1999 Archive: Programming and Events
You can select from the following sections:
- Anime Room
- Art Show and Auction
- Cinema Rex Movie Room
- COF2E2
- ConSuite
- Gadgeteer's Petting Zoo / Science Display Area
- Gaming
- Mainstage
- The Masquerade
- Parties
- Panels and Programming
- Silent Auction
Anime Room
"The Anime Room was fabulous (much better than trying to stuff it into a cabana!)." - CVG 1999 Survey Comment
The Anime Room at CONvergence proved popular with Anime fans, showing both Anime films and episodes from popular Anime series. CONvergence would like to thank the Twin Cities Anime and Manga Society (TCAAMS) for organizing and running the Anime Room. TCAAMS will be returning to do it again at CVG 2000, with the newly dubbed "Theater Nippon Anime Room."
Art Show and Auction
We were quite pleased with the number of submissions to our Art Show in our first year. We extended invitations to a number of regional and national artists to participate, and not all of them chose to submit something this year. We strongly suspect that a number of them were waiting to hear how our first year went to see if we were a convention they felt it worth their while to send something to. If you want to see the work of a particular artist represented in our art show, don't just tell us! Encourage the artist to submit something!
We have an excellent new crew taking over the Art Show and Auction for CONvergence 2000, and we look forward to seeing what they can do.
Cinema Rex Movie Room
"Loved Cinema Rex, the couches, the lamps, FRESH POPCORN, and candy were wonderful and very homey & cozy." - CVG 1999 Survey Comment
"The Cinema Rex room was great!!! I especially enjoyed the sofas & popcorn/munchies." - CVG 1999 Survey Comment
"Loved Cinema Rex - loved the comfy chairs." - CVG 1999 Survey Comment
One of the greatest successes of CONvergence 1999 was the launch of Cinema Rex. Named for the T-Rex mascot known to fans from his "Rex Room" days, Cinema Rex showed a wide variety of crowd-pleasing SF and Fantasy films in widescreen format on a wall-sized screen.
One of the features shown in Cinema Rex was Modern Vampires, a new film by Richard Elfman, not yet in release. The Friday 10:00pm showing of Modern Vampires wasn't just standing room only, the crowd was actually backed out into the hall. A second showing Sunday night during the CONvergence Dead Dog Party was equally popular. Our thanks go to Richard Elfman for allowing this special preview screening of his film, and thanks to the Cinema Rex crew for doing such an outstanding job.
COF2E2
COF2E2's biggest challenge in 1999 was volunteers. We had plenty of people in search of caffeine, but didn't always have the personnel to serve them. If you are one of those people that enjoyed the free espresso, please take some time to volunteer and help at COF2E2 at CONvergence 2000.
Music at "F2-E2" (as many have taken to calling it) was a mixed bag. We do appreciate all the musicians and bands that performed, but it was clear that the venue was not the best for full bands. Traffic was blocked to the espresso bar and the sound spilled more than we had planned. We are looking at different ways to handle the music venue in future years, and it will be re-organized for CONvergence 2000 and beyond.
ConSuite
The ConSuite was a busy center of activity throughout the convention weekend. Special appreciation was heaped on the ConSuite staff for the inclusion of "real food" amongst the snacks, including a sandwich bar on Friday and Saturday, and a late night soup bar. We like to thank Papa John's and Davanni's for the donation of pizza, and we look forward to getting donations from other area restaurants for ConSuite at CONvergence 2000.
Gadgeteer's Petting Zoo / Science Display Area
"I also go to conventions for science programming. I loved the gadgeteer's room." - CVG 1999 Survey Comment
The Gadgeteer's Petting Zoo was a good start on what we hope will be a long-running tradition at CONvergence, but one thing it lacked was ENOUGH GADGETS! The Minnesota Space Frontier Society, the Minnesota Astronomical Society, the University of Minnesota Geology Department, the Minneapolis Planetarium and Jeff Claussen did a great job of filling out the room with great science displays, but we need more gadgets in 2000!
Gadgetmaster Richard Caylor provided a few gadgets of his own, but he needs help! If you are interested in seeing this unique offering continue, please help us by making sure our Zoo is well stocked with interesting gadgets and paraphernalia.
Gaming
Unfortunately, the game room at CONvergence 1999 was something of a disappointment to us and to the gamers at our convention. We can't make excuses for this. The preparations we thought had been made were not. Although several people stepped in at the last minute to make the game room happen, it was not what we had envisioned or what our members expected. Thanks to Chris Mortika, Bill Keller, and Dave Rust for their efforts at salvaging the CVG 1999 gaming room.
