Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and many of us will be spending time with family and friends, celebrating the things we are grateful for including good harvest, good community, and a good start to the holidays. 

We'll be at Starbase Indy spending second Thanksgiving with some of our Geek Family, spreading the message of what ConCoction is, what ConCoction 2020 will be, and letting them know how awesome they are and we are. 

We will also be doing some recorded and live video for them to help promote both conventions, as Starbase Indy is also an all Fan Run Community event. 

Interested in traveling to a new place this weekend? 
Come visit us on the Starbase! 
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Cleveland ConCoction - By the Fans, For the Fans
Your Fandom Escape by the Lake
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The friends and volunteers here at Cleveland ConCoction's 2020 Convention (aka ConCoction 7) wish to welcome featured music guests, Wild Mercy! 

The two time Best Performance nominees and 2012 Best Performance Pegasus Award winning group is a welcome addition to our musical guests in 2012.

Comprised of performers Sally Childs-Helton, Barry Childs-Helton, Jen Midkiff, and Debbie Gates, they call their music something like "neo-Celtic-powered post-industrial electro-acoustic folk-rock with jazz influences and freeform choral structure" but agree that it's always more fun to make music than to label it.

We look forward to having them with us for their first time at ConCoction 2020 during performances, panels, workshops, and open filks. 


Wild Mercy on Facebook
Wild Mercy on Twitter


Cleveland ConCoction - By the Fans, For the Fans
Your Fandom Escape by the Lake

Greetings! 

Is your educational group, fan-run group, convention, or podcast is interested in hall tables for ConCoction's 2020 Convention?
We only have a few left available, these tables are on a first-come basis, and have been known to be waitlisted in past years. 
Reserved hall tables to date will be posted on our website later next week.

If you are interested in signing up or need additional information, send us an email to conchair@clevelanconcoction.org and let us know about your group, your interest, and your questions. 

We look forward to working with you! 


Cleveland ConCoction - By the Fans, For the Fans
Your Fandom Escape by the Lake
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​

 We can hear you asking... "What is SMOFcon?" 

"Smofcon is an annual conference for convention planners. At Smofcon, we gather discuss many aspects of convention planning, at both the local level and at the Worldcon and other large conference level. We look for old friends, make new ones, attend panels on a variety of subjects about convention running, and express our views on best ways to do something. We often get recruited to work on other conventions — or recruit others to come work on our next convention."  -- Official SMOFcon Website


SMOF's are the "Secret Masters of Fandom" and they are the Volunteer and Coordinators that work for days, weeks, months, and sometimes years behind the scenes to make your conventions happen.
SMOFs work the registration tables, they keep the ConSuite open, SMOFs make sure the Programming and Guests are taken care of, SMOFs take care of the website/Social Media/Email communications, and all the other details that make the convention and organization work. 

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Since December of 2016, SMOFs from Cleveland ConCoction have been attending SMOFcons in Chicago, Boston and Santa Rosa in order to network with other SMOFs, bring back information to share in our regional area, and to bid to win the chance to bring SMOFcon to Cleveland, Ohio in 2020.
This event brings in attendance from other regional conventions throughout the US, but it is also a gathering place for SMOFs that bid for and run WorldCon and NASFic conventions in the US and around the world.
​

Many of ConCoction's volunteer SMOFs will be heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico in December to attend SMOFcon 37 to present for a final time to the Fannish Inquisition for consideration to win the honor of hosting SMOFcon 38 (2020).
We currently are still in the running against a bid for 2020 from Montreal, Québec, Canada.


Why are we sharing this? 
 
At ConCoction we try to be very transparent with our membership, as our membership is also our family, friends, neighbors, and volunteers. 

We are all volunteers, most of us are from the Greater Cleveland area, but we also have volunteers from all points of the midwest. 

We also share volunteer time, information, and resources with other conventions throughout the midwest such as MarCon, Con on the Cob, Starbase Indy, DeCONpression, and WindyCon, just to name a few. 

If Cleveland should win the bid for 2020, we'd appreciate the possible follower ship, volunteer assistance, as well as possible sponsorship support. 

Many of our dedicated SMOFs are already interested in helping and attending this event if it happens.
In the meantime, many of us are gearing up to attend SMOFcon 37 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and would appreciate any and all support toward the bid vote in December of 2019.  


Past SMOFcon bid Presentations: 

Cleveland at SMOFcon 34 (Chicago - 2016) 

Cleveland at SMOFcon 35 (Boston 2017) (video pending) 

Cleveland at SMOFcon 36 (Santa Rosa - 2018) 

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Want more information on the Cleveland SMOFcon bid? 

​More details coming soon...
Or send us an email: feedback@ clevelandconcoction.org

​Do you have a favorite game that you want to share with others?
​An old staple that just doesn't see play in your home group?
Do you have an idea for role playing scenario you'd like to run with a new group?
Want to earn some of your 2020 membership fee back to spend in the vendor hall? 

Sign up on our website to run some games at ConCoction's  2020 Convention!


Running games not your thing, but still want to earn some cash back? 
Contact us at volunteers@clevelandconcoction.org and at  gaming@clevelandconcoction.org to discuss joining our volunteer team in the gaming department!


Cleveland ConCoction - By the Fans, For the Fans
Your Fandom Escape by the Lake
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We are working with the vendor to secure pronoun ribbons going forward. 

We are currently looking at: 

• He / Him 
• She / Her 
• They / Them 
• We are also looking at a fourth option of a "My pronouns are" with open blank to be filled in by the wearer if these three prior options do not apply to the wearer. 

These will be an available option if you want to wear them, but are not required for wear if you don not want to. 

We are looking for feedback on our Facebook Event if you'd like to share. 


Cleveland ConCoction - By the Fans, For the Fans
Your Fandom Escape by the Lake
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From the Desk of The Hotel Liaison...

<all hail the hotel liaison>

FINALLY!! 
The announcement many of you have been waiting for. 
The Hotel Room Block for Cleveland ConCoction is now open.

<smattering of vague applause from the back of the room>

To reserve your room simply follow this link:
https://tinyurl.com/u2tdd4r 


A quick note about the above link. 
The default is set for staying Friday and Saturday nights. 
If you are changing that, say because you want to come in on Thursday night so you are fresh and ready for the opening of the con on Friday, or because you are only staying for one night (but, really, why would you want to do that), be sure to click the UPDATE button on the right after you make your preferred changes. 
Failure to do so will result in your reservation switching back to just Friday and Saturday. 
Thus leading to to confusion. 
​Thus leading to a confused email from the Hotel Liaison (and nobody wants a confused Hotel Liaison.  He gets cranky.)

Thanks to all for your patience and I look forward to seeing you at ConCoction 2020!!!!!


Link:   Hotel Information Page  

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Cleveland ConCoction - By the Fans, For the Fans
Your Fandom Escape by the Lake

Thank you so much to the members of @WindyCon 46 for voting ConCoction 2020's party for "The Best Food Award"!! 

Thank you so much to Ashley Berry Parson for her excellent baking skills on the from scratch cakes/cupcake cakes she made the Thursday before the con that survived the drive from Ohio to Chicago. 

Thank you to Jo Lauck, Beaker Lauck, and Lexi Taylor for their help in our unload on Friday. 

​Thank you also to Alyson Petroski and Scott Schultz for all their help with the hotel and keeping in touch with all of us on the party floors. 

Hope to see you all again at ConCoction 2020 and at WindyCon 47!!