We abandoned plans for a mass reunion which would have 1000 to 1500 potential attendees from a range of years
The easiest and short answer is the time and energy required of an organizing committee to plan such an significant event. Here are some of the underlying reasons;
1) There are very few event venues beyond the Guild Inn that have the size and scale to hold 1,000 to 1,500 Alumni
2) LCBO rules require food to be served. You cannot just have a mix and mingle pub style night which makes the ticket price quite prohibitive – $75 plus plus
3) The above sample price skyrockets even more, should we try to hold a mass reunion event on a Friday or Saturday – Those days are booked up significantly in advance, and we would have to hold the event on a Thursday evening to keep the ticket price as low as possible. Many alumni may not wish to attend on a Thursday evening
4) Coordinating an Open House with the School’s Principal, Trustee and Administration is a difficult task – most likely the Open House would be held on a Saturday
5) Out of Towners requiring accommodation – Unfortunately the hotels and motels in the Scarborough area are shoddy at best
6)Wedding halls, Banquet rooms, convention centres all need a downpayment to secure a lockdown date. None of the organizers want to front their money with the hopes of selling sufficient tickets to recover their deposit. Our alumni have good intentions to say they will come, but when it comes to parting with money, it is too much of a risk for our organizing committee to accept even with advance ticket deposits.
7) There seems to be more demand by Alumni for smaller more intimate events – With the wide variety in ages of our alumni, there may not be as much comfort with a mass reunion event
8) If some other group would like to try to plan a mass reunion – some of us would be happy to assist, but not champion