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FanWorks is officially moving to March 19 - 21st, 2021
FanWorks is being postponed and will no longer take place in August 2020. More information on the decision to reschedule is in the announcement post on that topic, here.
The new dates for the next FanWorks convention are March 19th – 21st, 2021.
The location will be the same: the SpringHill Suites O'Hare in Chicago, IL. All programming, set-up, and so on for the con is currently expected to be the same as it would have been in August; only the dates are changing.
Why we chose those dates
There were a variety of factors that went into choosing new dates; those we'll discuss below are just a few of the most important ones.
The latest we were able to reschedule for was the month of March 2021. We considered all available dates at the con hotel between August and March.
Booking for the fall was somewhat limited, with many weekends immediately ruled out by things like existing events and the fall/winter holidays. Given that many events are rescheduling for the fall, there was also a strong likelihood that we could wind up in conflict with another event, even if the weekend was currently clear.
We also wanted to take into consideration academic calendars, and looked specifically at weekends around federal holidays and likely school breaks.
For these reasons, we chose the weekend of March 20th, which based on research should line up with at least a decent number of university spring break closures.
Chicago weather is always a factor, but late March should be a safer time than many of our other available options as far as weather is concerned.
The hotel shuttle can take guests to any location within a mile of the hotel, which covers many local restaurants and the nearby grocery store, so there will be options for going off-site to eat or get supplies that won't require much walking outdoors in chilly or cold weather. There are also ample food delivery options, and an Outback Steakhouse connected directly to the hotel.
If you are currently registered to attend FanWorks in August 2020
We will be directly emailing a form to all registered attendees. Through that form, you'll have the option of rolling forward your registration to the new con dates, requesting a full refund of your $135 registration cost, or donating the cost of your registration to the con without rolling it forward to the new dates.
Bar wristbands can also be rolled forward to March 2021. Refunds of bar wristband payments can be requested through the form, but are not guaranteed.
There are annual overhead costs we have to cover – the base cost not just of putting on the con itself, but of having con infrastructure. (This is one of many reasons con registration is generally nonrefundable; we are making an exception to our policy given the circumstances.)
For that reason, we may not be able to refund wristband purchases. We've chosen to prioritize refunding ticket payments over refunding bar wristband payments. Once the dust settles and we can better assess where we're at financially, we'll look at all wristband refund requests and directly communicate to those individuals whether or not we can afford to issue those refunds.
Donations made to FanFund will be automatically rolled forward to March 2021.
It may take a few days to get the form out to everyone. If you don't have it by the end of the week, please email jen@fanworkscon.com so we can make sure it gets to you.
If you have an existing room reservation for August 2020
Room reservations will need to be canceled individually. If you have a room reservation for August 2020, please call the hotel's reservation line at 1-866-204-0385 to cancel.
Registration and booking for FanWorks March 2021
The website will be closed to new registration until at least the beginning of May. An announcement will go up before new registration for March 2021 opens.
Hotel booking will be available once new registration opens. The room rate will be the same as before, $119/night for a king or double room.
We are in the process of updating our website and social media to reflect changes to con scheduling.
FanWorks Virtual Con
We are currently planning on doing a virtual con this summer, penciled in for the original con weekend of August 8-9th, 2020. We're testing technologies for online panels and plan to have at least a few panels and vidshows a day during the virtual con weekend, plus additional social components.
All details, including the dates, are subject to change based on various circumstances; we're going to hold off on making final decisions on a virtual con until at least the end of April, and will make an announcement when plans are firm.
If the virtual con goes ahead, there will be a Premieres show, so we encourage anyone with time/ability/desire to vid to continue to work on your premieres. (No decisions have been made yet on Sparkle Motion, the zine, the Hindsight theme showcase, or other venues for premiering works.)
What this means for August 2021
The con in March will be the only FanWorks con in 2021.
We simply don’t have the resources to put on two cons in one year, particularly under the circumstances. Due to the need to reschedule this year’s con, there will be no FanWorks in August 2021.
If we do a virtual con this year and it is successful, we may do a second virtual con next year to help bridge the gap to FanWorks 2022.
(At this point, we are focused on near-term concerns and are not doing advanced planning for when in the calendar year FanWorks 2022 might be. Look for updates on FanWorks 2022 early next year.)
What to expect from us in the near future
We'll do our best to reply to comments & emails and provide requested registration refunds as quickly as possible this week, with the understanding that a lot is going on and it may take a day or two for us to get back to you.
Once current registration is handled, we'll essentially be on post-con hiatus (with FanWorks now once again a year out), but maybe a little more so – hiatus+. Our platforms and inboxes may not be as closely monitored as usual, so that we can focus our energy on our families, communities, and individual needs in this time. We'll post at least one more update before going on hiatus so that you know when to expect communications to slow down.
