The ConCourse

 

Take a room, a BIG room—over 35,000 square feet (3,000+ square meters). Make it out of concrete and install an ugly concrete pillar every 30 feet. That's Exhibit Hall C of the Hynes Convention Center.

But, as they say in the real estate business, location, location, location. And this room is between the home of the Hugos and Masquerade and the Dealers Room, between the Sheraton and the Program rooms, between registration and the Art Show, between where you are and where you're going.

So What Are We Going to Do With It?

First, we figured we could:

• Install some carpeting, decorations, signs, banners.
• Bring in lots of couches, chairs, and tables.
• Build a pub (The Mended Drum) and open a restaurant (rat on a stick?!!?).
• Display 50 Hugos, one from every year.
• Get NASA's full-scale replica of Goddard's first liquid fueled rocket and maybe a moon rock or two.

Then we figured, we could add:

• Pictures from the Space Telescope.
• The Fan Lounge.
• Costumes.
• Lights.
• Fannish history.
• Site selection voting.
• Exhibits about our guests of honor.
• E-mail access and wireless.
• Convention and restaurant information.
• The convention's newspaper.

And lots more.

And Then We Need Some Fans ....

Add thousands of fans, and you'll have the ConCourse, open for First Night and then 9AM to 2AM daily. It's our social center, nightclub, museum, and park. Pick a spot, sit down, and everyone you know will walk by at some point. Or walk through to find your friends and lots of surprises. We hope you might not even notice the concrete.