netmouse | Detroit in 2014 NASFiC Bid

A group of us, led by

tammylc, are putting together a bid for the 2014 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) to come to Detroit in 2014. Specifically, July 17-20, 2014, at the Detroit Marriott at Renaissance Center. This is almost a month before the Worldcon will be held in London.

The NASFiC might have the honor of hosting the Chesley Awards that year, so I'm excited about the prospect of applying what I learned working on the Art @ Renovation project about how to engage artists with the convention to have a fabulous celebratory Chesleys night as well as strong art programming and art show.

In general, however, our theme is Driving the Future, and we will be focusing on technology and innovation, something particularly appropriate to Detroit, we think.

You can see what further details we have so far enumerated at our facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/Detroitin2014, especially this note, which was basically the text of our first flier.

The bid (which Tammy started partly due to much encouragement at Chicon) did a soft launch at Fencon and is intending to more formally launch the weekend of Windycon. Between now and then I'm helping produce content for the website.

I was thinking a useful item for the website might be frequently asked questions list (with answers), and we have in fact already been asked a few, but I wanted to invite folks to ask more here, or otherwise let me know what information you think a NASFiC bid website should include.

It's different than a convention website - everything is prospective; a vote will be held at Lonestarcon 3 to determine the NASFiC site. There is one other competing bid at this time, for Phoenix, two weeks before the worldcon.

So... Questions?

UPDATED to reflect Mitch Bentley's comments below, indicating that ASFA has not yet decided where the Chesley Awards will be held in 2014.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I am curious who told you NASFiC was definitely going to be the host for the 2014 Chesley Awards? To the best of my knowledge, that decision has yet to be made.

ASFA President,
Mitchell Bentley

Oh dear! We didn't mean to presume, and I'm very glad you brought this to our attention.

My understanding was that the ASFA website indicated the Chesleys are awarded at the NASFiC when the Worldcon is not in North America, but I'm guessing that information was taken from http://www.asfa-art.org/pages/05-chesleyawardspage.html, which only says "The awards are usually presented annually at the World Science Fiction Convention or at the North American Science Fiction Convention when the Worldcon is held outside of North America."

Usually certainly does not mean definitely, and I have amended my post to reflect your comments.

It was also mentioned to us by someone from the 2010 NASFiC in Raleigh, and reflected in their budget, which we were given some numbers from, to use for reference.

It's important for us know that the awards might not be at the NASFiC, as it changes what we might say to the hotel about potential banquet expenses. Thank you very much for the news.

Is ASFA considering having it in London, then?

Thanks for the clarification, Mitch. As Anne indicates below, that was my mistaken reading of the Chesley Awards page, combined with information from Raleigh on things to be sure to budget for. My apologies!

If chosen to host the NASFiC in 2014, we would be thrilled to host the Chesleys and are making sure our plans & budget would accommodate it if that were the case. When do you typically make that decision?

If I've never been to a NASFiC, how is it different from a WorldCon or a regional SF con?
What percent of worldcon attending americans go to NASFiC, WorldCon, both, or skip altogether in NASFiC years?
What cities/countries do NASFiC attendees come from?

Edited 2012-10-12 06:49 (UTC)

Detroit in 2014 NASFiC Bid - Questions?

Chesley Awards

Re: Chesley Awards

Re: Chesley Awards

no subject