Child Care and Information Desk has been updated on the site. Please click on the index to the left and select CHILD CARE or Info Desk.
Also, during the convention, keep an eye on the Chair Updates for any information from the con.
August 18, 2003
Due to the lateness of mailing PR #6 and now the power outage that has hit the North East, PR #6 is available on line for viewing. From the left hand index list ~> click A-Z ~> Progress Report 6.
Also, programming information schedule can be accessed by going to www.torcon3.on.ca/programming/news/sched.html directly or by clicking index list ~> click A-Z ~> Program Participants and selecting “schedule” on the top menu list.
For those interested in parking, information is also available on line again by following from the left hand index list ~> click A-Z Index ~> click Parking.
August 15, 2003
Due to the power outage, I currently understand that some of the Torcon eMail addresses may be still down. I (from midnight last night) have home power here in Hamilton, and my personal internet provider has been up since 12:30 pm today. However many sections of Hamilton and the Toronto area are still without power. We are slowly getting power back, but thyere are rolling power outages occurring at this time. Please bear with us. My compliments to the Torcon Staff hit by the outages in Canada and the US. Despite the power outages, those affected have still been able to continue in their con-ly duties. I have already had one impromptu meeting in a local mall that is open.
Let's see...
First Sars and then Mad cow, that's S&M, I can live with that. Now Electricity and a GoH accident. That's SMEG, hmmmmm, is there a message here?
August 13, 2003
Update on Frank Kelly Freas...
Last Friday Kelly fell and broke his hip, then had surgery Sunday. On Monday he was moved to the Rehab floor of the hospital. Prognosis is good. He's going to try to walk tomorrow [Wednesday] with the aid of the physical therapist. He wants to get back to work and is currently amusing himself with a sketchbook and some pens. Laura is doing fine. Flowers on behalf of the convention and attendees were sent.
August 10, 2003
I know you will be happy to hear that Frank Kelly Freas has made it through his surgery. He is awake and recovering. I called his hospital room and extended my, the convention, and its members' wishes for a speedy recovery. Flowers have been sent to him on behalf of all of us. Laura is doing well given the stressful events. Our good wishes are with her too.
Quick items…
For those of us staying in Toronto for awhile, there is a laundry at 20 Widmer Street ( http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z5B321B85 ). It is about 800m from the Crowne Plaza.
This unsolicited article is written by a native to Toronto (Joanthan Cowie) as a tourist guide
for those attending the forthcoming Worldcon.
http://www.concatenation.org/science/toronto.html
Finally, for those who are interested in knowing authors may be attending Torcon doing panles and signing autographs, the following is a list of authors who have expressed an interest in doing so. Please bear in mind that this list is tentative at this time, not to be considered all inclusive or exclusive.
Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Roger MacBride Allen, Catherine Asaro, Alison Baird, Scott Bakker, James Barclay, Paul Barnett, Adrian Bedford, Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, Hilari Bell, Carol Berg, Russell Blackford, Grace Boykin, Marilyn "Mattie" Brahen, Patricia Bray, David Brin, Kristen Britain, M.M. Buckner, Elizabeth Caldwell, isobelle carmody, Adam-Troy Castro, Jeanne Cavelos, Jack L. Chalker, Joël Champetier, Suzy Charnas, Barbara Chepaitis, John Clute, David B. Coe, Kathryn Cramer, Julie Czerneda, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, Ellen Datlow, Keith DeCandido, William Dietz, Candas Jane Dorsey, Lisa DuMond, Dave Duncan, Scott Edelman,
