The CONvergence Convention Committee (ConCom) and Convergence Events, Inc. Board of Directors have spent the last several weeks consulting oracles, listening to soothsayers, and heeding the prognosticators so we are able to bring you another update on this year’s events. This year will be different from any CONvergence you’ve seen before or will see again.
Due to ever-evolving circumstances, Some things we’ve already announced have had to change, while others have become much clearer. We’re not saying Loki had anything to do with these changes, but we did find a golden-horned helmet in the CONvergence offices, so we are also not ruling anything out. Here’s the latest on CONvergence 2021!
Registration and Badge Pickup
We had to change our plans about a couple of things. Here’s the scoop!
- We will NOT be mailing badges, after all. There are reasons, but they involve elder gods, horrible space monkeys, and at least one herring, and we just don’t want to get into it.
- As such, we will be doing normal badge pickup at the convention, with at least one pickup session on Wednesday, August 4, 2021. We are also planning to try to schedule a pre-convention badge pickup day in the weeks before the convention. Stay tuned!
- The deadline for transferring your membership to another person is July 31, 2021 at 11:59pm. No new transfers can be accepted after that.
Vaccination and Mask Requirements
As announced earlier, we will be requiring proof of vaccination to attend CONvergence in person, which you will need to present when you pick up your badge. A CDC card (or a photo of a CDC card on your phone) is best, but any official electronic or printed documentation that you have been vaccinated will be accepted. If you have questions about your individual proof of vaccination, please contact the Board of Directors.
We are also requiring masks to be worn over the nose and mouth in all convention spaces.
We will not be making any exceptions to these policies for people who wish to participate fully in the live convention. If you are unable for any reason to abide by these requirements, we strongly encourage you to take a look at our Staycation and Online options below!
CONvergence Staycation
The Staycation concept was an attempt to think creatively and provide a unique CONvergence opportunity for those who are not quite ready or able to participate in a large, in-person event. Like many things this year, we’ve had to think outside the box and try to extrapolate from incomplete information, so bear with us and please know that this will evolve. It is a journey we are all going on together and just like with the in-person convention, we are committed to making it the very best experience possible, and much more than a myth or legend.
Here are some of the details we have already worked out.
Please note that you must be staying at the Hyatt Regency to participate in CONvergence Staycation!
If you already have a membership to CONvergence 2021
If you already have a CONvergence 2021 membership, but are not comfortable participating in the live convention, we invite you to stay at the hotel but remain in the comfort and safety of your room while enjoying some CONvergence fun. If you sign up for CONvergence Staycation, you will receive a special CONvergence Staycation box. If you have more than one member staying in your room, each member can sign up for their own Package. If you have a mix of members and non-members staying in your room, see below.
If you do not have a membership to CONvergence 2021
If you never bought a membership to CONvergence 2021, or have already transferred it to someone else, you can still participate in the Staycation. The CONvergence Staycation box will be available for $40.
In your CONvergence Staycation box you will receive:
- CONvergence swag!
- Snacks!
- A CONvergence Staycation activity kit from Connie’s Quantum Sandbox!
- CONvergence Souvenir & Program Book!
- A few other surprises yet to be revealed! (If your fan group normally participates in CONvergence and would like to add a trinket, swag, or other fun to the Staycation box, please contact the Board of Directors!)
In addition to using your own devices to stream CONvergence content online, we are working with the Hyatt Regency to provide CONvergence content via the in-house television system!
Either way, if you’re interested, please register now!
If you are interested in the Staycation Package, fill out this registration form by July 20, 2021. We need to know how many boxes to provide!
CONvergence Online
We will be offering some CONvergence 2021 events and content streamed online. We are currently working out all the technical details, such as how many owls will need to fly back and forth, whether watching Live with Regis and Medusa will turn you to stone over the internet, and whether we need Anansi’s permission to broadcast on the Web, or was he tricking us? Some of the content you can expect is:
- Opening and Closing Ceremonies
- Masquerade
- Select performances from Harmonic CONvergence and Wordslingers Way
- CON-Link live reporting from around the convention, along with recorded segments
- Interactive Quantum Sandbox Activities
In addition, we are looking into the feasibility of streaming some panels, providing online gaming opportunities, and providing other additional content. However, all of this is dependent on us having volunteers to help out. (Without some additional volunteers, we will not have the staff to stream panels or host virtual gaming. CONvergence is an all-volunteer event and you are a member of the organization, so we need you to help us make the convention fun for everyone! Check out how to get involved down below.)
Streamed CONvergence 2021 content will be available via several common streaming platforms simultaneously, including Twitch and YouTube.
Volunteers are needed!
While you may not be able to join the Valkyries, you can still be a hero of legend and help your CONvergence Community make this year’s events happen. In addition to all our regular convention activities—for which we will definitely need additional volunteers—the new innovations that are coming with running a hybrid event could really use some helping hands too!
For example, If we have more volunteers, we can offer more online content! Some of what we would like to offer—such as panels that are either live streamed or provided in a hybrid format using Zoom—will require volunteers who will be at the convention willing to actually do the work!
For a complete list of activities that need volunteers, please sign up for volunteer shifts, or reach out to the department you would like to help directly! You can also send questions and general inquiries to the Volunteers Department.
Thank You CONvergence Community
This has truly been a challenging year and we greatly appreciate your patience and support as we put together the different elements, and attempt to make something worthy of CONvergence legend. Stay tuned for more updates and we will see you in just one month!
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