What should I expect

[Milissa]

I have been living in the Williamsburg area for a quite a while and
this is the first I have heard of MarsCon. I am a lover of science
fiction and the sort. So I am totally excited to find out about it
even at this late date.

Any advice for a newbie? I have a three year which will be tagging
along.

Any advice?

Thanks,
Milissa E.

[djp2...@gmail.com]

Hi Milissa!

It is so great that you have decided to come. I am not a Con staffer,
just a participant. I have been coming to Marscon for longer than I
can remember-- at least the last ten or twelve. It is a really great
time.

What can you expect? Definitely a warm, inviting atmosphere. We all
check in on friends we only see this once a year, as well as taking
time to make new friends. Definitely NOT a clique event. Don't
expect perfection, as it is run by volunteers. But all do a very
heartfelt, sincere job.

The Con and regulars take family programming seriously, as they have
or are bring their own young children. Mine are 12 and 15, and have
been coming for about four years. I am not sure which they like
better, Christmas or Marscon. If you will be at the main-stage
entertainment, bring hearing protection for your child (Walmart
shooting headset, if not earplugs). Don't bring your children
anywhere near the Rocky Horror showing. But if you have a daughter
who likes to dance, Coyote Run will be a blast.

Try to arrive ahead of peak times to grab parking, which is always
problematic. Check the Con Chair's notes on the web site for the
range of parking options-- all of which will fail to meet the demand,
I am sure.

Free food is available, but you have to compete for it. Taking time
out for solid food in the hotel restaurant or nearby establishments is
a must, especially to keep your child from melting down.

To offer a compressed user's guide: the Con Suite, usually upstairs,
will have free food and drink but is not always open and is rapidly
depleted; the Main Stage is the scene of scheduled entertainment, the
highlights of which are Luna-C and Coyote Run (Cassettes are new this
year); the Gaming room abounds with 4e D&D, SF miniatures, the
Visible Dungeon (walk-up D&D your child will enjoy seeing), etc, and
is located beyond the Main Stage; seminars will be scattered about,
including two rooms dedicated to running videos and to running anime.
Do your pre-planning with the gaming and programming schedules from
the web site, so you don't wear yourself and your child out too
much.

If you like to shop, bring money. Prices are "list price" for the
most part, unlike anime cons. The range of goodies runs from celtic
pewter jewlery to board games, RPG's, dice, and miniatures, to rare SF
paperbacks, to hand-made plushies and gear, to anime music and video,
to SF fandom stickers, collectibles, and figures. A good place to
find random and rare stuff that is not in stores. Vendors come from
DC, NY, and MD, among others.

Things are slow to start on Saturday; things are slower to start on
Sunday, then folks drag themselves around a bit and head for the
parking lot in the early afternoon.

Please don't feel that you are finding out too late to join the fun.
You are right on time!

David P