Edward Einhorn, Phyllis Eisenstein, Sheila Finch, Charles Coleman Finlay, Melanie Fletcher, Lynn Flewelling,
Sean Fodera, Esther Friesner, Marcel Gagne, Scott Green, Terence Green, Lois Gresh, Karen Haber, Beverly Hale, Elizabeth Hand, Steven Harper Piziks, Charlaine Harris, Harry Harrison, David Hartwell, Peter Heck, John G. Hemry, Beth Hilgartner, P.C. Hodgell, Alexandra Elizabeth Honigsberg, Nalo Hopkinson, Alma Hromic eckert,
Tanya Huff, Walter H. Hunt, Marcy Italiano, Steve Jackson, Sandra Kasturi, Marvin Kaye, James Killus, Richard Kirk, Rosemary Kirstein, David Barr Kirtley, Ellen Klages, E.E. Knight, Nancy Kress, Michele Laframboise, Jay Lake, Claude Lalumière, Geoffrey Landis, Dave Langford, Sharon Lee, Edward M. Lerner, Page E. Lewis, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Jean Lorrah, Karin Lowachee, Nicole Luiken, Scott Mackay, Derwin Mak, Robert Marks,
Louise Marley, Ann Marston, Lee Martindale, Wil McCarthy, Will McDermott, Terry McGarry, Sean McMullen,
Norma McPhee, Henry Melton, Robert Metzger, China Mieville, Steve Miller, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Mike Moscoe,
Kevin Murphy, Larry Niven, Gerald Nordley, Bill Patterson, Fiona Patton, Ursula Pflug, Michael Picray,
Terry Pratchett, Eric Raymond, Robert Reed, mike resnick, Kim Stanley Robinson, Gord Rollo, Nick Sagan,
Michelle Sagara (West), steve Sawicki, Robert J. Sawyer, Stanley Schmidt, Lawrence Schoen, Karl Schroeder,
Darrell Schweitzer, Pamela D Scoville, Mark Shainblum, Josepha Sherman, Dr. H. Paul Shuch, susan shwartz,
Jennifer Sigouin, Steven Silver, Robert Silverberg, Glenn Sixbury, Kristine Smith, Caro Soles, Bud Sparhawk,
Wen Spencer, Allen M. Steele, James Stevens-Arce, Stephen M. Stirling, Charlie Stross, Harry Stubbs,
Caitlin Sweet, Isaac Szpindel, Cecilia Tan, Amy Thomson, Mary Turzillo, Mary A. Turzillo, Edo van Belkom,
James Van Pelt, K.D. Wentworth, Ken Wharton, Lori White, Rick Wilber, Edward Willett, Liz Williams, Walter Jon Williams, Connie Willis, Robert Charles Wilson, Ann Zeddies, Sarah Zettel, Marc Zicree
Frank Kelly Freas had a fall Friday [August 8, 2003] morning and fractured his hip. He was scheduled for surgery Saturday morning but it has been rescheduled to today and we are awaiting the results.
We were apprised of the situation Friday by Laura and have not been broadcasting the information to allow them privacy at this time. Also, we need to have a better idea of how the surgery went. Laura has given the go ahead for me to disseminate this information now.
To answer the immediate question you may have: Frank Kelly Freas will remain Torcon's Guest of Honour whether he can attend physically or not.
Further details as they become known will be posted in the Chair Updates on the Torcon 3 website www.torcon.on.ca and to other areas/lists as possible.
On behalf of the convention and attendees, our thoughts are with him and Laura for a successful surgery and speedy recovery.
Peter Jarvis
Chair Torcon 3
61st World Science Fiction Convention
August 9, 2003
For those who may not be aware, we are continuing online attending membership sales and membership transfers to August 10 (Sunday). We are taking online supporting membership sales until August 15 (Friday).
Any memberships that come in by mail after those dates, will be processed if possible.
Also, the link in the last posting for the WSFS Business meeting did not print. The link is: www.torcon3.on.ca/events/WSFSbusiness.html
For those interested in the Fairmont Royal York's virtual consierge, check out this site: http://concierge.fairmont.com/location.process/OID_35/OLID_8870/
August 8, 2003
For those who may not be aware, we are continuing online attending membership sales and membership transfers to August 10 (Sunday). We are taking online supporting membership sales until August 15 (Friday).
