MiniMerlin -- General Information

[solarcat]

graphic by the lovely janicechess <3

Here are the basics!



What: MiniMerlin! It is a convention, of sorts.

When: March 27-29, 2009

Where: Marriott Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown hotel, Philadelphia, PA
21 N Juniper Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/phldc-courtyard-philadelphia-downtown/

NOTE: This information is for travel planning only. DO NOT BOOK YOUR OWN ROOM. Keep reading.

Why: Why not? =D


So why is it called MiniMerlin?
Because it's about Merlin, and it's mini! We refer to it as a "con" or "convention", but it's not as big or complicated as all that. If you want dealers' rooms and art shows and lots of scheduled events, this is not the con you're looking for. XD

So there's no scheduled events?
Not quite. Most of this will be unscheduled fangirl shenanigans, but Saturday night (March 28) will be scheduled a bit more.

What's going on Saturday night, then?
Fun stuff! Saturday night, we will be having a big pizza party and vid show in the con suite. This is what your con registration fee goes to pay for.

So how much is this gonna cost me?
That depends. Our registration fee is $20. Anyone who wants to attend needs to pay this fee, since it goes to pay for the con suite, munchies to share, and the pizza party.
If you're staying in the hotel, we got a special group rate, so your hotel room will be $43/night per person, given four people per room.

That's not too bad! And I think I can fit this MiniMerlin thing into my schedule. How do I register?
Registration is easy! Just see our Registration Post!

You said up there that I'm not supposed to book my hotel room... How am I gonna have a place to sleep if I can't book my room??
In order to make sure that everyone gets the cheapest rate possible (that is, 4 people/room), we're organizing room sharing at the coordinator level. Basically, once registration is closed, we will assign everyone to a room, and the Room Coordinator will make the reservation for the room. Then, when the convention rolls around, you pay your RC, and they pay the bill. Simple!

Room Coordinators?
Yup. That's the fancy name for 'the person in charge of reserving the room'. There's more information on the Registration post!

Do I have to stay at the hotel both nights? Do I have to stay at the hotel at all?
Nope! You're welcome to stay only Saturday night at the hotel (but make sure you mark this down appropriately on your registration post so we can put you in the right room!!), and if you live in the area or are staying with a friend who does, that's fine. Just make sure you put the appropriate information in your registration post.
Regardless of your hotel stay, if you're coming to MiniMerlin, you must still pay the $20 registration fee. This pays for the con suite and food, so everyone needs to pitch in! ^^

Are there age restrictions?
Not really. We're working under the assumption that everyone is over 18, but that's about it. Merlin fans of all ages are welcome.

What about if I'm over 21? Will there be alcohol?
MiniMerlin's alcohol policy is simple. If you're over 21, you are more than welcome to bring/buy alcohol and consume it during the con, but con funds will not be used to purchase alcohol. MiniMerlin will be providing soft drinks and water only.

I'm a slash/femslash/het/gen/RPS fan. Can I come to the con?
Of course! MiniMerlin is slash, femslash, het, gen and RPS friendly. A lot of us are slashers, just to warn you, so there will likely be a whole lot of Merlin/Arthur squee around the place, but everyone is welcome.


What if I have other questions?
Feel free to leave a comment here, or send me (solar_cat) a PM or email. Feel free to ask about anything; I will keep all personal information from PMs and/or emails confidential.

Comments

[renwednesday.livejournal.com]

This might be weird, but I have a YouTube channel and I was wondering if you'd like me to make a vlog about MiniMerlin. I only get about 200-300 views a video, but I figure if people are interested, the more the merrier, right?

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

Hey, go for it! \0/ More publicity can't hurt, and who knows? Maybe one of those 200 is a budding Merlin fan in the Philly area. ^^ If you're going to direct them to a page, though, could you make sure you direct 'em to merlin_us instead of to my journal, though? =3

[renwednesday.livejournal.com]

Of course! :)

[merelyn.livejournal.com]

I know it's not really scheduled but do you have a vague idea when things are getting started on Friday/ending on Sunday? Just so I can nail down my travel plans?

Thanks!

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

Well, for my own part, I'm planning to arrive as early on Friday evening as I can, but it'll definitely be evening. I wouldn't think we'd be in a position to "get started" on anything until probably 8pm. (Though if other rooms/attendees are there earlier and want to start the squee before I get there, feel free! XD Technically hotel check-in time is 3pm, but they're more-often-than-not able to give you your room earlier than that.)

As far as ending on Sunday, check-out is at noon, though you can often request late check-out and get an extra hour or two. I only recently got in touch with the rep from our specific hotel (as opposed to the regional groups person), so I will be inquiring about late check-out options. It would probably be a good idea to be wrapping up by noon anyway, though, even if we get late check-out, just so everyone has time to get their stuff packed up and out of their rooms and so on. If the hotel has nice common/lounge spaces, the likely would not mind us hanging around a bit longer (especially if we're hanging in the hotel restaurant and somebody buys something). Still, I'd expect we'd be wrapping up in the early-to-mid afternoon on Sunday, since many people have long drives/bus rides/etc. to get home. ^^

[merelyn.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that helps! I'll probably get in around 5ish on Friday and get settled. (So if you need help setting up or anything, I'll be around. :)

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

Great! I'll definitely keep that in mind. I'm not sure how much "setup" will be required on Friday (since we won't have the Con Suite yet), but you never know! ^^

[merelyn.livejournal.com]

Unless by "set up" you mean classy liquor store run.

