What should I expect at Will-Call?

[MaidMirawyn]

The thread for the East Coast will call is here. As you can see, there are children younger than 15 at the event and there are specific hours for the will call - they generally don't go all day. I've never been to the East Coast events, but I have been to the one at the lab. Much fun!

 

Thanks for the link! I especially love the pics of the marked-up arms!

 

I ask because I go to Dragon*Con every year, and while I love it, there is NO WAY I would take a fifteen-year-old there late Saturday night...though it's great during the day!

[fireflower]

Thanks so much! I wasn't sure if there was a will call EVERY full moon, or just certain ones. I also didn't know if it was always ON the full moon, or if it was on weekends. Y'all are such a big help. Here's hoping I see at least some of you in Hershey sometime this year.

 

One last question: how about taking a minor? (My cousin's fifteen.) Would it be okay? Would my aunt lynch me? Would earlier in the day be better?

 

I only just started going to the Will Calls, but I know there's been one every month since I started using BPAL from what I remember. Usually they're on or quite close to the full moon. The last one was on a Tuesday, but I remember the one before that being on a weekend.

 

ETA: OH, and East Coast Will Call hours are usually 6 to 10.

Edited January 28, 2008 by Queen Mab

[AmyAngel]

The thread for the East Coast will call is here. As you can see, there are children younger than 15 at the event and there are specific hours for the will call - they generally don't go all day. I've never been to the East Coast events, but I have been to the one at the lab. Much fun!

 

Thanks for the link! I especially love the pics of the marked-up arms!

 

I ask because I go to Dragon*Con every year, and while I love it, there is NO WAY I would take a fifteen-year-old there late Saturday night...though it's great during the day!

I actually took our church music director's 13 year old daughter to Dragon*Con last year, and she went with us to several of the nighttime concerts! I'd have been much more comfortable taking her to Will-Call, I think!

[willowtreeling]

The thread for the East Coast will call is here. As you can see, there are children younger than 15 at the event and there are specific hours for the will call - they generally don't go all day. I've never been to the East Coast events, but I have been to the one at the lab. Much fun!

 

Thanks for the link! I especially love the pics of the marked-up arms!

 

I ask because I go to Dragon*Con every year, and while I love it, there is NO WAY I would take a fifteen-year-old there late Saturday night...though it's great during the day!

I actually took our church music director's 13 year old daughter to Dragon*Con last year, and she went with us to several of the nighttime concerts! I'd have been much more comfortable taking her to Will-Call, I think!

uhhhhh..what exactly goes on at this so-called Dragon*Con??? I am imagining something like the nighttime activities of the plushy conventione attendees in that one CSI episode: SexyKitty and the civet oil!

[AmyAngel]

The thread for the East Coast will call is here. As you can see, there are children younger than 15 at the event and there are specific hours for the will call - they generally don't go all day. I've never been to the East Coast events, but I have been to the one at the lab. Much fun!

 

Thanks for the link! I especially love the pics of the marked-up arms!

 

I ask because I go to Dragon*Con every year, and while I love it, there is NO WAY I would take a fifteen-year-old there late Saturday night...though it's great during the day!

I actually took our church music director's 13 year old daughter to Dragon*Con last year, and she went with us to several of the nighttime concerts! I'd have been much more comfortable taking her to Will-Call, I think!

uhhhhh..what exactly goes on at this so-called Dragon*Con??? I am imagining something like the nighttime activities of the plushy conventione attendees in that one CSI episode: SexyKitty and the civet oil!

