HEAR YE, HEAR YE! A Meeting of the Geeks!!!

[mijan]

So, fiona_fawkes  and I are a little bit crazy, but you knew that.  We're in the process of planning a Harry Potter Fandom meetup/gathering/reunion for this October.  Imagine this if you will:

A mini-convention without all the bullshit.  A slightly more mature crowd.  No ridiculous "welcoming feast" with lousy food that makes you wish you'd just gone to the local sushi place instead.  No programming that forces you to get out of bed before noon if you don't want to.  Free hot cooked-to-order breakfasts.  A FREE cocktail hour (actually, it' two hours) each evening.  Every room is a suite, perfect for drabble groups.  A true ROOM BLOCK to ourselves.  NO REGISTRATION FEES.  Just a weekend of food, friends, fandom, and porn.

Sound too good to be true?  Welcome to the Harry Potter Fandom Reunion Relaxacon!  (*Not the actual name of the event.  Feel free to suggest one, if you wish.  A title created while drunk might be best.)

Fiona will be handling the online polling, organizing, and information-gathering.  This includes getting a list of pending attendees (so that we can reserve a room block), helping to organize rideshare groups or transportation from the airport, and taking suggestions for group activities.  A trip to see the HP movie together?  A night of themed room parties?  A pub night?  A trip to the local drag show at our favorite gay bar?  An evening of informal "formal" programming where people do mini round-table presentations in rooms?  What do you want?  Let Fi know!

I'll be handling negotiations with the hotel.  I'm trying to get the following:
- 20% to 30% discount on rooms, maybe more.  I'm going to try for 35%.  Hey, it's my Jewy goodness!
- Free Wi-Fi
- Access to the breakfast area at night to use the tables for larger writing/discussion sessions.
- What else do you want?

I'm going to work to make this as inexpensive for all of us as possible.  The standard price for the rooms is approximately $160.  All of the rooms are suites.  The standard occupancy for each room is 2 people (additional folks are $10 more each, which I'll try to negotiate down), but a double room has two double beds PLUS a pull-out sofa-bed.  All suites come with a microwave and fridge, two flat-screen TV's, a wet bar, and a balcony.

So, without further ado, go to Fiona's post and RSVP!!!
http://fiona-fawkes.livejournal.com/256199.html

We're aiming for Colombus Day weekend, but we're open to suggestions.

Who's coming?  :D

Comments

[vampireanneke.livejournal.com]

Sounds like fun, but I'll have to pass. :( My schedule is already abit full and with Y-con usually in October that's where my time goes. The carpool/ride from the airport however is a nice selling point.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Tis ok. Maybe another time. If this goes well, we'll try to do it again.

[daddybear716.livejournal.com]

I already responded to Fi's post. I will do this if it is the last thing I do! My mission is t obe gainfully employed so I can!

BTW... "Jewy goodness" is always a good thing :-) Why do so few of us get that?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Jewy goodness is a VERY good thing. How many Jewy centers have you experienced? :D

[fiona-fawkes.livejournal.com]

Heh. I got that last night. ;)

[stitchesandlace.livejournal.com]

*SQUEEEEEEE*

I don't think I'll be making it to Azkatraz (unless some miracle falls on my head) because of the distance and cost, so if this ends up happening, it will basically be the greatest thing ever.

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

[mijan.livejournal.com]

YAY! A less expensive option with all our favorite convention activities!!! I really hope you can make it.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I'm the wrong sort of geek for most of this programming, but in my experience, geeks + drag show = win, so if you end up doing that, let me know, I want to come for that.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Will do! You don't need to specifically be a Harry Potter geek for that! And really, while most of the people coming to this know each other through the HP fandom, we're also all involved in other manners of geekery. Some of us are Ren Faire people, some are Rocky Horror addicts, some are die-hard costumers, some belong to other fandoms... the list goes on. While you might not be game for the drabble sessions and round-robin writing fests, you guys would be more than welcomed to join us if we go to the drag show as a group. You should also stop by for the Happy Hour (we can pretend you're in our room or something). Nothing better than a random chance to geek out while enjoying cocktails, yes? :D

[treewishes.livejournal.com]

You know, I'm liking this idea a lot. Hotels are kinda starved these days, and it could work. The minimerlin con in Phillie seems to be a great model -- they're charging everyone $20 to stock the consuite with food/drink, and recruiting room captains to ensure 4 to a room (and then all the rooms become meet-up space), with the lowest cost per person.

I say "maybe" on the poll -- hope it works out!!!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I really hope you can make it!

We're considering turning the non-bedroom part of our suite into a bit of a con-suite with snacks, coffee, and so on. It depends. Fi is organizing that. The only part I'm handling is the hotel negotiations.

