I can manage March or April, fwiw. (I didn't get around to voting in the poll, alas.)

Last weekend in March(FilkOntario) and the first weekend in April(beginning of Passover) are out for me, but other weekends in that time frame may well work.

My take on the dates tends to be city/temperature variable. Any time at all works for me in Boston, but the later weekends don't look so good if we end up choosing North Carolina.

But then the question becomes which takes priority, place or date?

By voting on date first, it kinda implies that that's the priority.

I also don't really see how we would proceed to a final decision if this vote does not end in a decision? Is the location then also treated as tentative, and we have a final run-off between date/place pairs? That seems rather unwieldy to me.

No, the final location would determine the date. Basically we make a final decision on the dates for the two regions before city pimpage. That means when we go to vote for the final location, we're actually also voting for the final date since date/location would be linked. I'm just trying to give a little more flexibilty in the early process.

It seems like treating the date as tentative is trying to re-fight a decision that was already made in deciding what to vote on first, and, honestly, we're not that early in the process. We need to be getting things decided and reservations made.

But the vote only included one weekend in May and no weekends in March or April. I hardly consider it a decision that has already been made if the earlier dates weren 't even options.

I agree. Last year at this time we had already determined a date and were on our way to determining a city. If we had wanted to consider March or April dates, then they should have been brought up before the poll started so they could have been included. Or we should have chosen the city first so that dates could have been discussed.

Actually the dates were brought up during all of this:

I'm not trying to be pesky either... I just (half) remember a conversation about going place first so places could pick dates that work well for them specifically. Like, if we're in the south not so late toward the summer, etc. - Trudy Post #3473

Another thing with picking dates first -- at least in Boston, those first two and maybe three weekends are going to very difficult for hotel availability due to graduations. - Jon B. #3485

Date considerations:

Avoid like hell Mother's day weekend, which is graduation for UNC and Duke.

It can easily be in the 90s by May. - Flea #3499

No March or April dates for NC? -Java Cat #3501

Yay flea for NC pimpage! Weather is lovely here in March and April. - Amyth #3503

If it's in April or early May, the most beautiful spring you have ever seen. Dogwoods, azaleas, daffodils in great swaths of color.

By late May, it's Too Damn Hot. -(Both Regarding Atlanta) Ginger #3509

No March or April dates for NC? -Java Cat #3501

By late May, it's Too Damn Hot. -(Both Regarding Atlanta) Ginger #3509

Yay flea for NC pimpage! Weather is lovely here in March and April. - Amyth #3503

Were all brought up after the poll had opened.

Again, this is the reason that choosing the place first would have made more sense for the East Coast as there is such a difference in climates from end to the other at varying parts of the spring. Which is the point of Trudy's post.

As far as the graduations, well, nothing can be done about that unless we go somewhere that doesn't have a major college town in it.