We haven’t announced it yet or updated the website yet because we haven’t signed the hotel contract yet, but we should have all the details nailed down soon (definitely before Minicon).

Expect something very similar to Convivial 2. Same hotel and function space, etc.

Consuite, registration etc. will still open at 4pm.

Hi,

The latest info about the con should always be available on the website:

http://www.mnstf.org/convivial/

Laurel is making a lot of updates tonight and will continue to update up ’til the con and probably during the con.

The con is just a couple days away and we look forward to seeing you there. We (Laurel & Kevin, your con- chairs) wanted to drop you a line to confirm your registration and also to give you some useful information.

LOCATION

Convivial will once again be held at the Holiday Inn Select, we’ve got directions and other useful details listed on the website:

http://www.mnstf.org/convivial/where/

SPECIFICS

The entire con is on the 13th floor (a.k.a. Concierge level).

The consuite is located in the Presidential Suite (1321).

The overflow consuite (or music room) is across the hall, in the Concierge Suite (1332).

The gaming room is 1318, the programming room is 1340. Unless we’re confused and switched those around. In any event, this year the gaming room is the room closest to the consuite, the programming room is farther away (this is a switch from last year).

You shouldn’t need a room key to get to the Concierge level (13th floor) between Noon on Friday and 7pm on Sunday. If you have trouble getting upstairs between those hours, talk to someone at the front desk.

You can also call the consuite (room 1321) or Laurel’s cell phone (if you’ve got the number) to ask someone to help you out.

If you’re showing up for the Dead Dog Party on Sunday night after 7pm, you may have to call to get someone with a room key to let you up to the 13th floor (not ideal, we know, but the best we can do).

HOURS

We’ll start setting up the consuite not long after Noon on Friday, the consuite will officially open at 4pm on Friday. It’s fine if you show up between Noon and 4pm, just know that we’ll likely be running around setting things up and we may ask for your help.

The con will be running continually, more or less, from 4pm Friday ’til 4pm on Sunday.

The Dead Dog party will be on Sunday night in the main Consuite (Presidential Suite). We will close the consuite at dinner time on Sunday so your humble con-chairs can go out to eat with whoever else is interested (we’ll have a sign-up sheet in the consuite).

The consuite may also close for a couple hours in the wee small hours of the morning, but we’ll try to keep it open as much as possible. We are looking for additional volunteers to open the consuite in the morning and for someone to make a run to a bagel shop on Saturday morning. Contact Laurel or Kevin to volunteer.

SCHEDULE

We’re still finalizing the schedule of events. We’ll be posting it to the website and Minn-StF Livejournal. We should have something up later tonight.

http://www.mnstf.org/convivial/news/
http://mnstf.livejournal.com/

SHOULD I BRING ANYTHING?

Just yourself. No, you don’t need to print out this email or bring anything special to prove you’ve registered.

If you want to use the swimming pool, bring a swimsuit and other appropriate gear.

If you plan to do the nature walk on Saturday afternoon, you might want to wear comfortable shoes and bring a camera, hat, etc.

If you’ve got a game you’re keen to play, by all means bring it. We’ll have some games on hand, but can’t guarantee that we’ll have everything you’d want to play.

We’re happy to see knitters knitting and other craftiness happen.

No need to bring food or drink unless you have special dietary requirements that we might not meet (ask us beforehand if you want to know what drinks and snacks we’ll have available; we will have water, a selection of pop, at least a couple kinds of beer, and some hard cider and Mike’s hard lemonade; makings for coffee and tea will be available, we’ll have milk and juice in the mornings and by request).

We serve snacks in the consuite, not full meals, but we’re gonna help coordinate group orders of food on Friday and Saturday nights. We also encourage people to meet up with other folks to form dinner expeditions to area restaurants. We’ll have menus and directions and such on hand.

There’s free wifi access in the hotel should you want to bring a laptop or other wifi enabled device. There are also a limited number of ethernet access points (all rooms on the 13th floor should have at least one).

REGISTRATION

Carol Kennedy is in charge of registration. Find her or Kevin or Laurel in the consuite or look for someone sitting by “registration stuff” (badges, handouts, etc) in the consuite. If you don’t see an obvious place to register, feel free to hang out until you do.

Memberships are available at the door for $40.

We will also have single-day memberships available for $20. These will cover 4pm Friday ’til 4pm Saturday; 4pm Saturday ’til 4pm Sunday. Though we’re somewhat flexible on that. So if you know anyone who you’d think enjoy the convention who hasn’t registered, there is that option.

