Norwescon 35 January 27 Newsletter

• Norwescon 35 April 5-8, 2012 SeaTac, WA

Norwescon eNewsletter January 2012

In This Issue

Registration
ATTENTION! New Hotel policy...
Maxi's Venue
News from Programming
Still seeking Volunteers
Special Event News
Norwescon 35 GoH Awards Banquet

PreRegistration (a.k.a. membership)

A full-weekend membership is $65 until February 29, 2012. This represents a 7% reduction in the at-the-door price (assuming we don't sell-out in advance). Membership includes the right to attend the convention, a membership badge, souvenir book, pocket program, member's guide, and post-con report.

Register via PayPal

For more information, or to register by mail go to the membership page

New Room Deposit Policy!

A change is coming in the way we reserve rooms for Norwescon. It is a significant change for our members but we believe it will help us make more convention rooms available for our members at the cheaper convention rate.

Starting with Norwescon 36, we have asked the DoubleTree to collect a one-night room deposit when the room is first reserved. This deposit will remain fully refundable until 90 days before the convention, which for next year would be Friday, December 28, 2012. By agreement with the hotel, all rooms cancelled by this date will be returned to the room block and made available for reservation by other Norwescon members.

Read more....

Norwescon Secures Maxi's Venue

Norwescon 35, in conjunction with the DoubleTree by Hilton Seattle Airport, is pleased to announce that Maxi's Lounge will be open Friday and Saturday nights for the exclusive use of Norwescon 35 attendees. Maxi's will provide a new and exciting space for all attendees over 21 (with ID and Norwescon badge) to drink, eat, dance and hang out. It will be open both Friday and Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. As with any bar, you must be recognizable as the person you your ID - no masks or feature-obscuring makeup.

We have two nights of exciting activities and entertainment lined up for you. Get on the first elevator you can, take it all the way to the top, and join us at Maxi's Lounge for an evening you will never forget!

If you want to do more than just come to Maxi's Lounge and have fun, we have openings for assistant coordinators to help set up and run the fun events being held in Maxi's Lounge. We are also looking for DJs to light up the dance floor. If you are interested in these positions or you just have some great ideas, please contact us at vicechair@norwescon.org

Quick Links

Hotel
Memberships
Volunteers

Join Our Mailing List

This Year's Guests of Honor

Stephen Baxter - Writer Guest of Honor
John Picacio - Artist Guest of Honor
Bridget Landry - Science Guest of Honor
DAW Books - Spotlight Publisher

read more . . .

Exciting news from Programming!

We're just wrapping up the scheduling frenzy in Programming for Nowescon 35. Our goal, as always: to educate, entertain, and inspire our membership!

New this year, we've got a 3-hour block on Friday morning with a bunch of historical weapons and armor experts. They'll show you all kinds of cool ways to cause mayhem, and let you look with your hands, not just your eyes.

Also new this year - a very cool hands-on demonstration of hovering aircraft.

The Friday Night Stitch & Bitch session will include a fabric swap this year - bring that fabric that you're not sure you'll ever use, and take home something that inspires you.

For the writers, we have two writing workshops this year: First Pages, in which participants submit the first 250 words of their story or novel ahead of time, and our pro writers give pointers, and the fanfiction "Write a Crossover Fic in 90 Minutes" workshop. If you like to draw, don't forget to bring your sketchbook: Once again, we'll have an hour long demo, followed by two hours of life drawing, with models in costume for you to draw.

Feeling a little stressed out? The Monster Mash is back - you can dismember cute, cuddly stuffed animals, and re-assemble them into nightmares and horrors. Or play a round of "Who Would Win?" with our Gaming pros. Geek, Geek - Don't Tell Me! Also returns, to test your knowledge of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Norwescon's amazing "Let's Make a Movie" workshop is back, too - bringing film mayhem to the Pacific Northwest for the 13th year.

Norwescon's Music program is also expanding. If you like music, and you're a geek, you won't want to miss the evening concert series. Also, up in the Salon on Saturday, we'll be holding an Irish Session (don't know what that is? Come on up to find out!), and a variety of musicians will be bringing instruments for you to try out. Find your muse, and perhaps give a short performance at Cascadia's Got Talent, Norwescon's own talent show/variety show/gong show. Last year, winners were treated to exciting and unusual prizes.

Of course, there are tons of panels, presentations, and slide shows to attend, and more is being added every day. With over 300 hours of panels, there's sure to be something for everyone.

Seeking Volunteers

We keep saying it. The success of Norwescon is because of the volunteers.

Volunteers enjoy many perks like priority seating at the popular Masquerade, prizes, and more!

We'd love to see new faces within our Convention Committee (ConCom)!

Volunteer ConCom Position - Assistant Webmaster

Norwescon is looking for an assistant webmaster. This person would back-up our current webmaster and would also be tasked with developing a Norwescon History sub domain which will provide a sustainable way to keep Norwescon's history on the web without having to keep entire sites archived from previous years. If you have experience designing websites and this eight-month volunteer opportunity sounds like a good fit for you please contact publications@norwescon.org.

If you can't spare the time pre-convention to help, but have spare time while you're at the convention, volunteer! If you know you'll have time in advance, let our Volunteer department know by emailing volunteers@norwescon.org.

Special Events News

Sunday!!! Sunday!!! Sunday!!!

Our Sunday Special Event will be action-packed! Come join us for Muggle Quidditch! Since most of us are not wizards, we'll be forced to play on the ground, but that won't stop us from catching the Snitch and having a great time! Rules will be adapted for indoor play from the International Quidditch Association's rulebook. We will have sign-ups in advance, so feel free to contact Special Events if you want to captain a team or have questions.

MASQUERADE

Get ready, set, SEW! I hope you are all preparing for the Masquerade! Get your costumes and skits together and come join us! There are several categories and the rules are online at the website. Show us what you can do!

DANCES

We will have four dances at the Con this year, including a special Under 21 dance for our younger attendees! Song request forms are available online, so go request your favorites!

Norwescon 35 GoH Awards Banquet

Tickets are selling fast! Secure yours now.

Start off your Norwescon with our Guest of Honor and awards banquet. It will take place on Thursday, April 5 from 5 - 7 p.m. The event is open to all Norwescon members.

We have several awards to present and you will get to hear first hand from our honored guests and learn something about many of the exciting events that will take place over the weekend. Come and learn about the scholarships Norwescon is donating and perhaps you will even win a door prize! This year we have a delicious Italian Buffet that you won't want to miss. Tickets are $40.00 per person and are going fast. You may purchase tickets through PayPal or by mail. Registration forms can be downloaded from the website. Tickets are limited, the price at con will also be $40.00 but there may not be any tickets left when you get there. Hurry and reserve your place now.

Will you join us in Grand Ballroom 2 for a delicious dinner you get to wine and dine with the Guests of Honor. What a great way to start off your Norwescon weekend!

Click here for the banquet menu or to pay online

Norwescon is a science, science fiction and fantasy convention that takes place on Easter Weekend each year. We are an all-volunteer organization and always have room for more dedicated volunteers. Without members, though, there would be no reason to hold a convention; thank you for your support.

Norwescon - PO Box 68547 - Seattle, Washington 98168