Marscon 2001

On Friday May 11th, and Saturday May 12th, MISFITS hosted a Chernobyl in 2011 bid party at MARSCON in the fabulous Radisson South Hotel. MARSCON is a yearly fan run convention now in it's third year. It is a smaller convention than CONvergence, but also a very friendly and comfortable convention. Congratulations to the organizers who made the convention a joy to attend and be a part of.

Friday night was the more quiet of the two party nights. Champagne donated by the IKV Rakehell was served and well recieved. Party goers also had the chance to watch movies warning of the potential dangers of radiation. A Boy and His Dog, The Atomic Cafe and The X-Men were shown. Much more popular than any of the movies was a video collection of shorts compiled off various internet sites shown between movies. It was so popular, it was shown again the next night with more features added. Included on the tape were short films from spacebattles.com, TROOPS, South Park's Spirit of Christmas and several Star Wars fan films including a fan made trailer for Star Wars Episode 2.

Saturday night, a green drink called "Nuclear Waste" was served. To make your own nuclear waste, mix equal parts Blue Curaco, Vodka, Bailey's and Cola. Blue Curaco and Bailey's together give it a green color while the vodka curdles the creme in the Bailey's and a sludge forms at the top of the drink. Despite appearances, it's quite palatable and was extremely popular. Another popular feature was the entrails dip made with crab and cocktail sauce over cream cheese.

A mutant singing catfish was won by some guy named Michael Lee in a random drawing.

Answers to the drawing questions were as follows:

1. In what country is Chernobyl located? (The U.S.S.R. is no longer a country)
   Chernobyl is in the Ukraine.

2. What word describes the chain reaction created when neutrons hit uranium atoms?
   Fission. Coincidentally, fishing season opened on the morning of Sunday, May 13th.

3. In what year was an unsuccessful Minneapolis WorldCon bid made?
   Nearly 30 years later, "Minneapolis in '73" still receives at least a few votes each year.

4. In what city will the 2001 WorldCon be held?
   The 2001 WorldCon will be in Philadelphia. They are promoting themselves as "The Millennium Philcon."

5. What is the date of the famous Chernobyl accident?
   On April 26th, 1986 a fuel assembly shattered and melted, ultimately causing radioactive material to shoot three miles into the sky and spread across much of the northern hemisphere. The reactor burned for ten days until it was smothered with sand.

6. Which MarsCon Guest of Honor designed the nifty "Chernobyl in 2011" shirts?
   The astoundingly talented Christopher Jones designed the Chernobyl shirts and the majority of MISFITS and CONvergence's artwork.

7. Name at least four utility sources of electricity used in Minnesota.
   There are at least seven utilized sources of power in Minnesota. Solar, Wind, Hydroelectric, Nuclear, Coal, Natural Gas and Garbage are among them.

8. What is the parent organization of Convergence?
   MISFITS stands for MInnesota society for interest in Science Fiction and fanTaSy.

9. When a WorldCon is held outside of North America, a NASFiC is also held. What does NASFiC stand for?
   NASFiC stands for North American Science Fiction Convention.

10. In your opinion, who would be the best Guest of Honor at Chernobyl in 2011? Why?
    Lots of clever options were submitted. Among them were: a cockroach, Bruce Banner, Robert Oppenheimer, Vladimir (DON'T push that button!) Potemkin, Reddy Kilowatt and Professor Xavier.

Many sincere thanks go to those who helped set up, tear down and prepare for the event. My extreme heartfelt gratitude deservedly goes to Rick Whitnable, Janice Anderson and the wonderful folks from the Behrak, Rakehell and MISFITS. There were many others, all of whom were very appreciated.

Also, thanks to the many wonderful guests who stopped by to watch movies, get information about CONvergence or MISFITS, have a drink or just chat. Rick and I had a lot of fun planning and working at this party!

Thanks,
-Emily Stewart