Mars Today - June 2002

Dear Gentle Beings,

Well, spring has already had its fair share of events. NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft found evidence of vast quantities of water ice in the Martian subsurface, astronomers found a distant solar system which resembles our own, Star Wars fans found Episode II to be an improvement, Queen Elizabeth found her Jubilee to be the appropriate occasion in which to knight Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, a few very lucky people found the view of a partial solar eclipse earlier this month to be positively breathtaking, and St. Paul authorities tried in vain to find a statue of Lucy which was stolen before a scheduled tribute to "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles Schulz. We have nine months to go before the next MarsCon. If spring alone is any indication, a lot will happen between now and then. To help you keep up on science fiction news, an SFCrowsnest section has been added to the MarsCon web site at http://www.marscon.org. In addition, please keep an eye on the site for further MarsCon-related news as the convention approaches. Currently we are in the process of getting ready for our disco party at CONvergence, and we hope to visit with many of you there next month. For more MarsCon news, read on. See you soon!

NEXT MARSCON MOVIE NIGHTS - Get out your tri-corders! On Friday & Saturday, June 28 & 29, 11:30 p.m., MarsCon will sponsor showings of Star Trek: First Contact at the Plaza Maplewood Theatre - 1 block east of White Bear Ave on 1847 E. Larpenteur Ave, Maplewood, Minnesota. See http://www.plazamaplewood.com. Admission price is $4. Come out and have some fun, see a good movie, meet some friendly folks and support the MarsCon Convention. Feel free to put it on your calendar and pass this email on to all your movie friends!

MarsCon sponsors movie nights at the Plaza Maplewood on the fourth weekend of each month, and ticket sales help us put on a great Con with a reasonable membership rate. Join us some time!

Coming Attractions:
July 26/27 - Lord of the Rings (pending studio approval)
Aug 23/24 - The Matrix
Sept 27/28 - Aliens
Oct 25/26 - Sleepy Hollow
Nov 22/23 - The Princess Bride
Dec 27/28 - Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

ROOM SHARE/RIDE SHARE MESSAGE BOARD ADDED - Are you planning to drive a long distance to MarsCon with a couple empty seats? Do you want to find a quarter of a room to sleep in? For your convenience, a room share/ride share message board has been added to the MarsCon web site at: http://www.marscon.org/2003/rideshare.html. Feel free to use this page to link up with like-minded folks. Oh, yeah, and do all that stuff your mother taught you about dealing with strange people ... even strange fen.

ARE YOU AN ARTIST? - We are currently seeking artwork for con t-shirts, volunteer t-shirts, badge art, publications, web site, et cetera, and we'd love to hear from you! Persons who have helped to make MarsCon beautiful in the past have included such talented artists as Denise (Boie) Garner, Ray Van Tilburg, Blair Keith, Terry Pavlet, Deborah Spiesz, Kevin Berg, Christopher Jones, Mary Loving, Nora Leverson, and, most recently, Amy Brown. [Remember those gorgeous badges from the last convention? That was Amy. See http://www.amybrownart.com.] and Robin Wood. [Her beautiful painting "Cat Toy" made the 2002 t-shirts absolutely fantastic! Thank you, Robin!!! See more at http://www.robinwood.com.]

Artists who contribute their efforts to MarsCon will be praised in our Program Book and may be provided with gratis copies of the final printed form for their portfolios. Please contact us at 2003info@marscon.org or via any of the methods listed below if you are interested in contributing artwork for MarsCon 2003.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR MARSCON - Register, oh yes, please do! Registration forms for MarsCon may be found at most local conventions, many comic/gaming stores, and, yes, even on the MarsCon web site: http://www.marscon.org/2003/2003flyer.pdf. If you're on the MarsCon mailing list, you'll receive a progress report this fall which also contains a registration form. (If you're not on the mailing list or if your address has recently changed, let us know via one of the methods listed below, and we'll fix it.) Just fill out the form and mail it in to register for the convention. On-line registration through PayPal is also now available via the web site at: http://www.marscon.org/2003/registration.paypal.html.

Rates:
Adults $30 or Children (6-12) $15 until 10/31/02
Adults $40 or Children (6-12) $15 until 1/31/03
Adults $50 or Children (6-12) $25 At the Door
Supporting Memberships $15 before 1/31/03 + $25 when you arrive at con

RESERVING A ROOM FOR PARTIES OR SLEEP AT MARSCON - MarsCon 2003 will take place at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Hilton Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota, on the weekend of February 28-March 2, 2003. Renting a room at the hotel is a wonderful way to enhance your convention experience. It gives you a home base, a place to park your stuff, a place to entertain friends, and a place to land whenever you finish with partying throughout the convention weekend...not to mention it makes the host hotel very happy with our little convention.

Sleeping room rates are $95 per night + tax, and sleeping rooms may be reserved directly through the hotel by calling the Airport Hilton at 952-854-2100. (Very Important: Please mention "MarsCon" when you call or you will be charged more for your room.)

ConSuite and Room Parties will be grouped together on the 11th floor again. If you are planning to host a party at MarsCon, please reserve your party room(s) through us. You will not need to call the hotel. Party room rates are $115 per night + tax. Party rooms may be reserved directly through the convention via any of the methods listed below. Please be sure to include the following information along with your request for a party room:

Party Room Request Info:
1. Number of rooms requested
2. Smoking or Non-smoking
3. Arrival date & checkout date
4. Party theme
5. Contact person (name, phone, email, address, nearest space port...)
6. Group/Club, if applicable

NEXT CONCOM MEETING - MarsCon planning meetings (also known as ConCom Meetings) are generally held on the third Sunday of each month. They are open to all, volunteers and spectators alike, and we encourage you to attend if interested. The next meeting will be held on June 16, 2002, 1:00-4:00 p.m., at the Airport Hilton. (Same place the convention is held)

Directions: Driving EAST from Bloomington, etc: Take I-494 to the 34th Ave exit. Turn south -- away from the airport -- and drive to 80th Street, the first light. Turn east -- left -- and drive all the way past the "Park 'N Fly" ramp. The Hilton driveway will be on your left and the MN Valley National Wildlife Refuge driveway will be on your right.

Directions: Driving WEST from St. Paul, Wisconsin, etc: Take either Highway 5 (St. Paul) or I494 (Wisconsin) to the 34th Ave exit. In either case turn south -- away from the airport -- and drive to 80th Street, the first light. Turn east -- left -- and drive all the way past the "Park 'N Fly" ramp. The Hilton driveway will be on your left and the MN Valley National Wildlife Refuge driveway will be on your right.

THANKS ONCE MORE TO VOLUNTEERS! WE COULD NOT POSSIBLY DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!!! MORE VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS WELCOME AND NEEDED!

MarsCon 2003: "No One Here Is Exactly What He Appears"
Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Hotel, Bloomington, MN
Feb. 28-March 2, 2003 -- All Weekend Long!

HOW TO CONTACT MARSCON
E-Mail Address: 2003info@marscon.org
Snail Mail: MarsCon, P.O. Box 21213, Eagan, MN 55121
Web Site Address: http://www.marscon.org
Phone: 612-724-0687 (no collect calls, please)

See you there!

Previous issues:

(c) 2002 FenSF, Inc. All rights reserved.

This page last revised January 12, 2006 at 01:51 PM

(c) 2002 FenSF, Inc. All rights reserved.

This page last revised January 12, 2006 at 01:51 PM