by Teeebone
By 2016, the CSPC had already been looking for a new home, as the terms of our lease were set to expire in the Fall of 2017, though the property owner ultimately negotiated a settlement for the CSPC to “leave early” a year sooner. Thus, Year Nine of the Hump was only seven months and a week long, but it was the year I felt I had worked the hardest yet.
A lot of staff turnaround took place, you see. At the end of January, the last core member from the founding Hump Team left. It was getting difficult to keep the party fully staffed. There was a general sense of exhaustion not just with my crew, but others as well. Even The Grind had gone from a weekly to a monthly schedule by then.
And yet, we were able to continue… The biggest challenge for this year was educating new members on scene etiquette, boundaries, and consent. I am very grateful that “consent culture” has become a thing nowadays because it helps educate those who are new in the community about what is acceptable behavior at our parties. The weekly tasks of event maintenance continued on a stable though busy “business as usual” routine throughout the year,so much so that it came as a surprise that the CSPC was going to leave its home sooner rather than later!
On September 7, 2016, I showed up at the Center at 4pm to run the very last Hump. I walked around the space, took in my memories and then an hour later got on with helping the crew set up the party one last time. We had a record breaking attendance, the tally being at ninety-nine, although I think there were a hundred plus due to a few walk-ins here and there.
It was an excellent finale, and when the last song was played on the DJ set, the attendees said their goodbyes and made their way home. I then joined the strike crew to clean stuff up and put things away. After the strike crew left, I was alone in the building where I did my last lockdown. At the DJ station, I took one last look at the Main Space in its dimly lit “after-hours” ambiance. So many memories, so much fun! I slung my backpack over my shoulder and then went to the front door, opened it, and stepped outside. I checked the lock and then went to my car. It was done.
I went back to attend the last Grind at the Center’s Interbay location the next day and then again for the Very Last Party the day after that. But that was it. On September 9, 2016, the last party was held at the CSPC’s original location. Then on September 15, the CSPC officially left the building that had been its home since 1999.
The Hump had perked along for more than eight years and had become a regular feature at the CSPC. It introduced many new members to the community as a “starter” party and served well in its function. To all of the volunteers who worked so hard as members of the Hump Team, I thank all of you so very much! We could not have done it without you!
Until next time... :^)
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