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Aug. 7th, 2010 09:28 amThoughts on NASFIC AKA Reconstruction:
Raleigh: Nice town. The convention center, newly-opened in 2008, is right downtown, so a number of good restaurants, etc. are in walking distance. There's not much touristic activities, but since Raleigh is the state capitol there's the capitol building and a couple of state museums to tour. I did that in the oppressive heat of Thursday.
Convention site: Very nice, and as per above quite new. It's capable of holding events for up to 5,000 people, so with our small crowd (around 700) it feels cavernously empty. For some reason, the Marriott, our lead hotel, has a bug up their butt about parties, so all parties are billing themselves as "meet and greets."
Convention proper: First off, considering that the last NASFIC drew 1,600 people, attendance is way down. I have no idea what financial arrangements the con-runners have with the various hotels, but I suspect that they'll end up underwater.
Second, the program guides have been problematic at best. First, they didn't have pocket programs for much of Thursday. Even more problematic is that there is no program that has the one-paragraph panel description with who's attending. It doesn't exist, and, although the programs are obviously in themed tracks, none of the tracks are identified.
Parties: Mary Robinette Kowal had her launch party for her first novel, Shades of Milk and Honey. Her family came down, and Mary talked her mother into making pound cake. The cake was outstandingly good! The rest of the party was cool, and yes I bought Mary's book. The other parties up on 17 were interesting as well.
Raleigh: Nice town. The convention center, newly-opened in 2008, is right downtown, so a number of good restaurants, etc. are in walking distance. There's not much touristic activities, but since Raleigh is the state capitol there's the capitol building and a couple of state museums to tour. I did that in the oppressive heat of Thursday.
Convention site: Very nice, and as per above quite new. It's capable of holding events for up to 5,000 people, so with our small crowd (around 700) it feels cavernously empty. For some reason, the Marriott, our lead hotel, has a bug up their butt about parties, so all parties are billing themselves as "meet and greets."
Convention proper: First off, considering that the last NASFIC drew 1,600 people, attendance is way down. I have no idea what financial arrangements the con-runners have with the various hotels, but I suspect that they'll end up underwater.
Second, the program guides have been problematic at best. First, they didn't have pocket programs for much of Thursday. Even more problematic is that there is no program that has the one-paragraph panel description with who's attending. It doesn't exist, and, although the programs are obviously in themed tracks, none of the tracks are identified.
Parties: Mary Robinette Kowal had her launch party for her first novel, Shades of Milk and Honey. Her family came down, and Mary talked her mother into making pound cake. The cake was outstandingly good! The rest of the party was cool, and yes I bought Mary's book. The other parties up on 17 were interesting as well.
