Montreal 2009

[Angalin]

While I know many people (including GRRM and Parris) are disappointed that Worldcon will not be in Kansas City in 2009, I do think they will be pleasantly surprised by Montreal - as a city, at least (reserving judgement on the organizing committee for now, although I have a feeling that some of the crew who organized the Winnipeg Worldcon back in '94 are working on Montreal '09). Even I, slacker that I am, might bestir myself to join the pur laine-lovin' throngs. Anybody else?

[Parris]

While I know many people (including GRRM and Parris) are disappointed that Worldcon will not be in Kansas City in 2009, I do think they will be pleasantly surprised by Montreal - as a city, at least (reserving judgement on the organizing committee for now, although I have a feeling that some of the crew who organized the Winnipeg Worldcon back in '94 are working on Montreal '09). Even I, slacker that I am, might bestir myself to join the pur laine-lovin' throngs. Anybody else?

I'm sure Montreal is a lovely city with many fine restaurants.

Trouble is, while many people come to WorldCon with the idea of having a con and a vacation at the same time, for me and George, WorldCon is mostly a business trip, with little bits of con squeezed in among the business work. We need a smooth running convention with good facilities. We rarely get a chance to actually visit and do touristy things in whatever city WorldCon is in. So our needs are different than that of the average WorldCon attendee.

Some SMOFs claimed that because of the problems at last year's smofcon is what turned them against KC. It's true that it wasn't the smoothest running con ever, but the core KC group had been putting on great parties and had an affordable and very workable deal with the overland park convention center. They have been having wonderful conventions in KC for decades. I honestly don't know much about the state of fannish activity in Montreal, I do know that there are a couple of people on the committee who worked on TorCon. Considering how I feel about TorCon, I'm not very enthusiastic about that. When KC lost the bid for the '06 WOrldCon to LA by a very small margin, they were encouraged to try again. So they did, at great personal expense and effort.

I've seen people who choose which bid to vote for based on the frackin' logo of the bid, for Ghu's sake.

[Ran]

Linda and I are quite interested in going to this, more so than we're interested in the Denver con in 2008 in any case. It's a long way out to plan, though. One can only hope that it'll be better run than the 2008 convention.

I'm not sure what hotels were part of the bid package (does anyone know what the main hotel was intended to be?), but a look at Google suggests there are several hotels under half a kilometer from the Palais, and a couple that seem to be not much more than a hundred meters from it.

[Xray the Enforcer]

I can totally understand your frustration, Parris. After having gone to a few cons now (and being on the organizing side dealing with one), I think that the organizing committee is a gravely overlooked commodity. Everyone focuses on the city, but what you're really voting on is the group who can get their shit together with a minimum of expense, and a maximum of effectiveness. At the same time -- for the 80% of Con-goers who don't give a damn about anything but having fun, the KC bid was less desirable because the hotel was so remote from...well...just about anything non-Con. To many, the thought of being locked in a hotel for 5 days with Con Smell is just too daunting.

Anyhoo -- I wish the Montreal people well, and hopefully those who were part of TorCon learned from that experience. Barring any major disasters, Mr. X and I will probably go to Montreal. 1) it's decently close to us and 2) I very much enjoyed Montreal the last time I went.

[Regina]

To many, the thought of being locked in a hotel for 5 days with Con Smell is just too daunting.

I know it's still very early yet, but so far this ranks as my choice for quote of the day.

Like Xray said, we should be able to attend this one as it's within driving distance for us (unless the evils of Real Life get in the way, of course).

[Angalin]

Parris, I read up on Torcon in Emerald City #97, which offered a detailed (yow!) critique of the convention. I would understand your frustrations if it had been only half as bad as described, compounded by the fact that the KC group was encouraged to rebid after losing the 2006 bid but not given enough support to win this time.

I don't know how the vote was split between Montreal and KC in Japan. However, one person on the Montreal committee who worked on Torcon also chaired the Winnipeg con in 1994, which was described as successful even in EC97; I know where he works, I may go check him out. But Xray does have a good point when she says that most con-goers are there for the good times to be had - within staggering distance of the hotel, I add.

Are there set guidelines that are handed down from one Worldcon committee to the next? Is that sort of thing all covered at SMOFcons? How is the institutional knowledge passed along? Obviously I'm new to all this...

[Padraig]

People said before this years Worldcon that holding it outside North America would be an advantage to Montreal since its a lot more known (i.e a top 3 city in Canada v a top 50 city in US). And Japan would also attract a lot more people that wouldn't be familiar with Torcon in 2003. The bid committee strengths and weaknesses factor is then downplayed.

And just wandering around at the con, I did hear several people saying they far preferred the idea of visiting Montreal. The fact that the Montreal bid was in a more central location helped as well. And probably easier to access for non-US people. It all meant that Montreal had better soundbites. Its a pity there are losers in these things since most cities do put a lot of effort into bidding.

[Knight of City of Bayonne]

I've seen people who choose which bid to vote for based on the frackin' logo of the bid, for Ghu's sake.

Ah. That's why in the past I've asked you for advice on voting, those too few times I've been able to vote. Will you be at Saratoga, or will it be just us two ex-Bayonneites? We would have liked to have seen you at Albuquerque Bubonicon last year, but it was great to talk with George at that smallish con without he having a million and one things to do and a zillion fans vying for his attention. We do expect to be at Denver, and Montreal is easier to get to from NJ than KC by train or car, but I do hope the Con organizers are organized and your misgivings don't come to fruition.

---Ken