At my first Gathering, my dad and CedarCopse's parents were all along, too. Since they had each other to talk to, it wasn't too weird--and Cedar's parents bought us dinner, which was totally awesome. {= ) No guarantees of you being that lucky, but still, it's something to consider if it would make everyone happier.

~Neshomeh, Gathering veteran (who unfortunately can't travel right now).

Speaking as the veteran of two and a half Gatherings (not sure the last one counts, since we all lived in the city at the time), wearing distinctive t-shirts/vests/bags with something recognizable on them seems to be a good strategy. For instance, at the first Chicago Gathering, I had my laptop bag with the potted cactus flash patch I'd silk-screened onto it, and I think Tungsten had her vest with cactus at that time, too. In Bath `09, hS had his sunflower t-shirt, and I had one of mine with "Neshomeh" on the back (and a fairly cool dragon on the front, if I do say so myself). I had the same shirt in the and-a-half Chicago meetup.

If you're interested, I have instructions for silk screening in the artist's comments for my cactus flash patch: http://neshomeh.deviantart.com/gallery/#/ds7lea It's pretty simple, but let me know if my instructions aren't clear enough if you decide to try it. {= )

~Neshomeh