Pastissues of
MarsToday:

Sept, 1999
Oct. 1999

It's been a busy and fun last couple of months. Thank you to all who were able to stop by and say "hi" at MCBA Comic Convention and Valley Con! MarsCon co-hosted a Psi Corps Recruitment Party with the White Star Phoenix on Saturday night at ValleyCon, and we saw to it that everyone got their fill of Bravari and Spoo...seven different varieties of Spoo, to be precise. We also enjoyed a visit from Jeffrey "Kosh" Willerth of Babylon 5 fame. Fun, fun, fun! We're all gearing up now for Minnesota winter and only five more months of planning before MarsCon 2000!

NEW GUEST OF HONOR - At this time, MarsCon is happy to announce the addition of our SCIENCES GUEST OF HONOR, UFOLOGIST DONALD R. SCHMITT. Mr. Schmitt has been a guest speaker at many great science and SF conventions, most notably the Battelle Institute, ASA Science Conference, International Microwave Technology Convention, the 1992 CSICOP Convention, Mad Media and Dragon Con. He is a former co-director of the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies where he served as Director of Special Investigations for ten years, investigating more than 300 separate UFO reports throughout the United States. He has served as a technical consultant on several documentaries including The UFO Enigma, A Report on UFOs; The History of UFOs; UFO Secret: The Roswell Crash; UFOs: Uncredited Field of Science, and the ShowTime movie Roswell. Mr. Schmitt is the author of dozens of published articles about UFOs, as well as the co-author of two best-selling books: UFO Crash on Roswell and The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell. Join us in welcoming Donald R. Schmitt to Minnesota and learning more about this intriguing field of science.

MOTHER'S DAY BREAKFAST BUFFET WITH THE GUESTS OF HONOR - Sunday of MarsCon 2000 is Mother's Day, and we decided this special day deserves some special recognition. In honor of Mother's Day, MarsCon will be holding a Breakfast Buffet with the Guests of Honor on Sunday morning, May 14th, from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Seating will be limited so that everyone who attends will have a chance to meet and socialize with our Guests of Honor during the buffet. Tickets for the Breakfast Buffet are $20 each, and you may reserve your tickets by sending a check or money order to MarsCon at the address listed below. Because of the limited seating, tickets will be sold on a "first come, first served" basis. Please help us make this special event a success, and treat a mom to Breakfast with the Guests of Honor.

PROGRAMMING NEWS - Programming at MarsCon this year promises to be wide-ranging and wonderful with panels on science, literature, costuming, comic books, gaming, art, television & film (including the obligatory Phantom Menace rant and Xena music videos) and, of course, the inner workings of the Klingon Empire.

In keeping with our "Don't Panic" theme, we plan once more to host an open mike reading of Vogon (read _earsplitting & awful_) Poetry. We will also host an open mike reading of Dark Poetry (read _spooky, scary & chilling_). Please bring your poetry to share! Wild and wonderful ideas are flowing in from all directions (croquet with bat'leths, anyone?) and if even half of them end up happening, we should have a pretty diverse assortment of things to do.

Friday night will begin with Opening Ceremonies, where we plan to introduce all of our Guests of Honor, and will continue with a "Skiffy Radio Play." Saturday, we'll have our Masquerade and Dance. (Both Friday and Saturday night, there will be Drum Jams after the Main Stage is cleared.) On Sunday there will be a Charity Auction to support Camp Heartland, a local camp for children whose lives have been touched by AIDS or HIV, and the Art Auction.

Throughout the convention, there will be many opportunities to meet our Guests of Honor and Pro Guests, including the Mother's Day Breakfast Buffet on Sunday morning. We are still in the process of soliciting more ideas for Programming, so if you would like to send us an idea for Programming or be in charge of or help out with a programming event, please contact Nina and Christine at programming@marscon.com or via the regular addresses listed below.

UPCOMING MEETING - Our next MarsCon 2000 ConCom Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, November 21st, 1999, 1:00 p.m., at the Hennepin-Southdale Library in Edina, Minnesota. This meeting is open to everyone, and we encourage you to come if you are able, share your ideas with us, and get more involved in planning the convention.

DIRECTIONS TO SOUTHDALE LIBRARY
(7001 York Avenue South, Edina, Minnesota, located 4 blocks south of 66th Street, across from Target Greatland.)

FROM MINNEAPOLIS:

• Head South on Interstate-35W.
• Take the MN-62 West exit.
• Take the CR-31/Xerxes Avenue exit.
• Turn Left onto CR-31 which becomes York Avenue.

FROM ST PAUL:

• Head South on Interstate-35E.
• Take the MN-5/West 7th Street exit.
• Turn Right onto Fort Road.
• Fort Road becomes SR-5 West.
• Take the Interstate-494 West/MN-5 West exit on the left.
• Merge onto I-494 West.
• Take the Penn Avenue exit.
• Turn Right onto CR-32, then Left onto West 76th Street.
• Turn Right onto CR-31 North which becomes York Avenue South.

• The Library will be on your right hand side.

FOR MORE SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS: (Try this link and click on directions for the Southdale Library) http://www.hennepin.lib.mn.us/pub/library_guide/locations.html

Hope to see you soon! Until then...

Don't Panic! M2K is Coming!
Radisson South Hotel, Bloomington, MN
May 12-14, 2000

HOW TO CONTACT MARSCON
E-Mail Address: marscon2k@hotmail.com
Snail Mail: MarsCon, P.O. Box 600458, St. Paul, MN 55106
Web Site Address: http://www.marscon.com

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