 

Not so much that (there aren't that many Furries at D*C, though I do have a friend who goes to those kinds of cons and who said the CSI episode was fairly accurate), though I'm sure there's PLENTY of similar stuff going on in rooms and such. The concerts are punk/goth/etc. and there are plenty of gothy, punky, costumed, drinking (though I've rarely seen anyone drunk enough to be a problem), some scantily clad, people around. The aforementioned preacher's daughter had never been around that many "alternative" people or that many people different from herself OR actually seen people casually walking around with a beer in their hand, and found it "weird" but also seemed to be fascinated. (I think the anti-drug and alcohol programming in schools had her confused that people could actually drink without automatically being horrifically drunk addicts.) The first night she went with us to her first punk concert (which included lots of F-bombs, which she'd rarely heard anyone say without getting in serious trouble), and saw a guy dressed as Jesus (she texted her mom - "MOM! I found Jesus!"), more goths than she'd ever seen before, people drinking, people in all sorts of sci-fi/fantasy costumes, and two chicks making out right in front of her. I was afraid she might be scarred, but also thought the open-mindedness and exposure to more of the world than she's used to might be a good thing.

 

She wants to go back with us next year!

 

Daytime at the Con is panels with celebrities from authors and artists to actors (and more), getting autographs, shopping the dealer's room, gaming if you're into that, exploring the art show, etc. I call the Con my "creativity recharger" because there are so many creative people all together in one place, and most of them are wonderful sweet people.

 

The website is www.dragoncon.org.

Edited January 28, 2008 by AmyAngel

[akiko]

Daytime at the Con is panels with celebrities from authors and artists to actors (and more), getting autographs, shopping the dealer's room, gaming if you're into that, exploring the art show, etc. I call the Con my "creativity recharger" because there are so many creative people all together in one place, and most of them are wonderful sweet people.

 

The website is www.dragoncon.org.

Yay, other D*Cers!

 

I've only been twice so far, but I'm going this year - got my room, but I haven't gotten around to getting my badge yet. I hear that there was a Meet n Sniff at the con last year... any thoughts for this year?

[willowtreeling]

I went to comic con last year for the first time...I actually bumped into Beth and Puddin' there and recognized them from the one will call I had been to. it was pretty fun and sounds similar to what you speak of:)

[Aingeal]

I've been seeing mentions of Will Calls in several posts as I've been exploring the threads, but even after searching the forum I couldn't find out what one was. So, um, excuse my newbie-ness, but what's a Will Call? And where do they happen?

 

Also, since we're on the topic of stuff I haven't figured out--what's a Switch Witch?

 

*hides in newbie corner in apology for post of lameness.*

[Josh]

It's a phone booth in Hershey, PA - and no matter what combination of seven digits you dial, a man named Will always picks up.

 

It's also a monthly gathering of bpal fans (one is held at bpal hq in CA, the east coast is held in Hershey PA) where everyone tests scents, samples prototypes and buys til their wallets bleed.

[Stephanie]

A Will Call is when the Lab opens to the public. It happens during every full moon. And there will be an Announcement about it a few weeks prior.

 

Currently there are two Will Calls: One at the Lab in the West Coast and another in in the East Coat at shelldoo's salon.

 

Hope this helps! Welcome to the madness that is BPAL!!

[Aingeal]

Wait...wait...wait...there's BPAL meetings? And one of them is a few hours from where I live? And where i get to go to the hospital at least once a year? HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS? So...when's the next one? The 18th?

[savage_rose]

Switch Witch is like a Secret Santa, but there are several Switch Witch sessions throughout the year.

[lilacea]

Why is Will Call called Will Call? Where does that come from? I've always been curious about that.

[savage_rose]

I guess that's a US term...here, when you buy tickets for something and decide not to have them mailed to you, you usually have the option of picking them up at the box office on the day of the show, at the "Will Call" window. So in this case, you're picking up the oils in person at "Will Call" instead of having them mailed to you. At least that's the best definition I can come up with at 3 AM my time .

[noumenon]

I guess that's a US term...here, when you buy tickets for something and decide not to have them mailed to you, you usually have the option of picking them up at the box office on the day of the show, at the "Will Call" window. So in this case, you're picking up the oils in person at "Will Call" instead of having them mailed to you. At least that's the best definition I can come up with at 3 AM my time .

