Minicon 41

Minicon 41 is over. These pages remain as a historical record. Please contact [archivist |at| mnstf |dot| org] with any questions or comments. See the main Minicon page for information about this year's Minicon.

There are also links in the sidebar to pages with more useful information-- we couldn't fit everything on a single page!

News

Need to contact us? Don't send us email! By now your best bet is probably to track us down at the convention hotel or via phone as many of the department heads will be at the hotel Thursday - Monday and few of us will be checking email (fewer still, if any, will be checking email with any regularity). The information on this site should give you some idea who'll be where when. If you aren't at Minicon, you can call the Sheraton Bloomington and try asking to speak with someone with Minicon.

New to Minicon or science fiction fandom? Watch for informational "neo notes" on this page and elsewhere on our site.

Wondering where things are located at Minicon 41? There will be a map in the pocket program, but if you want to know right now, you can check out these maps: Minicon 41 - First Floor | Minicon 41 - 2nd Floor.

Useful PDA Stuff
Dean Gahlon has written excellent Palm programs for keeping track of program items and room parties at conventions, those programs available from his Palm software website. And he now has data for Minicon 41 programming available to download from his "program notes" program page.

WiFi, Internet, all that jazz
Internet access is available at the Sheraton via ethernet in the rooms or wifi in some public spaces, it costs $4.95 per hour, $9.95 per day or $24.95 for three days; this stuff can be charged to your room (if you access using ethernet in your room). If you really need access in function rooms, that's a separate system and you'll need to talk to someone at the front desk about that.

There is a Livejournal community for Minicon 41 (comments and conversation before, during, and after the convention) at

minicon41. Late breaking news will be posted there. There will be a Livejournal room party at Minicon on Saturday night (watch the Livejournal, naturally, for details).

Please tag posts/photos as "minicon41"
Do you have a weblog or online journal? Or do you post photos to Flickr or some other photo site? Be sure to tag anything you post about Minicon 41 (or the Harlan Ellison event) as "minicon41" so then we can all watch the Technorati page for that tag and see what everyone's saying (or which pictures they've put online). Um, so far this isn't working so well, if anyone has any advice, pester Laurel.

Notes on the Dead Dog and Dead Dessicated Dodo parties have been added to the timeline.

Hotel Shuttles
Shuttles from Hotel to Airport run every hour on the half hour from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Shuttles from Airport to Hotel run every hour on the hour from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

From Hotel to Mall of America, shuttles run every two hours (more or less):
9:30 a.m, 11:30 a.m, 1:30 p.m, 3 p.m, 5 p.m, 7 p.m, 9 p.m.
From Mall of America to Hotel, shuttles run every two hours (more or less):
10:15 a.m, 12:15 a.m, 2:15 p.m, 3:30 p.m, 5:30 p.m, 7:30 p.m, 9:30 p.m.

These shuttle times are "subject to change" so if you want to be sure, check with the front desk or bell service. Printouts with the schedule are available at the front desk or from the concierge.

Programming
The tentative programming schedule is now available from the programming page. Schedule for readings and signings has been posted to the Minicon41 Livejournal.

Minicon 41 shirts are black with art by GoH John Picacio on the front. Here are the front (clean artwork), the front (photo of a shirt) and the back:

Here is the program book in several formats. Note that the Harlan Ellison photos have been removed. This is because we (that is, the current MNSTF archivist) does not want to try to tempt fate by asking Harlan about his copyright on them.

The pocket program is what most people actually look at during the convention. Here's a PDF.

Except as noted below, The Minicon 41 Program Book is by The Minnesota Science Fiction Society, Laramie Sasseville, or Dave Romm (as indicated internally) and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. The Metropolis 1927 art is believed to be public domain. Art by John Picacio is © John Picacio and reproduced here by permission. Harlan Ellison bio is not credited, but is likely © Harlan Ellison. Beware. John Picacio photographer is unknown; if you're the cautious type, assume it is © someone and reproduced here by permission. Art by James Kuehl is © James Kuehl and reproduced here by permission. Advertisements are property of the advertisers. (I know this is a long list of exceptions, but I swear there's still a fair bit left when you get to the end.)

The Minicon 41 Progress Reports 1 and 2 are by The Minnesota Science Fiction Society and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Volunteer to help out during Minicon week; read all about what is happening when/where and what kind of help we need.

Hotel
Rooms are still available at the Sheraton if you haven't yet made a reservation, please visit the hotel page for more information. You can also show up and get a room (by checking at the front desk), but you may need to track down Greg Ketter to get them to give you the Minicon rate.

