I will preface my comments by saying that I'm a complete n00b to
and the 4-wheel off-roading world in general. I bought my first Jeep (XJ) late last year and joined
at the same time and did not know anybody in the org at the time. I came in on Saturday with the fam to "observe" but was not an officially registered participant and did not run any of the trails, so please read any of my comments through that lens, as I realize they are probably not applicable to a majority of WF participants.
1) What I really liked and appreciated is that the organizers were very responsive to my questions and PM's ahead of the event, and the few members I did interact with on Saturday were friendly, helpful, and welcoming.
2) Being [completely] new, I had a lot of questions, many of which I did not even bother to ask because I wanted to be respectful of everyone's time, and I just thought I'd figure it out when I got to the event. Between reading WF2021 info, past WF threads, the Badlands website, and talking to people the day of the event, I was able to manage okay. I'm not sure how many "first timers" - either new to the WF event or new to off-roading in general - are generally at each WF, but I wonder if a "New to Winterfest" thread, FAQ, or 1-hr "Zoom" call ahead of an event might be a good way to get typical info in front of "new" people (e.g. where to go when you arrive (with map/pictures, lol), what to expect, how a typical day/night/event generally goes down, etc.). If there are generally not many new people, then maybe it's not worth the effort, but if you guys (organizers) are constantly fielding similar basic questions from people, maybe there's a more efficient way to utilize your time when answering said questions?
I will say, having now been to the event once, I'll have a lot fewer questions on logistics next time, and I'm looking forward to participating in more of the activities next year!