[fiona-fawkes.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping to take the parts that we've loved about various cons and meetups in the past and mush them all into one fabulous weekend. I'm hoping to avoid charging any fee at all for simplicity's sake and just relying upon everyone pitching in and bringing goodies for a con suite.

[daddybear716.livejournal.com]

Sort of like the Wrockstock weekend where the 10 of us brought enough food and booze to last for 3 weeks. :-)

[fiona-fawkes.livejournal.com]

*snickers* That's one of the things that worked about that weekend that I was drawing upon, yes.

[artistflop.livejournal.com]

Okay, I've voted. I put down Hellz yeah, despite the fact that I won't know until much closer to the time if we can afford it. PLEASE make it the Long Weekend!!! We have the same Long Weekend, albeit for different reasons!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Oh squee! I hope you can come, too! :D

And I hope we make it the long weekend. It would work best that way.

[lord--voldemort.livejournal.com]

omg, this sounds *amazing!* :D

[mijan.livejournal.com]

You'll come, right? :D

[graspless.livejournal.com]

This sounds pretty freaking cool. Have to figure out if I can manage the costs, but looks promising.
What is the name of your meetup group again?

[fiona-fawkes.livejournal.com]

I was thinking Slasher Family Reunion since this is largely a re-gathering of the friends that we've picked up at cons over the years. But it would hardly be slash-exclusive and most of us have interests in a variety of geeky things so there's certain to be non-HP loves to bond over.

[graspless.livejournal.com]

Meetup group:I was meaning more your KC-based regular meetups that Mijan told me about when we spent time together after the women's moon ritual a few weeks ago.

Despite the lack of slashness on *this* journal, I've been involved in the HP slash community since late '99 or so, so I think I could find something to bond over :)

But, if it is a friends-only event, I will be courteous and bow out.

[fiona-fawkes.livejournal.com]

Oh, that would be the Yahoo group midwest_hp_slash. The bulk of the group is actually from the Chicago area, but we try to plan something for our neck of the woods every few months. And this is certainly not an exclusive event. If you've heard about it, then you can consider yourself invited.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, you definitely have to come to some of the Midwest HP meetups. I don't know if we'll have too many small ones over the summer, but we'll try. And this October meetup will be an amazing event for you to get into things. And I'm sure we can wrangle the costs a bit. Technically, up to six people can fit in a room if the two beds plus the hide-a-bed are used. If I can trim the cost of the rooms down by 30%, it will be very inexpensive per person in a full room.

Plus, because you live in the area, you can absolutely just join us during our activities all day. :D

[lap-otter.livejournal.com]

Permission to bring my kitten along? He would wear a collar, he is not leash-trained but I'm trying, he is litterbox-trained, he's very sweet and affectionate and he would miss me a lot if I went places without him. I just spent two days at my boy's and now kitten won't let me out of his sight.

Hmm. Actually, thinking of that, I should probably email the Azkatraz folks and ask them if I can has a kitten with me.

[fiona-fawkes.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid that's not our permission to grant and I'm pretty sure I saw a no pets policy on the hotel webpage, but I'll double check to be sure.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I know the Embassy Suites absolutely does not allow pets, and I'm going to guess that the San Francisco hotel won't allow them either. And also, the one time I shared a hotel with someone who insisted on bringing her cats, they STANK to high heaven. It was awful - litter box in the bathroom. Really, it's not a good idea. Bringing a cat on an airplane will be much more traumatic to it than missing you for a couple of days.

Really, once your kitten gets a bit older, he won't be as clingy.

[emeraldandazure.livejournal.com]

omg i wish i could come!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Oh noes! Can't come?

[emeraldandazure.livejournal.com]

mo :( i'm all the way in cali. plus, i'm poor. lol.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

*sniffle*

[emeraldandazure.livejournal.com]

D: i know!

-dies a lil inside-

[scarlet-malfoy.livejournal.com]

I am so so so so so there. OMG. I'm just so happy that Azkatraz won't be the last 'con' I'll get to see you guys at.... I can't wait! =)

[mijan.livejournal.com]

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

And just because we aren't going to any more big HP cons doesn't mean we can't have more good large meetups, true?

[scarlet-malfoy.livejournal.com]

Very true. Large meetups are so much more fun than cons, anyway. I can't WAIT for this! =)

[mijan.livejournal.com]

It'll be awesome, I'm sure. I can't wait to see everyone!

[grey-hunter.livejournal.com]

Heh this cries for a true Hermionesque abbreviation.

Of course, I won't be able to come, except if you organise it on a different continent. T-T

[georgeodowd.livejournal.com]

Y'all come to the land of fruits and nuts to hold this con, yo!

(If it were in the San Fran, I would so be there! Travel is, alas, not my strong point.)