Here it is. Get those plane tickets now! The Envelope Please... ***** Boston: 45 Las Vegas: 15 ***** As a refresher, here's the Boston Proposal: From: tim@ear-ache.mit.edu (Tim Wilson) Subject: Re: motss.con 93 Proposal texts? Date: 12 May 93 09:20:39 A PROPOSAL FOR BOSTON TO HOST MOTSS.CON VI (1993) July 29, 1993 - August 1, 1993 [This date is offered for several reasons which include the following: 1) Lack of conflict with most (all?) GBLO*-Pride celebrations, plus a little buffer of time for people to re-energize; 2) It sets up nicely with the annual MacWorld event in Boston, so that people who are being sent to MacWorld by their companies or were planning to attend anyway might hopefully be able to extend their stay to participate in some/all of the festivities] We tried to emulate as much as possible the format of the other cons (SF, Boston, Denver, Toronto, & Portland) incorporating the sort of events that seem to go over well, plus a couple of local things and other ideas that might suit your fancy. Given the late date of this proposal, some of the details still need to be completely worked out. Wednesday 7/28/93 PRE-CON SPECIAL EVENT: P'TOWN - take the ferry over and take the ferry back. Some people might make advance reservations and stay overnight. The local wisdom is that middle-of-the-week stays ARE possible even "in season" and with over 3 months lead time, people ought to be able to make arrangements. The ferry goes from Boston at 9AM, and arrives at noon. The ferry comes back at 3PM getting in at 6PM. Therefore it would be possible for people to have a ~3-hour "day trip" in P-Town. Thursday 7/29/93 Mostly sightseeing for people who are already in town, as most other folks will probably be flying in today... 7PM: OPENING EVENT at ??? The details are still being worked out - we'll definitely be sure to be inclusive to the under-21 crowd and attempt to also allow for munchies to be shipped in (pizza, etc.). Two suggestions right now are getting at room at MIT (almost certainly doable) or getting a room at the Computer Museum, [con.89 attendees will recall that it was VERY GBLO*-positive!] provided those details can be worked out. Info packets, name tags, etc. will be distributed at this event. People disperse from this to various things... clubs, crashing, ice cream, etc. Friday 7/30/93 11 AM Picnic in Boston Harbor (Yes! *IN* it! :-) Well, probably on one of the islands anyway - there are several islands in the harbor which can be reserved for groups (or the picnic areas on the islands) with ferry service via water taxis. If there's enough interest, a Whale Watch could also be chartered. (Rumor has it that this could be a clothing optional event if we are able to rent an entire boat, but this isn't certain.) after 6 PM Potlucks/sub-groups This is the opportunity for like-minded people to have space/time to get together. (womyn-only, cabal-only [just kidding], bear-b-que, etc.) As the con time gets closer, we'll also provide information on a variety of cultural and GBLO*-interest events. Saturday 7/31/93 11 AM Picnic near the Victory Gardens [Boston-familiar folks also note that this is near the Fens.] This sight is within walking distance to many sites of cultural, historical, and GBLO*-interest. As part of this picnic, we are planning to offer a "scavenger hunt"-like activity for anyone interested, which will also be sort of a tourist guide to downtown Boston. 7 PM Dinner - TBD Most likely people will be making their own plans for dinner. We'll have some suggestions for things to do like Friday night. There is talk of a 4-star dinner for motssiti who have $$$ to burn. Sunday 8/1/93 11 AM Sixth Annual Motss.Con Dim Sum Place to be determined (this is the ONLY event that has occurred every year...) AFTERNOON Day Trips A good opportunity for people to see things in town that take most of the day (Museum of Fine Arts, etc.) or not quite in town (Plymouth, NH/ME, etc.). An event for music lovers is in the works at Robert & John's place in Gloucester. (This didn't materialize in Portland, but the reaction to the impromptu violin concert at the waterfront suggests that we shouldn't let this pass up again!) 7 PM Dinner - TBD This would be the "official" closing event. We're planning to hold this at a GBLO*-owned/friendly restaurant, as we did at Old Wives Tales last year. Monday 8/2/93 11AM Catch-up Brunch for people staying late... Place TBD. ================================================================================ ETC. 1) Housing: There are several motss-folk in the local area with varying amounts of crash space. We should be able to accommodate placing a couple dozen people with free lodging. We will also try and get a block of rooms at some local-area [hm]otel, hopefully at a discount rate if possible. A housing referral list will be set up to try and match people up with compatible lodging (i.e. womyn-space, smoke-free/smoke-OK, pet-free, etc.) and other crash space. 2) Rental Cars: All of the events as planned so far are reachable by public transportation. Therefore, it shouldn't be necessary for most people to rent a car (and have to brave Boston traffic) unless they want to travel out of town, or want the extra flexibility. The Purple line (rail) goes about 40 miles out of town in several directions, including Providence, RI, and runs 7 days a week. 3- and 5-day MBTA passes are available for a relatively low fee. Logan Airport is connected to the subway system via a free bus. Amtrak is also connected to the subway system at several locations. 3) Net Access: Should be doable for people at the .con. More details as they become available. 4) Weather: Boston in the Summer can be sticky, hot, etc. and it can also be very pleasant. The old adage "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 mintues!" applies very often. Should events get rained out, alternate things will be arranged. Generally temperatures will be in the mid-to-high 80's(F). 5) Cost: we tried to keep costs low for people on tight budgets. Hopefully, the advantage of available crash space, facile public transportation, and events in public spaces with allow people to attend. 6) Misc.: Massachusetts is one of 8 states with inclusive GBLO*-rights/equal_opportunity. Boston and Cambridge have limited domestic partnership laws. Just about all GBLO* national organizations have Boston chapters, and local-area people will probably be able to point you to them. -- Alan Batie \ batie@agora.rain.com \ Sometimes they fool you +1 503 452-0960 / \ by walking upright... 45 28 59 N / 122 43 20 W / 440' MSL / \