If someone isn’t so sure they want to come to Convivial, we’re happy to have them stop by for up to an hour to check it out and say “hi”. If they stay longer, we ask that they please register.

STAYING AT THE HOTEL?

You may want to temporarily park right in front of the door to unload your car, rather than schlep your stuff all the way from the parking ramp.

If you run into any problems with your reservation or find that your room isn’t on the 13th or 12th floor, let us know. You can call the consuite for help if need be (room 1321) and someone should be able to meet you at the front desk.

Check-in begins at 3pm, though sometimes they may have rooms available earlier.
Check-out is at Noon on Sunday, though you can call the front desk to request a later check-out time and they may be able to set that up (the sooner you call, the better your odds).

SEE YOU SOON!

We look forward to seeing you.

If you have any questions, check the website and if they aren’t answered there, contact us via email: you can reply to this message or write convivial@mnstf.org or use the form on the website.

During the con, most of the time you’ll be able to find us in the consuite or other function space. We’ll check email once in a while, but not as often once the con starts– better to just track us down.

Thanks and best,

–
Laurel Krahn & Kevin G. Austin
co-chairs, Convivial
www.mnstf.org/convivial/

As of Wednesday afternoon, there were only about 20 rooms left for Saturday night, it’s likely the hotel will sell out. If you want a room and haven’t reserved one, get in touch with me ASAP before Noon on Friday and I may be able to help you get a room (at our rate even).

If you are registered, you should have received a confirmation email by now.

Kevin and I are busy, busy, busy. But if you’ve got questions or suggestions, get in touch. Definitely get in touch if you have problems.

Those who plan to be there: what would you like to see? I think Convivial is a good opportunity for programming that might not work so well at a larger con or programming that’s targeted to the Minn-StF community.

Interactive stuff where you work with materials (like collage making, sewing circle, etc) might be a good fit.

If someone has a fannish video to show, that’d rock. Or if someone wants to host a showing of fanvids or of a particular episode of a TV show or a particular movie, that’d be cool. Could be paired with an intro and/or discussion before or after.

If you have an idea, throw it at me sooner rather than later (in email or reply to this post one place or the other). We don’t want a lot of items, just a couple or a few each day. Because the heart of the con remains the consuite, of course. Hanging out with fellow fen.

If people want to schedule times to play certain games, that can be done. Or one can just announce the start of something in the consuite or wherever.

There are topics I could talk about as programming items if there was interest: Television (obviously), sleep apnea technology show and tell (latest in CPAP machines, software, other cool stuff), social networking and virtual worlds (Twitter, Second Life, etc). I could also bring my BPAL stash if there was interested in another sniff and swap gathering.

We’re thinking we’ll do a group order of food after Opening Ceremonies on Friday night; probably from Davanni’s for pizza/pasta/etc. And probably another order from someplace on Saturday evening. We were thinking of doing another group outing for dinner on Sunday evening. In any event, we want to make it easy for people to hook up to dine out or in (even those who may not know many people). We’ll play it by ear and see how it goes. Open to suggestions of area restaurants (bonus points if you provide menus or links to websites).

Does anyone want to take charge of making blog at least once during the con?

If anyone wants to host a cocktail hour and provide a mixed drink or two of their choice, let us know. We’re not planning to stock a full bar, just to have beer and cider and blog, but if someone wanted to play bartender at some point, we’re open to that and could work something out.

What do you want to see at Convivial? There’s still time to make things happen.

Pre-registration deadline is today; deadline for room reservations is also today.

The deadline for room reservations is also October 5th. Let us know if you have any trouble reserving a room. We’d love it if some people did reserve suites as those are the rooms closest to the consuite (and we’d prefer to have folks from our group in those rooms). The hotel sold out last year (not ‘cuz of us, ‘cuz of other events), so if you need a room it’s best to reserve now (as there’s no guarantee there’ll be rooms available later). Room rate is $89 for a room or $109 for a suite. All rooms will be blocked on the 13th floor (same floor as the consuite and other convention space) save for those who want a smoking room (they’ll be on the 12th floor).

If you can’t remember if you’ve already registered, a list of members is available on the website.

And you can now register online with a credit or debit card, bank account balance, or Paypal balance. If you have any problems with it, let us know.

Head on over to the Registration Page to register. Or check the Members & Concom page to see if you’ve registered or not (though we’re pretty sure we’re missing some data for that; if you think you’ve registered and aren’t on the list, let us know).

The site has been updated with a new look, the blog has been moved over here (where you’re looking now) and is called “News” while the front page has all sorts of info about the convention (it’s a PR, really).