Registration
Pre-registration has closed, memberships will be available at the door for $55 for the weekend ($15 for children age 6-12). Not sure if you've registered? Find out (you can also see who else has already registered). There also will be single-day memberships available on Friday and Saturday (see the Registration page for details).

Timeline

Noon on Friday, April 14th - Registration opens, will run 'til 10 p.m. on Friday night. Registration will also be open 10 a.m. 'til 8 p.m. on Saturday.

3 p.m. on Friday, April 14th - Art Show and Dealers' Room open, first programming item begins.

4 p.m. on Friday, April 14th - Consuite officially opens and there is much rejoicing.

7 p.m. on Friday - Opening Ceremonies. Minicon 41 officially begins, guests of honor are introduced, announcements are made, the Usual.

And then, well, all sorts of stuff happens. You can read all about that elsewhere.

After Closing Ceremonies on Sunday (they start at 3 p.m. and run 'til they're over), we'd love volunteers to help start taking down the consuite and doing other important things. We often have the hardest time finding volunteers to help us do post-con stuff and that's really when we need volunteers the most (as we're usually pretty wiped out by then). So stick around or come back on Sunday afternoon and evening to help out. We also always need help on Monday during the day, too.

The Dead Dog Party will be on Sunday night at the hotel somewhere (consuite area is probably a safe bet).

[Neo note: the "dead dog party" is the traditional party that occurs after the convention is officially over while some folks are still around. People are generally fairly low key or tired. This is the party where we consume any leftovers and tend to end up talking a lot about the convention-- what worked, what didn't, what we should do next year. It may be in some ways an unofficial post-mortem. Since this is a Minicon Dead Dog Party, there is usually also music and much silliness.]

The Dead Dessicated Dodo Party will be Monday night, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Dean Gahlon & Laura Krentz (4323 France Ave S, Minneapolis, MN). We encourage any out-of-towners who are still in town to stop by, as well as any volunteers who haven't yet passed out (or are newly fresh after a Monday afternoon nap).

[Neo note: Um, it's a Minn-StF/Minicon thing. Sometimes also referred to as the "dead dead dog party" or "really really dead dog party," but usually there's a Dodo mentioned since the proverbial dog has already been through enough already. This party doesn't usually last nearly so late as the Sunday night party, often because people have to work the next day or are simply worn out.]

Hours of Operation

Minicon runs continually from 3 p.m. on Friday until Closing Ceremonies end on Sunday (4 p.m. or so). But some events/rooms/whatever have more finite hours of operation.

Art Show & Dealers' Room Hours
Friday: 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m; art auction at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

[Neo note: Obviously you'll find art in the art show; some of it is simply for display, other items are available for purchase or are up for auction. The Dealers' Room is where you'll find merchants selling books, movies, music, t-shirts, jewelry, toys, comic books, and all sorts of cool stuff.]

Consuite Hours
Will open at 4 p.m. on Friday and run continually throughout the convention.

[Neo note: the "consuite" is a hospitality suite where you'll find snacks, drinks, and even sometimes "real food." It's a great place to hang out when you aren't busy checking out other stuff, it's also a good place to re-fuel. Just don't count on the consuite for all your dietary needs!]

Programming Hours
The first program item on Friday starts at 3 p.m., the last event of the day is scheduled to end at 11:15 p.m..
The first item on Saturday starts at 10 a.m., the last item ends at 12:15 a.m..
The first item on Sunday starts at 10 a.m., Closing Ceremonies will likely conclude at or around 4:15 p.m..

Green Room Hours (more or less)
Friday: 2 p.m. to 11:45 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 12:45 a.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

[Neo note: "Programming" refers to panel discussions, readings, signings, and other scheduled events at a convention. The "Green Room" is a room where folks who are on panels gather to prepare; if you aren't on a panel you don't really need to know about it unless you're volunteering there.]

Registration Hours
Thursday: 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Friday: Noon - 10 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Registration will be located near the ballroom and coat check on the second floor. And for the rest of the convention, the Registration table will be in the short/north tower atrium.

The Volunteers Table will be located near Registration and will likely have the same or very similar hours of operation.

[Neo note: Registration is where you pick up your badge and program book and other useful stuff and check in if you're pre-registered; this is also where you go if you need to purchase a membership or convert a supporting membership. If you'd like to volunteer to help at the convention, stop by the nearby Volunteers table.]