Any memberships that come in by mail after those dates, will be processed if possible.
Also, the link in the last posting for the WSFS Business meeting did not print. The link is: www.torcon3.on.ca/events/WSFSbusiness.html www.torcon3.on.ca/events/WSFSbusiness.html
For those who may not be aware, we are continuing online attending membership sales and membership transfers to August 10 (Sunday). We are taking online supporting membership sales until August 15 (Friday).
Any memberships that come in by mail after those dates, will be processed if possible.
Also, the link in the last posting for the WSFS Business meeting did not print. The link is: www.torcon3.on.ca/events/WSFSbusiness.html
August 7, 2003
The final Progress Report is being sent out. Recognizing the short time, an on line
version will be available on the website shortly.
Rember that every member of Torcon 3 is a member of the World Science Fiction Society.
(In fact, the only way you can join WSFS is to join the current Worldcon.)
Every attending member may attend and participate in the WSFS Business
Meeting, where we decide changes to the governing documents of WSFS, in
particular the WSFS Constitution that governs the Hugo Awards and the
selection of future Worldcons.
WSFS Business Meetings will be on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 10 AM. The
T3 web site was updated recently with information about the Business
Meeting, available from the A-Z index under WSFS Business Meeting or
directly at . I would
encourage anyone interested in the Business Meeting to read these pages.
July 17, 2003
Last General Torcon Meeting Before Torcon!
The next and last TORCON 3 information meeting will be held Sunday July 20, 2003
at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Front Street directly across from the CBC building.
The meeting will happen from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM in Meeting Room 203C/D. For further information: info@torcon3.on.ca.This meeting is open to anyone and as people have done
in the past, feel free to disseminate this announcement.As this is the last meeting, also in attendance will be the Division Heads for Torcon.
Baseball fans can enjoy a Labour Day game. The Toronto Blue Jays host the
New York Yankees at 1:05 p.m. The hotel's restaurant and bar have seats
overlooking the playing field.
The cutoff date for reserving a room in the Renaissance Toronto Hotel at
Skydome is extended to Monday Aug. 11.
July 14, 2003
Child Care: for those interested in more information, the website has more information on this. Please go to: http://www.torcon3.on.ca/services/childcare.html
The site selection ballots in PDF form are available for downloading. The Worldcon for 2006 and the NASFIC for 2005 are found at:
For those of you who have not yet filled out the events survey, the deadline has been extended to July 19th .
The previous Chair’s update concerning the on line Hugo balloting had a web page link that was a bit too direct. It by-passes the voting instructions. The better link is the following one, which gives you all the necessary instructions: www.torcon3.on.ca/ballots
One of the pieces of information I have needed to know about hotels over the years has been what the hotel has with regards to a business center, for those last minute rush items. For those interested, there is the Xerox Center on-site at The Fairmont Royal York to provide business travelers with the best printing technology available. The Xerox Business Center, adjacent to the Work Center on the Lobby Level, is the only document
center of its kind in a hotel. Hours: Monday to Friday: 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There is of course numerous photocopier centers within walking distance of the hotel.
Also near to the hotel, just a few blocks east there is a 24 hour Dominion (grocery) store - north side of front street between Church and Jarvis – although they have not set their Labour Day hours yet, the usual plan for most stores is to close 11:00pm Sunday and re-open noon Tuesday. I have it on good authority that it is big and really good.
July 12, 2003
Closer the convention looms, the faster things change... These updates will be occurring hopefully more frequently to cover all the news that happens the last 2 months of the con.
For those wishing to vote for the Hugos on line, you can do so by going to: www.torcon3.on.ca/ballots directly. Note you need you PIN number from the PR 5 mailing. If you have problems locating your PIN, please contact us at: PINrequest@torcon3.on.ca.
The deadline for the Souvenir Book has been extended to July 15, 2003.