I would totally do that, btw.

/sketchy

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

The liquor store run isn't setup! *scandalized* That's the Opening Ceremonies!! XDDD

[merelyn.livejournal.com]

Ahaha I can't wait!! *g*

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

Every time I think about this, I'm more and more sure that it's going to be the most awesome thing ever. XDDD

[merelyn.livejournal.com]

It's sounding more and more like one of those amazing things that sounds like a good idea at the time and then ACTUALLY IS.

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

True story? The only reason this is happening is because I said something along the lines of, "We should just like, get everyone together in a hotel for a weekend and talk about Merlin". And then I actually went and organized the damn thing. XDDD

So yeah, pretty much it would be exactly like that. XD

[leavesoflorien.livejournal.com]

What kinds of panels are you guys planning? Will there be any sorts of Arthurian lit panels? Is there room for such a thing? I'm a grad student focusing in Welsh mythology and Arthurian lit and would love to see such a thing.

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

Hi! =D

We're not really having panels the way that most cons do, simply because we're.... um... well, tiny (registration is currently at 24 people). XD The whole concept is that this is a really collaborative thing, so I'm not doing much scheduling other than the Saturday night activities (vid show and pizza party). However, if you're interested in coming and would like to have a "panel" about Arthurian lit and mythology and such, I'm sure you'd get interest! (*raises hand of interest* XD ) So in that case, it would be something along the lines of posting a sign in the Con Suite and making the announcement that anyone who wants to come discuss X should head to Room ### at 2pm or whenever. MiniMerlin is meant to be a chance to socialize and discuss any and all aspects of Merlin fandom with fellow fans, so a discussion of Arthurian lit would be more than welcome! ^^

[gblvr.livejournal.com]

::is sad:: I had no idea this was happening, and I've missed the deadline....

Do you guys have a waitlist, in case of cancellations?

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

... Do you want to stay in the hotel? by any chance?? *looks hopeful*

Either way, actually, we've got space. The deadline, honestly, is so we can make the hotel arrangements before our cut-off date for the group rate on the rooms. If you want to join us in the hotel, we DO have space, and if you're local and weren't staying in the hotel anyway, then it's not a problem. ^^

[gblvr.livejournal.com]

I would want to stay in the hotel -- I'm in the DC metro area. So...what do I need to do to play along?

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

Yay! That is excellent! \0/ *is happier with her numbers now* XD

All you need to do is fill out your registration comment on the registration post, and send in your reg fee via Paypal or check (message or email me for my address if you want to pay via check). ^^

[treewishes.livejournal.com]

Hey - it sounds like you haven't reserved any hotel meeting space, just organizing a bunch of room parties? Which could work... !

And I know you know this, but I'm always surprised by people who don't -- a room "block" is no indication that the rooms will be near each other. It's just a construct in the computer. To get connecting rooms (or even adjoining rooms) means you have to remind the desk 4 days before you arrive, then 3 days, then 2 days, then the day before, and then hourly -- I'm not kidding here -- so they keep the rooms you want open and don't rent them to other people.

If peeps are too spread out, the neighbors will definitely complain :) I've unfortunately seen fangirls in action...

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

Yup, it's pretty much a collection of room parties (though we will have an extra room set aside as the Con Suite, where we'll be having the pizza party/vid show event, and foodstuffs for snacking on during the con). ^^

And yes, I am aware about the false advertising of the "block". *has been screwed by hotels on this point before* I've put the request in writing with the groups person at the hotel, and I will be obsessively bothering them to make sure our rooms are as close together as possible (though anyone else who wants to help me call them obsessively once we get close to con time would be more than welcome to do so! XD ).

[chi1013.livejournal.com]

What time are we all meeting on Friday? I've got class until 12:30 and will already be in the city. Should I head over after class? Go home and impatiently watch the clock until it is time to hang out?

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

On Friday, I'm not entirely sure. I believe kerryblaze will be one of the first to check in to the hotel, though, so you may try contacting her. I will unfortunately not be there before 6 or 7pm to get us checked into the Con Suite, since we're carpooling down from Boston that day. We're going to try to get there as early as possible, and you can feel free to call my cell (810-964-6778) for our best ETA. I suppose what you want to do will depend on how far away you live, etc.

I'm sorry I'm not terribly helpful! ^^;;; Once we're checked in to the Con Suite, though, I plan to have it "open" pretty much 24hrs/day until we check out on Sunday, so on Saturday you're welcome to come any time. =D