BristolCon 2021

[Ursa major]

I see that BristolCon 2021 is (presumably provisionally) scheduled for October the 30th (and at the usual venue), with the guests of honour named as Anna Smith Spark and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

I see that, on the Attendance list, two bears have already booked to go (the cheek of it: it isn't meant to be a picnic...), so I'm tempted to book a ticket myself.

Speaking of which.... Reduced attendance fees are available until the end of May (and it costs more again if one pays "at the door" on the day).


Not being officially (or unofficially) connected to the event (other than as an attendee at previous BristolCons), or indeed the owner of a crystal ball, I have no idea if the event will take place as planned, but I'm hoping it will... and I can't resisit a bargain.

 

[Pyan]

Thae website is a bit short on detail - looks as if they tried to amend last years, but missed some bits. I'm probably in, though, as it's fairly close.

I see that, on the Attendance list, two bears have already booked to go (the cheek of it: it isn't meant to be a picnic...), so I'm tempted to book a ticket myself.

Yes, but they're common bears, without your rich Latinate nomenclature...

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

Just tried to find out about it.

For me - maybe I had the wrong thing - I had to supply an email address to get further.

Not for me then. If they can't give out general info without the fear of spam then ...

 

[Abernovo]

it looks like memberships are closed at present. The existing names are most likely those people who'd bought memberships for last year, and took the option of moving the membership to this year after 2020 had to be cancelled.

Memberships have to be bought through the portal, which at the moment seems not to be open. I also have no connection to BristolCon, other than attending. So long as it goes on, I should be attending.

 

[Ursa major]

Memberships have to be bought through the portal, which at the moment seems not to be open.

I'll break the habit of a lifetime ( ) and leave it to the very end of May to see if tickets are avaialble.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I think it’s very touch and go - most cons are struggling to know if they can run this year partly because of low membership sales since no one knows how things will pan out. Says the slightly frazzled con-chair.

 

[Serendipity]

The attendance list as it currently stands were people who bought their BristolCon membership at 2019 BristolCon for the 2020 BristolCon and are having their membership carried forward to the 2021 BristolCon.

The hotel has been booked for Bristolcon 2021 at the same place on October 30th. Whether or not BristolCon will go ahead in person this year is dependent on what happens with the pandemic situation. A decision will be made nearer the time, but I understand that planning for an in person BristolCon 2021 is going ahead for now.

 

[Serendipity]

BristolCon 2021 Memberships are now open - details Memberships NOW on sale!

 

[Mon0Zer0]

Oooh, I'm only down the road so I might go to this! Ah hang on - is that the same weekend as MCM London?

 

[Abernovo]

Yay! Ticket bought!

Thanks for the update, @Serendipity. It will be lovely to hopefully see everyone again, even with masks. I'm newly double vaccinated, and that's been a huge relief.

 

[Serendipity]

Questionnaires are being sent out to signed up participants to have their say in what they want to see at BristolCon 2021.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

Do you need to be a member to attend? What about exhibiting there? It's in my neck of the woods so I'd love to go down as it's rare that I'm not at MCM London on that weekend in October.

 

[Serendipity]

Details can be found at their membership portal here.

 

[Abernovo]

I filled in my questionnaire. There were some good ideas in there.

 

[Ursa major]

I didn't wait until the last minute to join this year's BristolCon (which I did successfully)...

...which may be just as well, as the following can be found on the Home page (with my bolding):

Despite all that’s going on, we are pleasantly surprised by the number of members who have signed up for this year’s convention featuring Guests of Honour Anna Smith Spark and Adrian Tchaikovsky. Whilst we would love to see as many lovely people as possible to celebrate our first post lockdown gathering, we are keen to minimise any infection risk.


To this end, we have reluctantly made the decision to cap our membership and remove the facility to register on the day. Once the cap is reached, we will close down on-line registrations.


Whilst we accept that this may be disappointing for some, safety is our uppermost concern. To support those who cannot attend, you can watch one of our panel rooms on YouTube, view our virtual art rooms, and join in the conversation on Discord. All for free – so look out for our announcements over the coming days.


Please do not attend if you are feeling unwell or have been in contact with a confirmed case of infection. We recommend that attendees complete a lateral flow test ahead of the weekend.

 

[Abernovo]

I got my ticket, and booked a room. Too far to be messing around trying to get the last train back.

I saw the update. Not really surprised. I think it's the right thing to do.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

Again fairly useless information on the web site - like when it is - how long it lasts - where it's held.

You know the basic stuff.

If they can't organise that on their web site it doesn't sound promising for the actual event.

So far the only info I've seen is provisional 30th Oct from @Ursa major above.

If that's the case then it will clash with Halloween when most folk in the rest of the country would prefer not to be traveling.

 

[Ursa major]

I suspect that lots of people would like an excuse not to be around during the ghastly Give-Me-A-Treat nonsense, and travelling would do the... er... trick. Not that a 1-day event held on the 30th of October would have much effect on something that happens on the evening of the 31st of October.


As it happens, I tend to travel up the day before -- the trains between the two largest conurbations in the South West not being up to delivering me on time without me getting up at a ridiculous hour, in spite of the venue being a stone's throw from Bristol Temple Mead station -- and return home on Saturday evening.

Being there on Friday evening has the benefit that I can either attend readings of people's stories (I'm not sure if that'll happen this time) or give a (not particularly helpful) hand with some of the preparations. (Okay, I'll admit that the main benefit is having an excuse to eat a very large English breakfast of the sort I'd never cook myself. )

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Again fairly useless information on the web site - like when it is - how long it lasts - where it's held.

You know the basic stuff.

If they can't organise that on their web site it doesn't sound promising for the actual event.

So far the only info I've seen is provisional 30th Oct from @Ursa major above.

If that's the case then it will clash with Halloween when most folk in the rest of the country would prefer not to be traveling.

There is traditionally a convention over the Hallow'een period - World fantasy convention was held over Hallow'een in 2021. It's cheaper to get venues over holiday weekends, and most conventions are run on shoestrings - especially after 2 years of being on hold. Looks like they need a website volunteer (since it's always volunteers, and most conventions struggle to get enough to cover every function) - fancy a job?!

 

[Ursa major]

As it happens, I tend to travel up the day before -- the trains between the two largest conurbations in the South West not being up to delivering me on time without me getting up at a ridiculous hour, in spite of the venue being a stone's throw from Bristol Temple Mead station -- and return home on Saturday evening.

I forgot to mention that I drive there as: 1) the trains take a long time and at inconvenient times; 2) parking is limited, so being there early (the best part of a day early) makes all the difference.