A Worldcon Announcement: 2015 bid for Spokane

Spokane, WA, from Facebook profile

Through Dave, RFF has been informed that Spokane is a possible site for the 2015 Worldcon. The following is a press release.

The Seattle Westercon Organizing Committee (SWOC) is announcing a bid to host the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention in Spokane, Washington in the summer of 2015.

SWOC has hosted a number of major regional conventions, including Westercon
46 in 1993, Westercon 50 in 1997, Westercon 56 in 2003, Cascadia Con (the
eighth North American Science Fiction Convention) in 2005, and it is
currently planning Westercon 65, "ConClusion", to be held in Seattle in
2012. SWOC also organizes ConComCom, an annual conference for convention
organizers, and it is the legal corporate entity for ConFlikt, Seattle's
filk convention.

Spokane is a beautiful tourist-friendly destination in the Pacific
Northwest, with natural attractions in and around the city, great
restaurants, and other amenities. It is easy to reach by air, road, and
train. Spokane has an active fan community that is well-connected to the
broader circles of Pacific Northwest fandom. In fact, Spokane came to the
attention of SWOC by way of fan connections to Spokane's science fiction
literary community. SWOC conducted a review of many possible venues in the
Northwest, and Spokane was chosen for having the best combination of
facilities, fandom, transportation, and tourism.

The World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) has been held since 1939 as
a gathering of the science fiction community, where the Hugo Awards are
presented to honor the best print, media, and fan works within the genre and
community. In 2010, Worldcon was held in Melbourne, Australia; in 2011, it
is in Reno, Nevada, and in 2012 it will be in Chicago.

Venues are chosen by a site selection ballot two years before the event;
this bid is promoting Spokane for the ballot to be conducted at the Worldcon
in 2013. The bid will be filing with Bobbie DuFault and Sally Woehrle as
co-chairs of the 2015 Worldcon.

Members of the bid team are announcing the bid on Memorial Day weekend at
Miscon, Baycon, and Balticon. Planning discussions will be held at ConComCon
in Seattle on June 10-12. A launch party will be held at Renovation in Reno,
Nevada on the evening of Wednesday, August 17. Future events will be
announced on the bid website.

Fans can support the bid with presupports at $20 or "Friend of the Bid"
memberships at $120. Presupports can be obtained online on the bid website
or by mail.

Website: http://spokanein2015.org

For more information, contact: Alexander von Thorn, +1 416 879 3307
info@spokanein2015.org P.O. Box 1091 Woodville, WA 98072-1091

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Alex von Thorn, Bid Chair, Spokane in 2015 Worldcon Bid,
http://spokanein2015.org