Was: September 20-22, 2002
Rosemont, IL

Historical Site

Well, we had the con, and we had a great time. We're keeping this site up for historical purposes. If you find this interesting, you should look at the information for the current Midwest Construction as well.

Midwest Construction is a science fiction convention aimed at the people who plan science fiction conventions.Focusing on the running of local and regional cons, Midwest Construction is open to anyone interested in con running, although an emphasis will be placed on con running within the Midwest and immediately adjacent areas as well as building a greater sense of community in Midwest fandom.

Rates

Program

This is the tentative, first cut, "Hey, here's an idea" cut of the program. Comments are more than welcome, please email them to mwc@midfan.org. Participants are TBD.

Saturday and Sunday at 10:00, Salon B is available for "special interest" programming for topics not already on the schedule. Please sign up for these times in the hospitality suite. Also, at lunch Saturday, Worldcon bidders are invited to make a short presentation and take questions.

And of course, those traditional spaces for conversation, the consuite and the bar, are always open for a throw-together program.

Friday

Friday 5:00-Salon B
Managing Income at Con

In addition to memberships, conventions can raise money through the art show, the dealers room, and sales to members. What are some innovative ways to help support the bottom line?

Dinner 6:00-8:000

Friday 8:00-Salon B
Mixer and Welcome!

Friday 10:00-Salon B
Registration: Keeping the Lines Short and the Members Happy

The first impression most of your members will have of the convention is Registration. How can you ensure that the lines are kept as short as possible and problems are held to a minimum.

Saturday

Saturday 11:00-Salon B
Publications: In Print, On-line

Only a few years ago, conventions only had to worry about print publications. Now, the website also forms a major part of the publications division of a con. What technologies are involved in each aspect of publications and how can you ensure they work together. What is the role of on-line publications once the con begins?

Lunch 12:00-1:00PM

Saturday 1:00-Salon B
How Should We Honor Our Guests?

This panel will address guest of honor issues. How different cons select their guests, how far ahead of time are they invited? What each convention provides to its guests and what they expect in return from their guests.

Saturday 2:00-Salon B
What to do When Reality Intrudes on Your Con?

As much as conventions are weekends away from our mundane existence, occasionally the real world does intrude on our time. When a crisis arises, how can you, as a con-runner deal with it to maximize your efforts with the authorities (whether local or hotel) and minimize the affect on the con members?

Saturday 3:00-Salon B
New Blood: Recruiting Gophers and Concom

A perpetual problem facing any con is how to bring in new volunteers. What can be done to ensure that new people are constantly being brought in, trained and promoted. How can you foster the feeling among members that a con is a collaborative effort and not just a show put on for their entertainment?

Saturday 4:00-Salon B
We Now Return You to Irregularly Scheduled Programming

Programming can be a fine line between providing what everyone wants and expects and being stale. How can you incorporate innovative ideas into your program and still give the people what they want.

Saturday 5:00-235/236 (Consuite)
Flyer Critique

Bring your con flyers to this workshop so we can all look at them, critique them and learn how to make a more effective flyer.

Saturday 6:00-Walden Room
Banquet/Business Meeting

Sunday

Sunday 11:00-Salon B
Working with Hotels

Until the Tucker Hotel is built (and probably even after), we'll have to work with hotel sales managers to ensure that we have space to provide a convention. What are we looking for and what is the hotel looking for in their relationship. How can we work together in symbiosis instead of creating an us vs. them mentality on either side. Hotel staff is professional, we need to be professional when working with them.

Lunch 12:00-1:00PM

Sunday 1:00-Salon B
SIGs: Incorporating Special Interest Groups into Your Con

Cons always have special interest groups which want to use their space to promote themselves or hold business meetings. How can we ensure that a Special Interest Group not only feels welcome at the con, but also wants to participate in wider activities. How can we work to ensure that a Special Interest Group is not made to feel like fringe fen?

Sunday 2:00-Salon B
Ghosting & Parties

After hours is when many cons get into full swing with room parties. Because so many of these parties are held in private rooms, ghosting is on the increase during this time. What can be done to limit the number of ghosts at a convention and what can be done to make sure that room parties are not allowed to run rampant.

Contact

Steven Silver, mwc@midfan.org

Members

We would like to thank MnStf, Torcon, Duckon and UK05 for their assistance in time and resources at Millennium Philcon, the 59th Annual World Science Fiction Convention.

Updated 10-Sep-2002: webmaster@midfan.org