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Welcome!
It may seem as though Minicon 31 ended just yesterday, but planning for Minicon 32 is already gearing up. There are some changes in the way things will be organized this year. Most of them probably won't be evident to most Minicon attendees, but these changes will hopefully make things run more smoothly behind the scenes. Some of the other changes will be more evident to people outside of the Convention Committee.
This newsletter is one of those changes. This is the first sample issue and it is being included with this mailing to introduce the format to everyone. The Convention Committee (ConCom) heard you when you said you'd like to know what's going on before the convention. This mailing is going out to anyone who has attended Minicon in the last four years and to those who have requested information on Minicon 32. PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS THE ONLY MAILING YOU WILL RECEIVE IF YOU DO NOT PRE-REGISTER FOR MINICON. After this mailing, monthly updates will be sent out to those who are pre-registered for Minicon 32. These monthly updates will include news about additional guests, programming updates, the latest scoop on entertainers scheduled to perform, and any new features added for Minicon 32. The updates will also include a summary of the monthly planning meetings (see the summary of the June meeting for more information). Minicon is your convention too -- we want your input, and we want to keep you informed about what the ConCom is doing to make sure everyone has a good time. Minicon 101
Minicon is an annual gathering of science fiction and fantasy fans. The convention is held each year over Easter weekend, and for the last several years the main venue has been the Radisson South Hotel in Bloomington, MN. As the con has grown in membership, activities and programming have also been added at L'Hotel Sofitel across the street from the Radisson. Recently the Holiday Inn has been added as the third hotel in the Minicon family.
Minicon returns March 28-30, 1997. What can you expect? Confirmed Guests of Honor so far are author CJ Cherryh and SF radio writer Tom Lopez. The search continues for additional writers and editors. Each guest participates in several panels throughout the convention. There are also readings by many of the guests as well as autograph sessions where the authors will gladly sign your copies of their works.
A major feature of Minicon programming is the variety of fan panels presented each year. Fans (just like you) get together to present a panel or discussion session on just about anything related to fantasy or science fiction or fact. Fond of a certain author or type of fiction? Offer to moderate a panel and see how many other fans show up. And there's room for media-related programming, too. Last year's schedule featured panels about shows like Babylon 5, Star Trek, and X-Files. Volunteer to run a panel on your favorite show -- you might be surprised how many other fans show up!
Okay, so you don't want to sit in on panels all day? Well, stop in the Dealers' Room. Merchandise selections generally include jewelry, period costumes, hard-to-find filk and folk tapes, and enough books and magazines to keep you reading for years. Hungry? Stop by the Con Suite for a variety of munchies. Thirsty? The Con Suite offers soft drinks and various alcoholic beverages (for those age 21 and over). For a good shot of caffeine, try the Dark Star Cafe -- in addition to coffee and tea, the Cafe serves up a variety of talented musical acts for your entertainment pleasure. And then there's Saturday night's Masquerade, one of the highlights of each year's con. Whether you're participating in the contest or just watching, it's a treat to see the fabulous costumes created for Minicon.
Friday and Saturday evenings feature open parties hosted by a variety of fandom groups. Sample some Klingon fare (if you dare), take a chance at Qvark's casino, check out some World Con bid parties, time travel in the Tardis, or wander into an alien world. On Saturday there's Fan Faire, an open gathering of fan clubs in the Garden Court. There are also open gaming events during most of the convention.
Still can't find anything to do? Volunteer! With an attendance of over 3000 people the last few years, there's always something that needs to be done!
Enclosed in this Progress Report are Forms For Just About Everything. First of all, there's the Minicon 32 pre-registration form. Pre-registering is important for a lot of reasons. For one thing, it saves you money. Registration is just $25 for the whole weekend of fun if you register before October 31, 1996. Once you're registered you'll be on the mailing list for these monthly updates. And it really helps the ConCom to have as accurate an idea of what the attendance will be as possible -- though you're still more than welcome at the con if you register at the door (it just costs you more -- $60). For our fandom friends from north of the border, Minicon can accept your registration payment in Canadian dollars. A full adult membership costs $39 Canadian through October 31; a child membership is $19. (These fees reflect the exchange rate and the transaction fee charged by the bank for foreign exchange. To avoid paying this fee, memberships must be purchased in U.S. dollars.)