We have a new gaming staff in place, and things are looking much better for gaming at CONvergence 2000.
One added feature to CONvergence 1999 gaming was Society in Shadow, a Live Action Role Playing (LARP) game presented by Wyrd Images. They had over 40 players, and had a great time.
Mainstage
Passage kicked off Friday night's music events on Mainstage, followed by Lojo Russo and Funks Grove. Saturday night after The Masquerade, All the Pretty Horses rocked the house. Our thanks go to everyone associated with these groups for the great job they did at CONvergence 1999.
Soylent Theater performed during the Masquerade halftime in addition to their main show on Sunday. Tim Uren, Kelvin Hatle, Joe Scrimshaw and Josh Scrimshaw delivered a painfully funny dose of their terrific "geek chic" comedy. They will be returning to CONvergence 2000.
Those that managed to stumble out of bed to catch the Physics Force on Sunday morning got quite a treat. The climax of their show was the rapid compression of a 50-gallon steel drum. You had to see it to believe it! They had a great time and hope to return in the future.
We hope to have an equally exciting line-up for Mainstage at CONvergence 2000.
The Masquerade
"The Masquerade was great. Delightful set-ups of the entrants (the hostess was great at ad libs). Not too many entrants (a masquerade that runs 3-4 hours is WAY too long) so it was kept short and sweet." - CVG 1999 Survey Comment
"I was at Minicon 33 and I felt really bad about [the absence of] the Masquerade. It was one of my favorite things and I'm glad it's found a home. I really appreciate all the hard work that goes into it. I think it's great to give the different fans a venue." - CVG 1999 Survey Comment
The Masquerade, produced by Kat Pepmiller and Emceed by Aimee Kuzenski, was a grand success with over 21 entries in our first year. Performance Judges were Windy Merrill, Kitty Gamarra, and Rex (with help from John Grams). Workmanship Judges were Diana Steben and Berniece Krafft.
CVG 1999 MASQUERADE WINNERS:
| For Excellence in Workmanship: | Dark Dreams Mistress |
| Partyzone | |
| Salem | |
| Lizard Striptease | |
| Deep Impact Warrior |
Best Workmanship: Dance of the Cobras
| Judges' Awards for Performance: | Aries: God of War |
| Alien Encounters of the Best Kind | |
| Dark Dreams Mistress | |
| Lizard Striptease |
Young Fan: Mortal Mess-Up
Novice: Connie's Cheesecake
Journeyman: Ariel, the Little Mermaid
Master: Dance of the Cobras
Best Performance: Deep Impact Warrior
Best in Show: Samples from the 2399 Sylvian Dior Spring-Summer Collection
Parties
"The parties were still going on at 5am [Sunday] morning..." - At-Con Post-Mortem Meeting Minutes
The parties at CONvergence were nothing short of spectacular.
Though ALL of the parties were fantastic, we would especially like to thank Eric Heideman for bringing Krushenko's to CONvergence and running his room party into Sunday night (where you could find guests Forry Ackerman and Pam Keesey).
The "Three Fates of the Parties" went from party to party over the weekend, gifting each party they especially enjoyed with a scarf. This is why some parties had one, two or even three scarves hanging from their signs by the end of the weekend. Parties of special note included the Club Adventure Speakeasy, Club Neo-Tokyo, R.O.G., Talon's Portal, The RakeHell, and the Xenaversity.
If you would like to host a party at CONvergence 2000, visit the Parties Section.
Panels and Programming
"Scheduling panels with 1/2 hour downtime in between is great! This was wonderful. Thanks. CONVERGENCE ROCKS!!" - CVG 1999 Survey Comment
"I really, really liked the 1/2 hour in between panels." - CVG 1999 Survey Comment
"I liked the break between programs and the different tracks." - CVG 1999 Survey Comment
Thanks to a great coordinating job by Stephanie Lindorff and Anna Bliss, programming at CONvergence was diverse and interesting. We wanted more than anything to make sure there was a broad a spectrum of panels as possible. As a result, we had hard science panels, but not as many as some might want. We had literature panels, but not as many as one might find at a convention devoted solely to Science Fiction literature.
More to the point, we can only offer panels that our membership suggests and is willing to help run. If you are not seeing the types of panels you want, please take the initiative! Contact us, tell us the type of panel you want to see from CONvergence 2000 Programming, and offer to help produce them!
Silent Auction
The Silent Auction was a great success, raising over $1,000 for the Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy (MISFITS)! We plan on making this an annual fundraiser for MISFITS and are looking for donations for our CONvergence 2000 Silent Auction. Please contact us if you have something you would like to donate.