text="blue">
MarsCon 2004: Let's Play Doctor


Mars Today - March 2003

Dear Friends,

MarsCon 2003 was a tremendous success thanks to your support and the help of everyone who volunteered, ran games, threw parties, participated in programming, exhibited or bid on something in the Art Show, contributed to the Dealers Room, Science Room, LAN Gaming, Blue Mars, Martian Music, Phobos Filk, etc... Thank you! Special thanks to our 2003 Guests of Honor...each of them truly outstanding and remarkable...Sharon Lee, Steve Miller, Julie Caitlin Brown, Lev Mailer, John Garner, Dave Mendez, Posthumous Guest Douglas Adams, Featured Guest Harvey, and Musical Guests The Nick Atoms, Tri-Destiny and the Great Luke Ski! In 2003 Con Chair Artie's words, "...the hardest part of running this convention is to thank ALL of the people that have shared the vision and worked so hard on this con." Your help is priceless. Thank you all.

Although the convention is now over, we are still busy and happy to have people join us for other activities before next year's big shin-dig. Please read on for more info. See you again soon!

UPCOMING EVENTS - NEAR FUTURE

March 14 & 15 - Movie Nights at Plaza Maplewood
March 23 - Alien Autopsy at Holiday Inn Select
April 13 - MarsCon 2004 Planning Meeting at Airport Hilton
**See below for more details on each event.**


NEXT MARSCON MOVIE NIGHTS

"In space no one can hear you scream." You guessed it, our next late night feature will be ALIEN (1979), directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver as our intrepid heroine Ripley.

Show times will be 11:30 p.m. on Friday & Saturday, March 14 & 15, 2003, at the Plaza Maplewood Theatre - 1 block east of White Bear Ave (south of Hwy 36) on 1847 E. Larpenteur Ave, Maplewood, Minnesota. See www.plazamaplewood.com. Admission price is $4....HOWEVER...you can come to the movie for just $1 if you bring along your MarsCon 2003 badge.

Come out and have some fun, see a good movie, mingle with 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! Ticket sales help us put on a great Con with a reasonable membership rate. Concessions sales help support our kind host, Plaza Maplewood, so don't forget your Dots. Join us!


ALIEN AUTOPSY

This is your chance to review and dissect the MarsCon 2003 convention. Everyone with an interest in MarsCon is invited to come and celebrate with us and let us know how the convention was for you. The Alien Autopsy (post mortem) will take place on Sunday, March 23, 2003, from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Select, I-494 & 34th Ave S, Bloomington, MN. If you can't make it there, but would like to share some observations with us, please send us a message. Your comments will be shared.


MARSCON 2004 PLANNING MEETINGS

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 convention hotel (Hilton Mpls/St. Paul Airport) unless we tell you differently:

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.

MARSCON 2004 NEWS

MarsCon 2004: Let's Play Doctor will be held March 5 - 7 at the Airport Hilton in Bloomington, Minnesota. (Surprise! A different hotel, but one we already know.) Adult memberships will be $32 if you register by the end of October 2003. This year, MarsCon is pleased to announce the following guests of honor:

Registration forms for MarsCon 2004 and online registration via PayPal will soon be available 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, and we'll fix it.)

Sleeping room rates are $99 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 $119 per night + tax. Party rooms may be reserved directly through the convention, and party hosts are responsible for both Friday and Saturday night for their rooms. (A roomshare/rideshare message board is being added to the MarsCon web site to assist any parties or individuals who would like to go in on a room together.) 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
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. A map of the parties floor will be posted later.


MARS TODAY SUBSCRIPTIONS

You can now directly control your email subscription to Mars Today. To add yourself -- or remove yourself -- from our email list please surf to http://mail.marscon.org/mailman/listinfo/marstoday and scroll down to "Subscribing to Mars Today" (to add yourself to our list) or "Mars Today Subscribers" (to remove yourself). Follow the instructions and you're in (or out). If you have any trouble at all with your Mars Today subscription tell the MarsCon webmaster via [deactivated -- see current year for a working email address] .


GREEN VS. PURPLE SURVEY

And, the winner is... Green!

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

MarsCon 2004:"Let's Play Doctor"
Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Hotel, Bloomington, MN
March 5-7, 2004 --All Weekend Long!


HOW TO CONTACT MARSCON

E-Mail Address: [deactivated -- see current year for a working email address] *
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)
* Email address will change often to avoid spammers - this page should update automagically.

© 2003, 2004 FenSF, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This page last revised January 12, 2006 at 01:51 PM

Previous issues: