Hello Everyone!
The Thirty-Eighth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts is upon us, and the weather forecast for the week is absolutely beautiful, so it will be a welcome break for those of you coming from the north! In addition to wishing you all safe travels, I wanted to send a few final reminders before the conference!
I will be on-site preparing for your arrival starting Monday, March 20, and I will open the registration desk early on Wednesday, so stop by and say hello and pick up your packet.
We need to finalize our guarantees to the hotel for the meals, so if you signed up to attend the Friday luncheon, but have changed your mind, or won’t be arriving in time, let me know as soon as possible, and I can make the adjustment in numbers.
If you are flying in,keep in mind that there is a free hotel shuttle that will bring you to the hotel if you need it. Call 407-851-9000 and tell them which terminal you are at (Terminal A or Terminal B or tell them your airline). They will instruct you to go to the shuttle pickup point, and they will send the shuttle for you. There is normally about a ten-minute wait, however we have a very large group this year, so the wait may be a bit longer this year, but not by much.
If you arrive early on Monday or Tuesday, the book room can always use help unpacking, arranging, and pricing books. The wonderful, amazing book room staff will be working in Augusta A/B most of the day Monday and Tuesday, so if you simply cannot resist being away from books, this is the perfect way to spend a bit of time until the conference starts.
We still need some volunteers to work during the conference, so if you haven’t already signed up,and you would like to, you can find the volunteer survey here.
On Wednesday, March 22,2017, we have a few events that you might enjoy before and after the opening panels:
- · 2:30 pm – 3:15 pm – Pre-Opening Refreshments in the Ballroom Foyer.
- · 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm – Opening Ceremony in the Ballroom
- · 8:00 pm – 8:30 pm. – Newcomer Meet-Up in Captiva A/B.
- · 8:30 pm – 11:00 pm – Opening Reception in Capri.
If you are staying in town beyond the conference and are interested in visiting additional Orlando attractions, rental vehicles are available in the hotel lobby or at multiple locations near the airport.
ICFA is committed to being an accessible conference that supports the varied needs of our members. We understand how important it is for our attendees and panelists to feel comfortable and welcome. The conference is held at the Orlando Marriott Lakeside Hotel. Members and attendees can find our accessibility policy here.
If you have any questions, please email me at iafareg AT gmail.com.
I will see you all in few days!
Regards,
Valorie
“The lesson of history is that no one learns.”
― Steven Erikson, Deadhouse Gates
“We humans do not understand compassion. In each moment of our lives, we betray it. Aye, we know of its worth, yet in knowing we then attach to it a value, we guard the giving of it, believing it must be earned, T’lan Imass. Compassion is priceless in the truest sense of the word. It must be given freely. In abundance.”
― Steven Erikson, Memories of Ice
“It is blasphemy to separate oneself from the earth and look down on it like a god. It is more than blasphemy; it is dangerous. We can never be gods, after all – but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.”
― N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
“Tell them they can be great someday, like us. Tell them they belong among us, no matter how we treat them. Tell them they must earn the respect which everyone else receives by default. Them there is a standard for acceptance; that standard is simply perfection. Kill those who scoff at those contradictions, and tell the rest that the dead deserved annihilation for their weakness and doubt. Then they’ll break themselves trying for what they’ll never achieve”
― N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season
“What better way to destroy a civilization, society or a race than to set people into the wild oscillations which follow their turning over their judgment and decision-making faculties to a superhero?”
― Edward James, The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction