This year has been filled with many challenges, changes, and updates. We know you’re wondering what exactly is going to be different this year, and what will be “the same as it ever was.” So here it is, your guide to what has changed, and what has not, for CONvergence 2018: Natural Twenty.

Our convention policies page is the first place to look for information: convergence-con.org/at-the-con/policies. There, you can find information about everything from the tape you will need to use if you want to post stuff on the walls, to guidelines for costumes, rules for photography, and much more. We strongly encourage all members to review the policies page before arriving at the convention every year, as things do change!

If, after reviewing this information, you have questions or need clarification, please contact us. The website has a contact form you can use to contact any department: convergence-con.org/about/contact-us. At the convention, you can ask our Operations team on the Bridge, which is located to the right of the hotel’s front desk in the former Nine Mile Grille.

Some things that have changed:

Snacks and Beverages…

• Cinema Rex, Theater Nippon, and the Teen Room will not be offering snacks or beverages this year. Cinema Rex will still have movies and comfortable couches. Theater Nippon will still have anime, and the Teen Room will still be a great place for those of appropriate chronological age to gather.
• Food or beverages from other locations should not be brought into the Plaza or Atrium rooms. There will still be water stations in these spaces.
• Space Lounge will not be offering smoothies to engage your palate this year. They will have a sensory bar to appeal to each of your other senses. It will be glowy. So, soooo glowy.
• Due to many uncertainties around policies for 2018 that were still in place at the final deadline for placing food orders, ConSuite will not be offering hot soup in 2018. Soup is expected to return in 2019. This year, ConSuite will continue to have rice, PB&J, and many other items for your snacking needs, including Blue Sun soda with lots of fun flavors. New for 2018 are four caffeinated flavors: Cola, Diet Cola, Lemon-Lime, and Blood Orange Ginger, as well as un-caffeinated fan-favorites Butterscotch Root Beer and Blue Lemonade, among others.

Room Parties…

• 5 of the 29 CONvergence 2018 Room Parties will be offering alcoholic beverages, served by DoubleTree bartenders. The bartenders will have tip jars; we encourage you to be kind to the bartenders and to show them how amazing our community is.
• Room capacity limitations are in place and will be enforced. Specifics have been shared with the party hosts; we anticipate that the effects of this will be minimal for most room parties.
• To comply with requirements specified by the DoubleTree and the Bloomington City Fire Inspector, members may not stand, queue, or otherwise remain stationary in the hallways around the party room cabanas. Members experiencing the party rooms must be in a party, actively moving to a party room, or leaving the cabana areas.

Restrooms…

• The restrooms on the 22nd floor, near the Crescent Kitchen, and on the second floor by Mainstage will have binary gender designations this year.
• Both sets of restrooms in the North Tower and three single stall restrooms (two in Consuite Gaming, and one past COF2E2 on the first floor) will be designated as All Gender.

Diversity of gender is embraced at CONvergence.  All members are welcome to use the restroom that best fits their gender identity.

Security…

• In past years, you may have seen police officers from Bloomington PD wandering through the convention. You will see more of them this year. CONvergence has built a strong and collaborative relationship with Bloomington PD over the past 20 years and, while you will see more officers this year, they are very familiar with our event and our community and are collaborating with us and with the DoubleTree to make sure this year’s event is safe and fun for everyone.

Some things that have not changed:

Room Parties…

• Room Parties may serve non-alcoholic beverages and simple foods that do not require cooking, and many of them are choosing to do so.
• Room parties may have donation jars; these will be in addition to tip jars for the bartenders in parties that have hired bartenders from the DoubleTree. Donations to party rooms are not required, but showing your appreciation for their investments of time, effort, and cash is an awesome thing to do.

COF2E2…

• CoF₂E₂ will be there for your caffeine needs! The hours will be the same as they were in 2017 (that is, closed from 6:00am – Noon on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), but they will be there serving flavored and speciality coffee drinks (including lattes and mochas made with regular coffee, milk or milk alternatives, and chocolate/flavor shots), cold press coffee, and hot, iced, and chai tea. All of the expected dairy alternatives will be available.
• The staff of CoF₂E₂ will be focusing on making our beloved coffee shop as warm and welcoming as ever. So, get your beverage of choice, grab a book from the Book Swap, and take some time to relax!

Posters…

• You will be able to hang up all of those awesome posters advertising your room party, gaming event, or geeky group.
• You must adhere to the guidelines on the policy page.
• Most especially, you MUST use the True Blue Tape (low tack blue painter’s tape).

General Stuff…

• The staff at the DoubleTree works very hard to make the convention run smoothly. Treat them with kindness and respect, and where appropriate, tip generously.
• If you will be costuming, please make sure that you are familiar with our policies around props and weapons, and visit The Bridge for “The Talk.”
• Most important of all, prepare to spend time with friends and maybe make some new ones, explore everything CONvergence has to offer, hand out and collect those badge ribbons, take care of yourselves, each other, and the hotel, and have a great time!

We thank all of you for your support and kindness during what has been a challenging planning cycle. We can’t wait to see all of you at the convention!

The Convergence Events Board of Directors

The post What’s New and What’s Not at CONvergence 2018 appeared first on Convergence Events, Inc..

Tuesday a communication was sent to several Invited Participants informing them of our rule that restricted them from selling merchandise during the convention. It was brought to the Board’s attention that this communication suggested that hotel policy may have been responsible for the restrictions on sales. We regret the error and would like to clarify that the rule was put in place to ensure we comply Minnesota tax law, and that Hotel policy was not the reason for this rule.

To explain further, all of our departments that sell have a procedure in place to ensure compliance with applicable tax law that prevents vendors from selling merchandise without a valid Minnesota Sales Tax ID which includes collecting the required ST-19 tax forms and prevents CONvergence from liability for noncompliance. It was discovered in April this year that the Invited Participants Department had not had this procedure in place and sales had been occurring, thereby putting the convention at risk. Due to the number and varied locations of the IPs, it was felt that the Department did not have the capacity to implement that procedure this year in addition to all the other matters happening. This information was supposed to have been communicated to all Invited Participants in April by the Department with the commitment that we would put a procedure in place for next year. Unfortunately, this did not occur, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

We appreciate the affected IPs making the Board aware of this issue so that we could address it. We have put a mechanism in place that will allow IPs to sell on a limited basis and will continue with putting a full procedure in place for next year.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the convention next week!

Sincerely

The Board of Directors

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We wanted to make you aware of some ongoing negotiations regarding this year’s convention. Over the past year, the Board has been in conversation with the DoubleTree Hotel regarding the arrangements and logistics for CONvergence 2018. The hotel has put forth several demands regarding the practices and procedures of the convention. The Board has been negotiating with the DoubleTree regarding which demands we feel are reasonable and which are not. The Board’s main objective is to preserve and provide the best experience for our members.

Unfortunately, these negotiations have gone on longer than we had hoped and have not yet reached resolution. We do currently anticipate being able to hold this year’s convention on time, but must resolve these outstanding issues first. Because of these negotiations, we’ve had to delay some of our normal processes, including room reservations. We are working hard to bring everything to resolution as soon as possible and will keep you updated as quickly as we can, but due to the nature of the negotiations and on advice of counsel we can’t discuss in full detail. We appreciate your understanding.

For now, let’s continue to build those costumes, launch those campaigns, and get ready for the 20th year of CONvergence!

Sincerely,
The CONvergence Board of Directors

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