Other forms include a hotel room reservation request (see the explanation of the hotel policy elsewhere in this mailing), information on how to request art show and dealers' room space, a child care interest survey, masquerade info, and submission information for T-shirt art. There's also a programming form with everything you need to know about getting a panel on the schedule. (Hint, hint: Sign up to run a fan panel!) And, of course, there's the all-important Volunteer form. Minicon needs thousands of volunteer hours to keep everything running, both before and during the convention. Put in eight or more hours and earn a volunteer t-shirt. Minicon needs you!
All the general meetings for Minicon are open to the public. Meetings are held on Sunday afternoons at 2:00 pm at the Radisson South Hotel. The dates for all meetings have been set up to Minicon 32: July 14, August 11, Sept. 8, Oct. 6, Nov. 3, Dec. 1, January 19 (1997), Feb. 2 and 16, March 2 and 16. At least one of these meetings will be held at the Sofitel.
The general format of each meeting will include any new business that has come up and a brief recap from any departments with information relevant to the ConCom as a whole. The rest of the meeting will be dedicated to a discussion of a convention-related topic. Some of the upcoming topics include Volunteers/Hired Help, Hotel Policy, Allocation of Scarce Resources, Local/Special Interest Groups, Garden Court (uses and abuses), Music at Minicon, New Members and Convention Size, Adult Issues, Sanity and Stress, Special Guests, Apprenticeships, and Technology (what does Minicon need/want?). The discussion topic for the meeting on July 14 is "Programming Content." A vote on the theme for Minicon 32 will also be taken at the July meeting.
June's discussion focused on how to implement the solutions for the topics being debated. In general, the department head charged with the actual implementation of the program item or change will make the final decision. This decision is subject to review by the Exec (the co-chairs of the ConCom) who will be responsible for making sure that the decisions follow Minicon and MNStf policy and are within the legal boundaries of state/local regulations as well as any contractual obligations. After open discussion of the day's topic, a poll will be taken of all those attending the meeting. The results of this poll are advisory only, not binding on the department head. If a specific issue requires more in-depth discussion a separate committee, including all the department heads involved in the decision, may be formed.
Everyone is encouraged to participate in these meetings. If you can't attend in person your voice can still be heard. Send your comments by mail to Minicon 32, PO Box 8297, Lake Street Station, Minneapolis, MN, 55408 (USA). Electronic submissions can be sent to request@minicon32.mnstf.org. Please note: You must include your full name and a contact address (e-mail or regular mail) in order for your comments/ suggestions to be included in the discussion at a general meeting.
Results of each meeting's discussion will be posted in several venues. As previously mentioned, this newsletter will be sent to everyone who is registered for the convention. Copies of the newsletter will also be sent to clubs/organizations that have previously participated in Minicon. A brief summary will be submitted to Einblatt (MNStf's monthly newsletter). For those with Internet access, check out the Web pages at http://www.mnstf.org (the official homepage) and there is a general comment/suggestion page at http://www.waste.org/~nawick. If anyone has any other suggestions for communicating Minicon news and policies, please submit them.
Comments and suggestions for the monthly updates may be submitted via the regular or e-mail addresses above, or e-mailed to: updates@minicon32.mnstf.org.
As Department heads for Minicon 32's Programming, Jody, Anna, and myself (Steph) are very excited about working with you and finding ways to implement your programming ideas. We hope the following Programming Mission Statement will assist in generating ideas:
"Programming will focus on science fiction and fantasy literature in order to promote a more robust programming image at, and outside of, Minicon thereby increasing programming's visibility. Special focus will be made on literary criticism, professional writing, hard and soft sciences, as well as the media and fandom."
We have made one rather significant change in our approach this year; instead of speaking of Programming as "Tracks and that other stuff" (other stuff is Krushenkos, main stage, Fan Faire, etc.), we are working with Areas (listed below). At this point, we need themes that fit under the various Area headings, panels for those themes, sub-heads for the Areas (Area Managers), people to moderate those panels, single-person presentations (readings and/or papers, etc.) and chocolate or honey butter (see Anna).
The initial next to each Area is the contact Program Head (J=Jody, A=Anna, S=Steph).
AREAS
Because we hope to have our volunteers lined up by 8/1/96 and our panel topics selected by 11/1/96, a quick response is greatly appreciated (for panel topics, we need suggestions no later than 9/15/96). Please feel free to send your response via email: prog@minicon32.mnstf.org.
US Mail: Minicon PO Box 8297 Lake Street Station Minneapolis, MN 55408
MNStf Hotline: 612.824.5559
Minicon Voicemail: 612.333.7533
E-mail (general): request@minicon32.mnstf.org
Minicon FAQ info@minicon.mnstf.org