It's the fall 2018 convention from minn-stf: Sept 28–30, 2018 at the Hilton Bloomington, 3900 American Blvd W. (Already convinced? Skip to registration.)
Decongestant 3 is over. We had 63 members, all but two of whom attended. 47 pre-reg'd.
Our next convention is Minicon 54, and there is also Decongestant 4, both of which are being held in 2019.
Decongestant 3 is a small science fiction and fantasy convention geared primarily towards relaxation. There will be good food, music, gaming, a teen room, a bit of programming, and whatever else you bring to it. If you were at Decongestant 1 or 2, you can expect pretty much the same thing. It's a tradition.
Book online using this link or call 1-844-856-8554 by Thursday, September 6, 2018 to get the con rates: $109 king, $119 double/double for Thursday through Sunday nights, and $169 for the adjacent Monday through Wednesday nights. Give them the code "DCON".
If you find that the kind of room you want isn't available at the con rate, try booking directly the hotel (as though you weren't with the con). And if you can get a better rate some other way, go for it. We do not need to fill our block to meet a financial obligation to the hotel, so book however works.
Directions to the hotel and airport shuttle information.
Late checkout may be available, but we do not have a special deal. Normal checkout is noon.
We have a cluster of small-to-medium-small rooms on the 2nd floor. One is a suite, and the rest are function-space-type rooms. This is an expandable con. If you want to run a large game, create a new department, or have some other cool idea, let us know. We can expand into more space — the hotel currently also has available at least one boardroom and a large ballroom on the first floor.
We have a list of suggestions! (But just yourself is fine.)
On Thursday night, the consuite will be open, but we don't promise food or drink until Friday.
The consuite will open at noon on Friday. At-con registration and pre-reg badge pickup will be available starting 2pm in room 211. Other rooms will be opening up soon thereafter. See those departments' sections for details.
The con will run all weekend through the dead dog party Sunday night. We expect to still be partying into the wee hours Monday morning.
Here's the schedule! We have one track of fairly light programming which will give you something structured to do if you want that. We don't exclude the possibility of heavy programming if there's interest in that.
And you can take a look at the whole program book, too (which mostly duplicates the above schedule).
Contact us if you'd like to schedule something.
There will be a teen-run teen room! There'll be a Wii and a PS1, and probably other fun objects. The teen room is available throughout the weekend.
There will be a dedicated gaming room available 24h during the convention, starting 6pm Friday (or maybe a little earlier) and running through at least midnight Sunday, and probably until 3am Monday morning.
There will be space available for musicians after programming ends all three days. Friday and Saturday nights the room will be available all night. Sunday night, we have it until at least midnight, and probably until 3am.
The Hilton is reasonably well served by buses. As usual, the problem is for commuters getting home at night. The last bus north is at 11:56pm. See Metrotransit to double check that and for more details.
For drivers, there is free parking in the attached ramp.
There will be a consuite. This is a room with snacky food and drink (included with your membership) and social space available during all reasonable hours. There will be a fair amount of food here, but it shouldn't be counted on to feed you three meals a day.
The consuite will be open Thursday night through Sunday night. Thursday will be setup, but you can hang out, too. On Friday, it will open as a socialization space (no food or drink) around noon. By 5pm, we'll have soft drinks available and after Opening Ceremonies full snacky-service will begin. We will endeavour to have consuite open as late as people are awake and somewhat vertical. It might close ~2am if people aren't.
Our food theme for this year is digits (fingers and toes). Bring your Buddha's hands, lady fingers, chicken feet, foot-long subs…
We will have an optional group Pizza Luce dinner on Friday, with food to arrive at the hotel around 6:30pm. You can sign up by e-mail before the con or in person at the con, up to about 5pm. E-mail sraun at fireopal dot org, with subject: "Decongestant Friday Dinner Order". We accept two types of orders:
If ordering the latter, assume 16" pizzas. Tell us how many slices, and up to three kinds of specialty pizza in descending order of preference. They cut their 16" pizzas into 12 slices.
We'll be picking 2–5 of their specialty pizzas to order — we'll try to order such that we're getting at least one of the preferences stated by anyone who pre-ordered.
There is no official group dinner on Saturday. There's a break in the programming schedule to allow people to go out, though.
A group of us will go out to the Tea House in Plymouth for a 6pm dinner. Sign up for dinner by 2pm in the consuite so we can make a reservation. Please indicate on the sign-up sheet whether you intend to meet us at the restaurant or meet in the lobby at 5:30pm to carpool, and whether you can provide transportation if needed.
The Dead Dog Party will start in the consuite after dinner.
There is no formal art show this year, but you are welcome to bring art for display or to sell. There will also be table space for freebies, craft swapping, etc. Label your objects clearly, especially if they are not meant to be taken freely!
Decongestant 3 is a small con with minimal programming and minimal financial resources. Panels and other activities are expected to be reasonably accessible by virtue of being very small. With this in mind, if you anticipate needing accommodations in order to enjoy the con, please contact us and we will see what we can do.
You should read the code of conduct.
You can be our Sucker Guest of Honor for the low price of $500, first come, first serve. You'll get your name in lights, the chance to make a speech (or avoid making a speech), and it will fund us to rent an additional social room at the hotel for the con. Just select the Sucker Guest of Honor option on the registration form below!
Update: Joe Pregracke has decided to be the Sucker GoH! We will put his name in lights and give him the privilege of not giving a speech!
The pre-registration deadline was Sept 10. You can also register at the door. We accept cash and check. No credit cards. There is an ATM in the lobby.
| Age | Pre-reg | At the door |
|---|---|---|
| 21+ | $50 * | $60 † |
| 13–20 | $10 | $20 |
| 0–12, continuously supervised | Free | Free |
| 0–12, free range | $10 | $20 |
| Day rate (8am–8am) | ‡ | $40 |
| Just-a-few-hours rate | ‡ | $20 |
| Really-just-one-hour rate | ‡ | $10 |
* If you are short on cash, instead pay $40 — no questions asked (nor will we publish who paid what). If you're shorter on cash, e-mail decongestant3-aid@mnstf.org and let us know your situation.
† Similarly, you may instead pay $50, no questions asked, or less if approved by the chair. However, for practical reasons, confidentiality is not guaranteed at-the-door.
‡ Partial memberships can only be purchased at the door.
Here is a paper registration form.
Want to know if you are already registered? Or if a friend of yours is coming? Check out the list of members.
All inquiries: decongestant3@mnstf.org