Discussions with the pre-reg team and membership processing staff have resulted in Finance determining that we can extend the date for selling attending memberships until August 10, 2003 and for supporting memberships until August 15, 2003 (the latter being the date that online and mail-in site selection voting closes).
We have now added a third secure online payment form - this one being for people who need to make payments to Torcon for reasons other than memberships. The URL of the new payment form is https://www.torcon3.on.ca/payments.
For those people traveling into Canada by plane, Toronto does have 2 airports. Pearson airport is the largest and handles all carriers. You can browse it on line at http://www.torontoairport.ca. There are several ways to get from Pearson to downtown Toronto. You can explore them at http://www.torontoairport.ca/gettinghere/public_transit.asp. Go Transit and other city buses link up with the subway. The direct Airport Express Bus costs $24.50 cdn round trip and their schedule can be found at . This bus’s end point is the Royal York Hotel.
The second, smaller airport, is located on Toronto Island, right downtown. It is not linked directly to the city, so the trip from the airport to the city center is done by ferry. Information about this airport is available at http://www.torontoport.com/TCCA.htm. Most flights go into Pearson. The Island is mainly used for local flights and charters.
Torcon will be presenting the Young Writer's Workshop on Friday afternoon of the con. This will serve as an introduction to the adult writer's workshops (older teens are encouraged to do both). Pro writers will sit with teens and discuss the young writers' stories, which have been submitted electronically beforehand. Submissions must be genre (SF/F), complete short stories (no novel excerpts), original, and under 5000 words. No fan fiction. No poetry. Email submissions to young-writers@torcon3.on.ca.
June 17, 2003
The latest progress report has been mailed. If you wish to receive it electronically, please contact info@torcon3.on.ca. The mailing contains also your PIN numbers to use for balloting on line.
Deadlines for the last Progress Report and Souvenir Book are both June 30th, 2003.
Artists can register online for art show space by going to www.torcon3.on.ca/exhibits/artshowfaq.html.
For those who wish to post a message to our message board for items such as looking for a hotel roommate, you can do so by clicking on www.torcon3.on.ca/main/before.html, and selecting Message Board on the left.
If you have not gotten your memberships yet, please take note that membership rates for $US dollar payments will be changing July 1st to reflect currency changes. The Canadian rates remain unchanged. All credit card payments are processed in Canadian funds. Click here for more information: www.torcon3.on.ca/membership/index.html.
For on-line balloting for the Hugos, Campbell and Auroras, please got to www.torcon3.on.ca/ballots/index.html. Please not that Auroras are restricted to Canadian Residents. Mailing deadline line for the Hugos, Campbell and Auroras ballots are July 31st, 2003.
Hotel rooms continue to fill up, if you have not already booked a room, please do so soon. You can do it on line by clicking here www.torcon3.on.ca/hotels/index.html.
Finally, a comment on SARS. Toronto is safe. It is unfortunate that there was a second small outbreak, which has now run its course. However, there is no risk to the convention because all confirmed cases have been traced back to the initial first cases and all have been contracted at hospitals. The Chair himself has visited the area east of Toronto where SARS was and can report that there is no change in people’s activities nor signs of anybody wearing masks. The number of SARS active cases in Canada just about matches the same number of probable cases in the United States. If you wish to know more, there are some useful links. Got to www.torcon3.on.ca/news/030421-1.html
May 14, 2003
Good News! In the entire Province of Ontario between May 1st and September 30th, 2003 the provincial government has passed legislation so that the Five per cent hotel tax will not be charged and the Admission to places of amusement tax will not be charged. This means that for Canadian residents, only the GST will apply to their hotel rooms, and for non-Canadian residents, after the GST rebate has been applied for on their hotel rooms, no taxes (12% savings in total).
For the full text of the announcement visit, www.trd.fin.gov.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_3_26654_1.html.
