This Labor Day Weekend: Not-A-Worldcon!

[gerisullivan]

Not-A-Worldcon
A weekend of fannish frivolity and touristy fun in Massachusetts
Labor Day weekend — September 2-5, 2005

It’s Labor Day weekend. A Worldcon-free Labor Day weekend. Some fans are headed west for the NASFiC, or in other directions, for other conventions. Some fans will no doubt be headed to the Minnesota State Fair for pickle hats and food-on-a-stick. But we have something different in mind. Not a convention: a weekend of parties and group outings to various tourist attractions in the area. Please join us for Not-A-Worldcon. We'll be going to Wales, Sterling, Rutland, Framingham, Middleton, Ipswich, Boston, and perhaps Worcester, too.

Please come to as many (or as few) Not-A-Worldcon activities that interest you and fit into your schedule.



Friday, September 2, 2005

Toad Woods – a casual evening of welcoming out-of-state visitors and whoever wanders in from Massachusetts, too. Starting time, oh, 7ish.


Saturday, September 3, 2005
Points West

9:30-noon
Toast Party at Toad Woods

1 pm ’til you find your way out
SuperHero Maize Maze
Sterling, MA
(Note: ALWAYS Call ahead – Only open weather & conditions permitting. 978-422-8888)

OR (if raining, or you just want to go there)
Higgins Armory
Worcester, MA

After being thoroughly aMAZEd wherever we were, if we have time, we’ll go watch the buffalo roam (and eat them?) at:
Alta Vista Bison Farm
Rutland, MA

7 pm
Potluck BBQ at Mark & Priscilla Olson's
Framingham, MA

The Best of Wines? The Worst of Wines?
Taste Leslie Turek's ancient wines at Mark & Priscilla's, if you dare. Some of them may be drinkable; no guarantees.


Sunday, September 4
North Shore

11 am
Brunch at Deb Geisler & Mike Benveniste's
Middleton, MA

Afternoon
Russell’s Orchard
Ipswich, MA
Homemade cider donuts, winery, and more. Maybe even a hayride.

Shortly after 3pm
Crane Beach
Ipswich, MA

Evening
DIY Dinner Expeditions in and around Ipswich

Afters
Richardson’s Ice Cream
Middleton, MA


Monday, September 5, 2005
Boston

Noonish
Picnic Lunch on Georges Island
Boston Harbor Islands
Ferry departs from Long Wharf, at the foot of State Street.
Download ferry schedule

Go Fly a Kite!
Geri is bringing three kites to the picnic, all of the sort you’d find in dime stores if there still were any. If you have a kite, please bring it along!

3 pmish
New England Aquarium
Central Wharf, Boston, MA

Evening
DIY Dinner Expeditions in Boston

A PDF with the 4-part harmony is available here. The links in the PDF will lead you to more information about the Not-A-Worldcon venues. Also available at long last: Directions to Toad Woods! It's also a PDF. HTML directions to come eventually, though probably not before Not-A-Worldcon.

Please comment here or send email to NotAWorldcon@toad-hall.com with your questions. RSVPs welcome; knowing how many people are likely to come will help with planning, and if you mention plans to come to specific events, we'll know to look for you there.

“Worldcon,” “NASFiC,” and “WSFS” are service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.

Not-A-Worldcon is a SMOTHRA event, held in the tradition of Dullcon, Dellcon, Not-A-D-Cons, and Not-A-ReinCONation. It is not affiliated with WSFS beyond any personal memberships in and keen regard for the Society that certain members of SMOTHRA may, upon occasion, hold.

Comments

[elaine-brennan.livejournal.com]

Sounds just lovely!

[ckd]

The 6th comes before the 5th this year?

[asimovberlioz.livejournal.com]

I still remember Dellcon, which you semi-organized, as one of the funnest vacations in my life.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Regrets. We're going back to France.

K.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Oops. Typo. Quick check of printed flyer and other online venues. Whew; looks like it was just here. Fixed now. Thanks. :-)

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Oh, lovely!

fmsv and I still laugh over "...and a half to harvest the beaver," which stemmed from the group reading of histerical markers that originated at Dullcon, and carried through to the Dellcon trip. I remember the fun of looking for the tackiest souvenirs in the Wisconsin Dells, and my crogglement that a mushroom burger could be topped with a mountain of...canned mushrooms. Oh, the indignity!

Good times, good memories. I'm hoping for more of the same from Not-A-Worldcon.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Have a wonderful time there. Hope you'll write all about it; I loved reading your posts from your last extended stay in France. We'll miss you here -- hope you can make it out for a party or visit sometime in the not-too-distant.

[asimovberlioz.livejournal.com]

Took me only a few seconds to figure out who fmsv is from the list of interests.

One of my memories from Dellcon was the round-robin story we wrote, including a line from Doug Hoylman about Otto Palindrome getting out of his car, which was A Toyota. Oh, and the honey butter!

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

You know, you could come. And maybe bring wossname, if he's behaving himself. :-)

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

My Not-A-Worldcon invite has a bat stamp! A cute, fuzzy, wee little, Eastern Red Bat. You are so thoughtful. Thanks!

In the spirit of Not-a-Worldcon...

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

...a subsidiary of SMOTHRA is pleased to present the Not-the-Hugo Awards, to be announced with some fanfare at the fan faire we call the Not-a-Worldcon Banquet, held on Georges Island, Massachusetts sometime around 1 p.m. on Monday, 5 September 2005.

The ballot is available as an Adobe PDF at the following location:

http://www.smofs.com/NotTheHugos.pdf

Balloting closes on 31 August 2005, to give us the opportunity to i/n/v/e/n/t/ calculate the results. Voting is open to anybody who can read the PDF.

Please note that, although this ballot contains the six categories we came up with, other categories that are interesting, witty, and not flameful may be included as you think them up. If they're wicked pisser (get used to it -- that's how Bostonians talk), we might include them.

It is believed that the awards ceremony will be very brief, since we don't expect any of the winners to turn up (unless we're wicked lucky), and people attempting long speeches will be squirted with ketchup.

Here's hoping your end-of-summer festivities, whether in the Seattle, Boston, Glasgow, or Capetown (or wherever you hang your propeller beanie) areas are wonderful!

Deb Geisler
Not a Not-a-Worldcon chairman, or any other kind, either.

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

Heh. Mine had a wild turkey on. Someone spent too much time sorting stamps, you ask me.

(At least it wasn't a flamingo. Thank ya, Geri!)

Re: In the spirit of Not-a-Worldcon...

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

Someone was passing this around last night, so the ideas are percolating already in several brains smarter than mine.

BTW, I have had tremendous fun at more than one of these weekend thingies ringled by Geri. Would that I could make it to this year's!