In the immortal words of the Black Knight, "Tis but a scratch." Thank you to all who stopped by our party at Diversicon early this month to say hi' and all who have recently registered for MarsCon! [Barely six months to go now.] The past few weeks have been, well, interesting and challenging from a convention-planning perspective. Nothing a crack team of caffeine-saturated volunteers couldn't handle, however. This issue contains news about MarsCon's recent hotel switch [yes, switch], updated party room & sleeping room info, schedules of upcoming movie showings at Plaza Maplewood and planning meetings, registration news, and invitations from Masquerade and Gaming. Read on...
We control the vertical, but not the horizontal. In another dimension, MarsCon attendees will be partying hard at the Airport Hilton in 2003. In our dimension, MarsCon 2003 will be moving just down the street to the Holiday Inn Select... [and we'll still have fun, so nyah!] More details about the move will be included in the progress report this fall.
Our home for 2003, the Holiday Inn Select is located at Three Appletree Square, Bloomington, Minnesota, by Interstate 494 and the intersection of 34th Avenue South and 80th Street. It is literally just down the block and across the street from the Airport Hilton, and is conveniently near the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport and the Mall of America. The hotel offers a free shuttle to both. The Holiday Inn Select boasts spectacular views of the downtown Minneapolis skyline and the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge. The on-site restaurant, the Harvest Cafe serves American Cuisine and offers daily breakfast and lunch buffets. The Greenhouse Lounge, located by the main lobby, features a snack and sandwich menu, happy hour specials, five TVs, and a pool table. There is also an on-site gift shop, a video arcade, an extra-large swimming pool, a whirlpool, a sauna, a ping pong table, a fitness center which offers tanning beds and massages, and even a car rental office.... We'll endeavor to adjust.
If you do find yourself at the Airport Hilton come MarsCon weekend, just keep in mind the new hotel is back and to the left. The Hilton will be honoring the MarsCon room rates originally offered for anyone who prefers to keep a room there, and they will have a free shuttle to and from the Holiday Inn Select throughout the weekend. Just to make things interesting, MarsCon will return to the Airport Hilton for 2004.
Okay, one pretty cool thing about the Holiday Inn Select is that they have a thirteenth floor for the top floor. A second cool thing is that we get to party on that floor. The thirteenth floor will house Con Suite, Krushenko's, Blue Mars/Anime, Martian Music, Phobos Filk Annex/Youth Lounge, Ops and, oh, as many parties as can possibly fit up there!
Party floor rooms are $109.95 + tax per day, and must be booked through MarsCon. Party rooms will be assigned on a first come, first served basis. To reserve a party room, please contact MarsCon directly via Email 2003info@marscon.org, phone 612-724-0687, or snail mail at P.O. Box 21213, Eagan, MN 55121. A map of the parties floor has been posted on the MarsCon web site so persons interested in throwing parties can get a better idea of where they'd like their party to be. When requesting a party room, please be sure to include the following information so the room fairies know what to tell the publications goddess and hotel:
Some of the rooms on the parties floor have connecting doors, so if you'd prefer two rooms which connect or a room which connects with another group's party, just let us know. We are always looking for new, fun groups to party with us, so if you haven't thrown a party at MarsCon before, don't be shy. We're happy to answer any questions you might have.
Sleeping room rates at the Holiday Inn Select for MarsCon weekend will be $89.95 + tax per day for a regular room or $99.95 + tax per day for a suite. To reserve a sleeping room at the Holiday Inn Select, call 952-854-9000 or 1-800-HOLIDAY, and make sure to mention "MarsCon" in order to get the reduced rates. 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, entertain friends, and land whenever you finish with partying throughout the convention weekend...not to mention it makes the host hotel very happy with our multifarious convention.
Have you signed up for the 2003 Masquerade yet? MarsCon is the weekend before Mardi Gras this year, and what better time to display your costuming talents. For information about the 2003 Masquerade, to register or volunteer, please contact Nicky Luckes at masquerade2003@yahoo.com or via one of the methods listed below. For samples of fabulous Masquerade entries from last year, take a look at http://marscon.org/2003/masquerade.html. Sign up and show everyone that you aren't exactly what you appear to be.
MarsCon welcomes all kinds of games...RPGs, CCGs, LARPs, board games, miniatures, whatever can be squeezed into the available space...you get the idea. We also plan to offer LAN gaming. The great folks at the Source will be running some games at MarsCon once again. (Visit their store! See http://www.sourcecandg.com/ for directions. Oh, and btw, congrats to the Source on their recent Eisner Award!) We're hoping to get a few more game masters signed on as well. If you're planning to attend MarsCon and think you might be available to GM, run a LARP, or other game, or if you'd like more info, please send us email at 2003info@marscon.org or contact MarsCon via any of the other methods listed below. Thanks in advance for any help you are willing to offer or any info which might lead to some willing vict...er, GMs. ;-)
Please join us for showings of THE MATRIX at the Plaza Maplewood Theatre on Friday & Saturday, August 23 & 24, at 11:30 p.m. The Plaza Maplewood is just off White Bear Avenue on Larpenteur Avenue (south of Hwy 36) in Maplewood, Minnesota.
MarsCon sponsors movie nights at the Plaza Maplewood on the fourth weekend of each month. Admission price is $4, and ticket sales help us put on a great convention with a reasonable membership rate. Concessions help out the theater, so don't forget your Dots. Have some fun, kick back with popcorn & pop, see a good movie, hang with other friendly folks, and remember, there IS NO SPOON!
Coming Attractions:
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! 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.
Register, oh yes, please do! Registration forms for MarsCon may be found at most local conventions, many comic/gaming stores, at our movie nights, and, yes, even on the MarsCon web site. 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 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 | ||
MarsCon planning meetings (also known as ConCom
Meetings) are generally held on the third Sunday of each month, 1:00-4:00
p.m. Meetings are open to all, volunteers and spectators alike, and we
encourage you to attend if interested or even mildly curious. [It's a
little-known fact that these meetings can actually be fun. Shh...] Here is
the schedule for upcoming ConCom Meetings which will all be held at the
Holiday Inn Select, I-494 & 34th Ave S, Bloomington, MN:
September 15, 2002
October 20, 2002
November 17, 2002
December 15, 2002
January 19, 2003
February 16 & 23, 2003
February 28-March 2, 2003 - THE CONVENTION HAPPENS!!!
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 the hotel entrance will be
immediately to 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 the hotel entrance will be
immediately to your right.
Thanks again 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"
Holiday Inn Select, I-494 & 34th Ave S, 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)
© 2001, 2002 FenSF, Inc. All rights reserved.
See you there!
Previous issues:
(c) 2002 FenSF, Inc. All rights reserved.
This page last revised January 12, 2006 at 01:51 PM