THEIR buffalo, etc (she is exceptionally good at taking photographs of wildlife and then creating original paintings from them.. thats what she did with our elephant painting).. So.. we've been working with Anet and are within just a few weeks of launch.. we had to find a stateside print shop capable of doing artwork quality prints (right type of printer, right type of paper, right type or handling, etc) at a reasonable rate, work with Anet on certificates of authenticity, a means for tracking the numbering and sales of each of the limited edition prints (there will only be 100 of each), etc..etc.. and then had to get something ready for the web that would allow people to be able to order, etc..

Step 3 - nowhere near being ready to launch this piece.. once she has some US exposure.. we'd like to help her come to the US and do a little bit of a tour.. get her a booth at DCS and/or SCI.. introduce her to a couple of people we know that own and operate art galleries (I know a guy in Nashville with a very nice gallery, and a lady in Anchorage that owns a very nice gallery), and help her gain some interest in the US market for direct commissioning of art..

Give me a week or so and I should be able to point you to a website or two where you could order prints, or speak to Anet directly about commissioning art, etc.. or even buy a candle and support conservation in South Africa if interested..