 

 

i think at some point in the past it must have meant "I will call on you" or something like it, back when people talked fancy.

 

Dates of future Will Calls are posted in the About The Lab link on the web site.

 

A very comprehensive announcement is made every month, about 10 days before the events, in the BPAL Announcement thread here on the forum. Here was last month's. You can subscribe to the BPAL Announcement forum, and then you get a note in your email inbox every time someone posts something there. It's a great way to get caught up on everything the Lab is doing.

 

Hershey, Pa's Shelldoo is an authorized re-seller who has every bottle the Lab sells in stock, including all the current LEs. It's a hell of a sight walking into her awesome, goth-decor nail salon and seeing so much BPAL in one place. It's a warm, friendly welcoming place where new people will definitely have a good time. If you can come, you should! The Saturday Will Call in August will probably be a fun one, because so many more people can come on weekends.

 

Also, the bottles are on sale every day in Hershey, so ifyou can get there even when there isn't a will call, you can buy BPAL there.

 

The Lab, though, only opens once per month to the public, and is closed the rest of the time.

 

Threads to check out (there are archive versions, but these are the current ones you can post in):

 

BPAL Will Call Thread (West Coast) Edition

 

East Coast Will Call

 

Also, everyone should read SueDonym's amazing post in What Should I expect at Will Call? In the Faq Forum.

[tikiera]

Did I miss the announcement for this month's? It would be the 18th, right?

 

<frets>

[midnight_aeval]

Did I miss the announcement for this month's? It would be the 18th, right?

 

<frets>

 

Hasn't been posted yet - they're deciding on a theme

[misspriss]

Hi, I'm a total newbie to BPAL. My first order came last Friday and I'm excited about the will call this Friday but I'm a little confused about will call orders. The announcement says to email your order in but I was wondering if they will have bottle or imps to sell there. I'm pretty new to the scents and thus very limited but there are many scents I would like to try. Do they let you try them or at least sniff them? And if I like something can I buy it then and there (without sending in an email first)? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[alicia_stardust]

Hi, I'm a total newbie to BPAL. My first order came last Friday and I'm excited about the will call this Friday but I'm a little confused about will call orders. The announcement says to email your order in but I was wondering if they will have bottle or imps to sell there. I'm pretty new to the scents and thus very limited but there are many scents I would like to try. Do they let you try them or at least sniff them? And if I like something can I buy it then and there (without sending in an email first)? Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

You will be able to sniff and test the General Catalog and any available-for-sale Limited Editions while you are at will call. There will also be some prototypes out that represent possible upcoming releases, and prototypes for any Lunacy/LE blend that has just been released. However, those items will not be for sale; you can only sniff and test the prototypes.

 

Will call purchases are subject to stock on hand, so emailing a pre-order in ahead of time helps to assure that you are able to get what you wanted, but there is nothing wrong with just showing up, checking out all the oils, and then telling one of the lovely Labbies what you'd like to purchase that night. Either way, whether you pre-order or just order on the spot, you will very likely be going home with a bevy of lovely fragrances.

 

Have fun!

Edited July 15, 2008 by alicia_stardust

[misspriss]

Thank you very much! You cleared everything up.

[Reanna]

Are TAL oils available at Will Call? I wasn't exactly sure which forum to post this in, so I hope this is appropriate

[alicia_stardust]

Are TAL oils available at Will Call? I wasn't exactly sure which forum to post this in, so I hope this is appropriate

 

They are usually available to purchase at West Coast Will Call, but none of the TAL oils are set out for sniffing/testing like the BPAL oils are.

[Reanna]

Ah, thanks for the info! I guess I should start my list now

[gingiemay]

If you place an order to be picked up at Will Call, do you get frimps and/or other goodies with your order?

[Seismogenic]

If you place an order to be picked up at Will Call, do you get frimps and/or other goodies with your order?

 

I still got frimps and a postcard when I bought something at Will Call, and it wasn't even an order that I'd placed in advance.