Also, Air Canada this week launched another worldwide seat sale as it tries to stimulate travel that has been slowed by recent world events. The sale ends May 16. Travel to Canadian and U.S. destinations must be completed by Sept. 30. Unfortunately, international destinations must be completed by June 19th which is too early for Torcon. More details can be found at www.aircanada.ca.
If you have not reserved your Torcon 3 hotel room, do not overlook the Renaissance Toronto Hotel at Skydome. For information, visit www.torcon3.on.ca and in the column at left, click A-Z Index ~> click Reserve Your Room ~> click. Sleep in a Toronto
landmark. Remember, for all Torcon members, a 10% discount at the Sky Dome's restaurants is offered.
Torcon 3 information telephone line. Call 416-657-4179 to access the Torcon 3 information line. By using the menu options, you can hear pre-recorded messages about Torcon and its events.
April 29, 2003
Torcon will happen as expected August 28th to September 1st, 2003 at
the Royal York Hotel and Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The SARS
virus has been over played and poorly reported in the media. The virus
peaked in Toronto in March and the number of cases has been steadily
decreasing. The WHO travel advisory is being contested at all levels
of government. I pleased to report that our statistics have not
reflected any impact from SARS. I take this as meaning fans are better
informed and know that it will not be a factor in Toronto. There are a
few items on our web site that provide further information,
From a fan's view and the latest from Toronto Tourism (see Convention News, at left)
The next Torcon information meeting will be held Sunday May 4th from
1:00pm to 3:00 pm in the New Brunswick room (the Main Mezzanine floor)
of the Royal York hotel on Front Street directly across from Union
station. For further information: info@torcon3.on.ca The meeting is
open to anyone and as people have done
in the past, feel free to disseminate this announcement.
Check out the new membership information about child memberships, day
memberships, and other related membership information, (see Membership Policies, at left)
There are some bigger Fairmont Deluxe rooms that have been made
available to Torcon. (see Reserve Your Room, at left)
April 15, 2003
I am pleased to announce the creation of a new Division entitled Member Services headed up by Lance Sibley.
Hotel Room Updates: All of the three-adult-to-a-room rooms at the Royal York are sold. All double-doubles at the Crowne Plaza and at the Skydome Hotel are sold. Double-doubles still at the Holiday Inn on King. Percentagewise, Crowne Plaza is near sold old. Both the Holiday on King and Royal York Hotel are at 50% booked. The
Skydome/Renaissance hotel is currentlyat 12%. Book now!
For those interested in looking at Border Crossing information and times, the following link to Canada Customs has some interesting information:
www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/customs/general/times/menu-e.html.
March 31, 2003
Originally posted March 25, 2003
Torcon will be at FilkOntario this weekend.
If you have any programming ideas for Torcon, let us know! You can submit your suggestions on line under Programming.
I am happy to announce that Torcon has received the last out standing pass-along fund from the 2000 Worldcon. Many thanks to Con Jose, MilPhil, and Chicon.
We have increased our suites at the Fairmont. For those interested in further information on suites, please contact suites@torcon3.on.ca
Deadlines coming up (March 31, 2003): Hugo Nominations, Submissions for PR #4, and the Student SF & F Essay Contest.
March 18, 2003
The hotel registration form is available on line. Hotel rooms are at 44% booked. To register on line or access the form go to Travel & Hotels.
The Hugo Nomination form is due March 31, 2003. If you wish to complete the form go to Awards & Ballots. You must have been a member (supporting or attending) of last year’s Worldcon or this year’s Worldcon to nominate. If you are not a member, you can register on line for Torcon here.
For Canadians who wish to nominate for the Auroras, please go to Awards & Ballots. Total membership as of February is 3,500.
Addendum: The deadline for joining Torcon 3 to be able to make Hugo Award nominations was January 31, 2003. You can still become a Torcon 3 member and vote for the 2003 Hugo Awards when the final voting ballot is released this spring.
March 2, 2003
Welcome to the Chair Blog. This is where you will see regular updates from the Con Chair.
