You can legally drink “soft” liquor like beer and wine in the Netherlands when you’re 16. Although there are laws in place for identification, no one’s gonna bother a mature looking 15 year old ordering a beer.
Of course, a 16 year old might have other problems, like how to afford a plane ticket to GET to Amsterdam. 
Well, the Fests I’ve planned in Toronto have been relatively well attended, which suggests pretty good local support. As iampunha pointed out, Americans will get more bang for their buck here, it’s the most culturally diverse city on the continent, easy to get to (bus, train or plane) and has a wealth of opportunities for activities (the Islands, Paramount Canada’s Wonderland, camping [really cheap accomodations!], etc.).
Summer-time would be ideal for an event in Toronto – preferably away from the Big Three (or Four) summer weekends for tourists: July 1[Canada]/4[US], first Monday in August and Labour Day.
Listen to Coldfire. He’s making a lot of sense. Yay Amsterdam! Why are you looking at me like that? No, it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m in Europe, too…
slinks off muttering to herself…ticket…to…Vegas
A “central” location would have to be equidistant between Hawaii and New Zealand, wrapping the long way round.
Let me consult my globe. I make that… Baghdad.
Hmm… maybe not such a good idea.
I’m for Coldfire’s suggestion as well. The fact that I live in Amsterdam hasn’t affected my judgement in this matter in the slightest. 
And Einmon, where in Europe is MUC? Middle Urpean Country?
For those of you who are into long-term planning, we’ve come to the tentative conclusion that NYC Megadopefest 2004 will be over Martin Luther King Jr. Day Weekend, January 16-19, 2004. Expect an official announcement in August or September.
For each of the three prior years, we’ve had it the first weekend of January, next year has New Years Day falling on Thursday and the City will still we swamped with New Years revelers. We thought that moving it to MLK day weekend, when many people have a long weekend and we can get into some places that would be booked on the earlier weekend would be better.
Well I’ll be damned, another Cloggie! Whereabouts do you live, TTT? I live in the Rivierenbuurt, and work in Zuid-Oost. Are you a native, or an expat?
Hi there, Coldfire. I live in the Binnenstad, near the Haarlemmerplein, just above the Jordaan. Born and raised in The Netherlands, but non-native Amsterdammer. Are there many other Dutchies around? (I only know of Maastricht, obviously)
Non-native Amsterdammer here as well. Are there any natives left?
Actually Maastricht may not even be Dutch. But there’s a few of us around, although some seem to post rather infrequently. There’s Aghris, who even attended the AmsterDope of early 2001. There’s SkinnyGuy, responsible for arguably the funniest couple of Pit threads ever - too bad he doesn’t post anymore. And of course Dragon Phoenix, Dutchman currently located in Rouen, IIRC.
I also recall a girl who lived in Amsterdam as well. She was very entertaining to read, but seems to have dropped off as well, unfortunately. Perhaps I’m missing some names as well.
How about a simultaneous UltraGlobalDope held on several continents, and hooked up via a video conferencing link? Say, NY, Chicago, LA, Toronto, Sydney, Amsterdam, London? How much would this cost to set up?
OK, so I’m at the arse end of the world and getting desperate…
Coldie, is Aghris still posting? I’ve only seen one post of his since I met him in Sydney over a year ago. Great guy. I miss him.
I think travelling to Europe would be out of the question for me, cost-wise. But if this SuperDuperMegaUberDopefest were to be held in say, New York, Chicago, or probably even Canada, I could probably swing it, and would love to! I was just telling hubby a few days ago that I would love to go to a Dopefest. He doesn’t really get it, but he doesn’t have to. He just has to stay home and hold down the fort while I’m gone.
Seems his last post was made on May 7 of 2002, the day after Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was shot. See his profile.
Another Dutch poster who pops up occasionally: käse. Fun guy.
Isn’t it cute how the dutch just pull these quaint names out of their ass to describe where they live? It makes it seem ever more exoctic!
…d&r…
I don’t know about the “Middle” thing as I’m too lazy to get out the map and measure distances but I’m sure closer to Amsterdam than to Vegas. MUC
After reading all this, I somehow wish the name of my city held more vowels.
Ooh, I remembered another fun Dutch doper: daffodil.
Well, norinew, you’re living in the right place. MADs have the most 'fests around. Last one was in Savage a couple of weeks ago, and we do lunch in DC every two weeks. Look for dinner soon!
Yeah, this might work for me sometime. It’s a two-hour drive, though, so it would take a little planning. Can someone give me a when and where?
DC is a bit of a haul for us as well. We also have a new evening regular thing, I expect the entire group will be getting together around the beginning of April or something. You’ll see the threads in MPSIMS.
I’m definitely interested in a big giant dopefest, though I get pretty overwhelmed by the giant ChiDopes. I was definitely thinking about going to the next MegaFest in NYC (providing the job situation stays stable). And I’d definitely love to go to Amsterdam again. So I’m game for anything. But I think the logistics and planning would be a nightmare, so good luck to anyone who wants to plan it.