Lee Whiteside, chairman of the 2009 North American Discworld Convention (to be held 4-7 September 2009 in Tempe, Arizona) has more convention updates:
The Banquet:
The theme of the banquet will be “A Night at the Rhoxie,” grand palace of Creosote, the Seriph of Al Khali. Famed in myth and legend for its splendor, the Rhoxie is said to have been built by a genie in a single night (causing it to be known colloquially as the “Djinn Palace”). Creosote himself will be in attendance, and the evening will, of course, be hosted by his grand vizier, Abrim. Attendees are encouraged to re-read “Sourcery,” “Pyramids,” and “Jingo” for costume ideas, but any Discworld-related or evening attire will also do nicely. The banquet will be late afternoon/early evening on Sunday 6 September.
Memberships Update:
The convention is nearing 500 members. Membership rates will increase to US$90 after 31 March. They plan a maximum limit of 900 memberships (“the capacity of our main ballroom”). Memberships are non-refundable, but they are transferable. There is an area on the convention message board to discuss membership sales/transfers.
Hotel Update:
The Mission Palms is filling up and they are looking into options for official overflow hotels. “Make sure that you are using the group code when booking rooms at the Mission Palms, otherwise it does show no rooms available since we have the entire hotel blocked for the convention. We’ve had several people indicate the hotel was full when it actually isn’t, yet. The nearest hotel within easy walking distance is the Courtyard by Mariott in Tempe which currently has a very good rate for the weekend if you are looking to save a bit on your hotel and don’t mind a short walk. There’s also many other hotels along the light rail line which stops very close to the Mission Palms.”
Previous news was in this article.