Events is the division responsible for the large spectaculars at Noreascon Four … and are we going to have some spectacular spectaculars!
Here's some of what's on our menu:
Opening Ceremony
Thursday, September 2, 1:00 pm, in the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in the Hynes Convention Center. Join Noreascon Chairman Deb Geisler as she introduces the Guests of Honor and officially opens the convention with a bang!
First Night Noreascon
In addition to a short opening ceremony on Thursday at 1:00 pm we've devised an evening "Taste of Worldcon" event that will be a convention gourmand's delight — First Night Noreascon. Dress up or wear your favorite hall costume and come enjoy our fannish carnival!
Friday Night Extravaganza
What do you call an evening that combines interviews with our Guests of Honor and presentations of the Retro Hugos, followed by a Sock-hop/Swing dance? You call it The Time Machine!
Join Peter Weston and Bob Eggleton as Peter interviews his fellow Guests of Honor and Bob serves as the Time Travel MC. Once Peter's done his job, Terry Pratchett will turn the tables (something he does amazingly well!) and interview Peter.
Hugo Awards Ceremony
The Hugo Awards Ceremony is always a highlight of the Worldcon, where we present our awards for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy. Join us on Saturday, September 4, 2004, for what's sure to be a glittering event.
Masquerade
The Masquerade is generally the most well-attended event at a Worldcon, drawing an audience that "ooh!"s and "ah"s and (sometimes) laughs at the presentation of a wide variety of costumes. Costumers display a different type of creativity than writers do, and the fruits of their labors tend to have a very short time being shown "live", but oh, what a glorious presentation it is! Join us at 8:30 pm on Sunday, September 5, 2004, for Noreascon 4's Masquerade.
HarperCollins, Terry Pratchett's publisher, will be offering a $500 prize for the best Discworld-themed costume. In addition, Terry will be presenting his personal award for the best costume, a specially-cast Golden Luggage.
Dances
We've mentioned the Sock-hop/Swing dance that will be part of The TIme Machine, but we've also got the Ankh-Morpork Ball during First Night Noreascon, the by-now traditional Regency Dance, scheduled for Friday, September 3, 2004 2:00–5:00 pm, and a Post-Hugos Ball to check out the future of dance music on Saturday, September 4, from approximately 10:30pm–2:00am..
There will also be special kids' dances on Saturday and Sunday. Check the children's programming schedule for more information.
Hall Costumes
If Masquerade costumes are designed with an eye towards a brief public presentation, hall costumes are, as Marjii Ellers was heard to say, "everyday clothing for an alternative universe." We hope many of the alternative universes we know are out there will show us what their clothing is like during Noreascon 4…Discworld costumes at First Night Noreascon would be particularly cool, but we'll appreciate every hall costume that appears throughout the convention.
Films, Video, Anime
We'll have lots of stuff going up on screens in both the Hynes (left
map) and the Sheraton (right map) — big presentations, little
presentations, new presentations, old presentations. The schedules for film and
videos and anime will be posted shortly.
Our Anime team has a brief introduction that defines some of the most common terms and themes used in talking about anime. It also describes the kinds of anime they expect to be highlighting at Noreascon 4 … check it out, particularly if you know of items that might be particularly interesting to Noreascon 4's members.
Our Hollywood film team is also working hard at identifying and securing the rights to show some really cool stuff. We'll tell you more as we know about it, but you can be assured that "Coming Attractions" will certainly be on the program at Noreascon 4.
Technical Support Services
Lights! Cameras! Sound gear! Projectors! Screens! Cables! and lots more …
The Technical Support Services area of Events is responsible for making sure that we have the equipment and people to support Programming and Events in the production of Noreascon 4. It's a service area — we aren't here to play with cool toys; we're here to make sure that the convention's technical needs are met. If we happen to get to play with cool toys along the way, it's a bonus.
We can always use more folks working in Tech, so check it out!