A Mile Closer to the Stars
Dear Friends,
Denvention 3 is very pleased to have been selected to be the 66th World Science Fiction Convention next August. We know that we could not have done this without the support of the Friends and Pre-Supporters of the Denver in 2008 bid, those who encouraged and supported us as we bid, and the many fans who voted at Los Angeles. Thank you.
We are working with fen from around the world to bring you the best Worldcon possible. In order to do that, we need your input as well. Please let us know what it is that makes Worldcons fun and special for you.
We think you will enjoy Denver, and Denvention 3, as we will. We're very excited to have our wonderful Guests of Honor agree to share their time with us. We think you'll enjoy meeting them as well. They bring great things to us. We plan to celebrate their contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy and Fandom with many enjoyable events and activities, some traditional and some new and different.
The Denver downtown that some of you may remember from Denvention II is gone. The downtown area is now a major shopping and commercial center. Within a few blocks of the Colorado Convention Center is now the 16th Street
Pedestrian Mall, with a free and frequent shuttle that runs from the train station and baseball stadium (and the Tattered Cover Bookstore) up past the Convention Center and the Adams Mark Hotel to the Colorado State Capitol area. I think you will be very pleased with the variety of places to eat and shop in downtown Denver.
I know many of you have heard the Democratic Presidential Nominating Convention will be in Denver next August. It will be in the Pepsi Center (several blocks away from the Colorado Convention Center where Denvention 3 will be held) starting two weeks after Denvention 3. Although it will not have a direct effect on us, Denver is going to be very busy all through August. This means that hotel rates are higher than we expected. We have blocks of rooms in seven downtown Denver hotels. All of the hotels are convenient to the Convention Center. Some are on the free Mall Shuttle Bus route along Denver's 16th Street Pedestrian Mall. We are working on how to handle reservations. Look for details in our next Progress Report in January 2008.
A Worldcon is a large and complex thing. It has always amazed me that we can do so much with only volunteers. This means that we need help to do almost everything, and anything we don't have volunteers for probably won't get done. If you have already volunteered, and you haven't heard from us yet, please be patient. We do need you and we will be in touch. If you haven't volunteered yet, please consider it. It is a lot of fun, and a great opportunity to meet people who may share your interests. You can volunteer on our website at Denvention.org, at one of the conventions where we will have a table, or via postal mail.
I'm looking forward to seeing most of you next August, and working with many of you in the planning, organization, and operation of Denvention 3 between now and then.