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Escapade Website is Open

The Escapade website (www.escapadecon.net) is now open, and chock full of good stuff like:

– Convention dates: February 25-27, 2011
– Online convention registration available now
– Online hotel reservations available now
– Registration raffle (Prizes! Oh my!)

What, a raffle, you say? Yes, we want *everyone* to fill out our new improved registration form so that we have all your current contact and fandom information, the better to serve you. What’s in it for you? Fabulous prizes tailored as closely as possible to the fandoms you indicate you’re passionate about (we’ve added a questionnaire to the reg form), and the opportunity to choose a badge name that you¹d like others on the website to see. We’ll choose a small number of winners (more than 2, less than 10) from those who fill out the reg form by midnight next Friday. You can’t win if you don’t reg!

Already registered at the convention? Not to worry. We want you to fill out the reg form, too. Just select Partial Payment, and enter 0 for amount paid. When we get your reg form, we’ll send you a separate payment confirmation email. Note: payment confirmations are NOT automated, they may lag a day or two.

Public list of badge names! Feedback from the 2010 Escapade Review panel suggested that the list of who’s coming to Escapade is the best tool fans have to entice their friends to come. So we’re adding a link to this list on the homepage, without password protection. We figure in this day and age, if you don’t want your name on the ‘net, you’ve already gone underground. If we’re wrong, that¹s another great reason to enter the raffle by filling out a new reg form; you¹ll get a chance to update your badge name to whatever you use online.

We’re looking forward to Escapade’s 21st birthday!

The Escapade Team (info@escapadecon.net)

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Escapade 2011 Dates and Details

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to the Escapade dates and venue survey; it has resulted in us selecting February 25-27, 2011 to satisfy the desires of the most attendees. Some feedback guided us to look at other venues, which we did, but none meet our needs; those that come closest don’t offer anywhere near the prices or accommodations that the Crowne Plaza does, so at least for Escapade’s 21st, we will continue at the Crowne Plaza.

We are finalizing the website updates this week, and expect to open it to users (and online registration) this Friday, July 9. We’ll let you know as soon as it’s available.

For our U.S. members and friends (and others who celebrate it), have a great holiday,

The Escapade Team

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Internet Access in Hotel (via postie)

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The previous information from the hotel about internet access was WRONG. At the front desk, they¹ll give you a ³user based code² for the wifi in the hotel. The code is Plaza1331. So, when you open your browser, hit the ³user based code² button, then enter this code, and you¹ll have access.

Sorry for the confusion,

–Jenn

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Last-minute Convention Details (via postie)

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Packing for Escapade: Be sure to bring a jacket. The forecast is chilly (high from 60-65) with a chance of rain. Bring walking shoes if that¹s your thing. There¹s a great promenade that runs along the beach, and we¹re planning at least one beach walk (on the sand) for those who like that sort of thing. Also, we¹re inviting all fan pairs (for those who even remember what that means) to bring a matching outfit to wear to the party on Friday night.

Wireless Internet at the Convention Hotel: As a part of our contract, wireless internet is complimentary for Escapade attendees who stay at the hotel. However, the hotel doesn¹t have a good system for this. So when you access the Œnet, it will tell you you¹re going to be charged. However, when you check out, the cost will be deleted from your bill. Make sure they do it!

Parking: Again, as part of our contract, parking is free, but only in the City garage (adjacent to the hotel). If you park in the hotel lot, they¹ll charge you a daily rate (I think it¹s $10/day, but don¹t quote me).

Early registration will be available in the con suite (on the 11th floor) on Thursday evening from 8 pm ­ 9:30. Before that time, the voodoo message board will be set up outside the con suite for ease of contacting your friends. You¹re welcome to show up at the con suite early, if you¹re willing to pitch in with convention prep.

Vid Equipment: In the Alt Programming/Video room, we¹ll have a flatscreen monitor/TV hooked to a combo DVD/VCR player. It can also accept VGA input from your computer, if you have one. If you¹re going to show video for your panel, please plan accordingly. In the con suite, there will be a DVD player connected for group viewing. The TVs in the normal guest rooms do not accept DVD input, unless you have the super-secret security key-thingy. (Shh, ask Melina, she knows.)

Farmers Market: There¹s a wonderful local farmers market on Saturday morning. It¹s about 2 blocks from the hotel, and well worth the walk for the excellent and healthy food.

FYI: We were contacted last week by a freelance reporter who wanted a press pass to attend Escapade so he could write an article for the LA Times. We declined his request. However, we would appreciate your thoughts on the subject. Please give the idea some thought this weekend, and then express yourself on the comments form on Sunday.

We¹re looking forward to seeing you!

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Massage! (via postie)

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Those of you who have been coming to Escapade for 10 years or more may remember Nicola, who provided massage services to Escapade members in years gone by. She has moved to northern California, but may be back in the area next weekend. She¹d love to offer massage again, if there are folks who want it. As a longtime friend of the convention, she would offer a discount rate of $45/hour, and could provide up to 4 massages per day.

If you¹d be interested in scheduling a massage, please drop me an email at jennifer@escapadecon.net. If anyone remembers getting massage from Nic in days gone by, feel free to share your memories. 🙂

–Jenn

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Escapade history, yay! (via postie)

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Coming up on 20 years of this party, we¹re doing our part to document the history of Escapade. You can check out (and add things) to the Escapade page at Fanlore: http://fanlore.org/wiki/Escapade. There are now sub-pages for each year of the convention, where Ellie has uploaded and linked PDFs of the program books for the first 10 years of the convention. More coming soon! We¹re also fleshing out the vid show info that someone else (maybe Rache?) started loading. So far, we have the vid lists for: 1994, 1999, 2001, and 2003-2009. Again, more coming soon.

We will also have an opportunity at the convention for you to record your memories of Escapades past. Please bring your best stories to share!

–Jenn