FC2004 January Newsletter - Final Pre-Con issue

In this Issue:

* Pre-Registration is now closed
* Hotel reservations are now closed
* New Pre-Registration and Room Night Record
* Airport Shuttle service
* Events news
* Forums / Contacting Us
* Important Rooms and Times
* Weather Forecast for the conThe fox and the tiger sat atop a hill, looking down on the meeting place. A few early arrivals were already starting to show up, even while the two travelers continued their journey. The morning was cool but clear, with a fresh breeze blowing down from the north.

"There it is," the tiger said simply. The fox only nodded in reply.

As the sun started to rise behind them, they felt its warmth on their backs. The tiger rose and turned to look back at the path they had
chosen. The mountains where they began the journey seemed so far away now, their peaks hidden in the distance.

"We can never go back now, you know," the fox said, breaking the silence.

The tiger thought a moment. "No, I suppose not. No more than we could stop, and stand still."

The fox took the tiger by the shoulders, turning him to face the meeting place. "Look this way. What's behind us is behind us. This
is where the challenges lie."

The tiger nodded. "We have to be there in two days. Somehow, that still seems like an eternity."

The fox chuckled. "Don't think it's that far away. We can't stop now, or it will be here before we know it!"

The tiger nodded again. "Let's go then," he said, and started walking forward.

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PRE-REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

This year, we extended our pre-registration deadline for those people making use of credit cards until the last possible moment. Unfortunately, for those of you that were still hoping to pre-register, this time has now come and gone. If you are still without a membership and are coming to Further Confusion, you will have to register at the convention itself now. Our prices for at-con
registration are as follows:

Full Convention Membership $ 50
Friday ONLY $ 30
Saturday ONLY $ 35
Sunday ONLY $ 30
Monday ONLY $ 20

Sponsor and Patron memberships will still be available to purchase, or if you have a regular membership already, you can upgrade to one of those membership levels by paying the difference.

Sponsor membership $ 100 or more, but less than $200
Patron membership $ 200 or more

But why would you want to upgrade to those levels? The simple answer - goodies! freebies! swag!

Sponsors will receive a complimentary convention T-shirt (with artwork by Allen 'Higgins' Petlock), and a 'Further Confusion 2004 Survival Pack'. This is a special pack that we've put together that will contain miscellaneous items for the weary outdoorsy traveller (trail mix, among other things), and a specially branded FC2004 bottle of water. As always, sponsors receive their membership on a collectable plastic badge, with artwork by Shannon Stuart.

In addition to everything that sponsors receive, Patrons also will receive a limited edition FC2004 cooler bag, a miniature frisbee and a micro-flashlight.

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HOTEL RESERVATIONS CLOSED

Our hotel room block closed back in early January, but the Doubletree San Jose has been very gracious in letting as many people who reserved a room after the cutoff get in for the con price. However, our room block is well and truly closed now, and the hotel is unable to accept anymore reservations at our discounted rate.

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NEW PRE-REGISTRATION AND ROOM NIGHT RECORD

We are very pleased to announce that FC2004 has significantly passed our old record for both Pre-Registration and for hotel nights booked at the convention. We'll have all the final numbers in our post convention report. Thank you to each and every one of our attendees!

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EVENTS NEWS

While we're on about breaking records, we've broken another one for the number of events scheduled at a furry convention. We have over 150 events on the schedule, including our new filking track, which will feature two concerts from noted Celtic singer/song-writer, Heather Alexander. We still have many of our favorite events back for this year, including the Masquerade, Iron Artist, dances every evening (starting Friday), and the Furry Variety Show.

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AIRPORT SHUTTLE SERVICE

The Doubletree San Jose provides a complimentary shuttle for guests arriving at San Jose Airport. The shuttle is available to pick up people from the terminal between 5am and 11pm each day. To arrange for the shuttle to pick you up when you arrive to the airport, call the DoubleTree Hotel using the phones at the hotel reservations desk in
the arrivals lounge. The hotel is about 5 minutes away from the airport, so it won't take long for the shuttle bus to arrive.

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FORUMS / CONTACTING US

All of our staff remains committed on replying to any questions and queries that are emailed to us, or submitted on our forums, up until
the last possible moment before we get to the hotel and make the convention happen for you all. We should be able to reply to
correspondence sent to us by Tuesday, and at the latest Wednesday. If you need help with anything while you're at the con, feel free to stop by our Information Desk, which will be situated next to the Art Show and Registration.

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IMPORTANT ROOMS AND TIMES

Convention Operations : Zinfandel (2nd floor, guest room area)
Convention Hospitality Suite: Room#TBA (2nd floor, guest room area)
Volunteers Office : Chardonnay
Registration : Lower Lobby
Dealers' Room : Golden Gate Ballroom
Art Show : Donner Pass Ballroom
Anime Room : Riesling (2nd floor, guest room area)

Dealer's Room / Furry Market Square Hours
Thursday (Setup only - Subject to change - NOT for Furry Market Square):
Setup : 4pm
Close : 10pm

Friday:
Setup : 8am
Open to public : 11am - 6pm

Saturday:
Setup : 9am
Open to public : 10am - 6pm

Sunday:
Setup : 9am
Open to public : 10am - 6pm
Teardown : 6pm - 10pm

Monday (teardown only - subject to change - NOT for Furry Market Square):
Teardown opens : 11am
Teardown closes : 4pm

Art Show Hours
Thursday:
Setup: : Closed

Friday:
Setup : 10am - 12pm
Open to the Public : 12pm - 6pm
Artists/Dealers Reception: 7pm - 9pm

Saturday
Open to the Public : 10am - 9pm
Unclaimed Panels Released: 12pm
Final Bids/ Show Closes : 9pm

Sunday
Artshow Pickup : 10am - 6pm
Art Auction (Adult) : 12pm - 1pm
Charity Auction : 1pm - 2pm
Art Auction (General) : 2pm - 5pm

Monday:
Artshow Pickup : 10am - 2pm

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WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE CON

It really is hard to find better weather like this in the Bay Area for this time of year. It does get chilly in the Bay Area in the evening
so bring a light jacket.

Thu Jan 22 Mostly Sunny 62F/42F 10% chance of precipitation
Fri Jan 23 Partly Cloudy 60F/40F 20% " " "
Sat Jan 24 Few Showers 59F/40F 30% " " "
Sun Jan 25 Partly Cloudy 60F/40F 20% " " "
Mon Jan 26 Partly Cloudy 60F/39F 20% " " "
Tue Jan 27 Partly Cloudy 60F/41F 10% " " "

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Further Confusion
info@furtherconfusion.org
http://www.furtherconfusion.org/