Questions, comments, and feedback can be emailed to jen@fanworkscon.com or left here as screened comments.
The new dates for the next FanWorks convention are March 19th – 21st, 2021.
The location will be the same: the SpringHill Suites O'Hare in Chicago, IL. All programming, set-up, and so on for the con is currently expected to be the same as it would have been in August; only the dates are changing.
Why we chose those dates
There were a variety of factors that went into choosing new dates; those we'll discuss below are just a few of the most important ones.
The latest we were able to reschedule for was the month of March 2021. We considered all available dates at the con hotel between August and March.
Booking for the fall was somewhat limited, with many weekends immediately ruled out by things like existing events and the fall/winter holidays. Given that many events are rescheduling for the fall, there was also a strong likelihood that we could wind up in conflict with another event, even if the weekend was currently clear.
We also wanted to take into consideration academic calendars, and looked specifically at weekends around federal holidays and likely school breaks.
For these reasons, we chose the weekend of March 20th, which based on research should line up with at least a decent number of university spring break closures.
Chicago weather is always a factor, but late March should be a safer time than many of our other available options as far as weather is concerned.
The hotel shuttle can take guests to any location within a mile of the hotel, which covers many local restaurants and the nearby grocery store, so there will be options for going off-site to eat or get supplies that won't require much walking outdoors in chilly or cold weather. There are also ample food delivery options, and an Outback Steakhouse connected directly to the hotel.
If you are currently registered to attend FanWorks in August 2020
We will be directly emailing a form to all registered attendees. Through that form, you'll have the option of rolling forward your registration to the new con dates, requesting a full refund of your $135 registration cost, or donating the cost of your registration to the con without rolling it forward to the new dates.
Bar wristbands can also be rolled forward to March 2021. Refunds of bar wristband payments can be requested through the form, but are not guaranteed.
There are annual overhead costs we have to cover – the base cost not just of putting on the con itself, but of having con infrastructure. (This is one of many reasons con registration is generally nonrefundable; we are making an exception to our policy given the circumstances.)
For that reason, we may not be able to refund wristband purchases. We've chosen to prioritize refunding ticket payments over refunding bar wristband payments. Once the dust settles and we can better assess where we're at financially, we'll look at all wristband refund requests and directly communicate to those individuals whether or not we can afford to issue those refunds.
Donations made to FanFund will be automatically rolled forward to March 2021.
It may take a few days to get the form out to everyone. If you don't have it by the end of the week, please email jen@fanworkscon.com so we can make sure it gets to you.
If you have an existing room reservation for August 2020
Room reservations will need to be canceled individually. If you have a room reservation for August 2020, please call the hotel's reservation line at 1-866-204-0385 to cancel.
Registration and booking for FanWorks March 2021
The website will be closed to new registration until at least the beginning of May. An announcement will go up before new registration for March 2021 opens.
Hotel booking will be available once new registration opens. The room rate will be the same as before, $119/night for a king or double room.
We are in the process of updating our website and social media to reflect changes to con scheduling.
FanWorks Virtual Con
We are currently planning on doing a virtual con this summer, penciled in for the original con weekend of August 8-9th, 2020. We're testing technologies for online panels and plan to have at least a few panels and vidshows a day during the virtual con weekend, plus additional social components.
All details, including the dates, are subject to change based on various circumstances; we're going to hold off on making final decisions on a virtual con until at least the end of April, and will make an announcement when plans are firm.
If the virtual con goes ahead, there will be a Premieres show, so we encourage anyone with time/ability/desire to vid to continue to work on your premieres. (No decisions have been made yet on Sparkle Motion, the zine, the Hindsight theme showcase, or other venues for premiering works.)
What this means for August 2021
The con in March will be the only FanWorks con in 2021.
We simply don’t have the resources to put on two cons in one year, particularly under the circumstances. Due to the need to reschedule this year’s con, there will be no FanWorks in August 2021.
If we do a virtual con this year and it is successful, we may do a second virtual con next year to help bridge the gap to FanWorks 2022.
(At this point, we are focused on near-term concerns and are not doing advanced planning for when in the calendar year FanWorks 2022 might be. Look for updates on FanWorks 2022 early next year.)
What to expect from us in the near future
We'll do our best to reply to comments & emails and provide requested registration refunds as quickly as possible this week, with the understanding that a lot is going on and it may take a day or two for us to get back to you.
Once current registration is handled, we'll essentially be on post-con hiatus (with FanWorks now once again a year out), but maybe a little more so – hiatus+. Our platforms and inboxes may not be as closely monitored as usual, so that we can focus our energy on our families, communities, and individual needs in this time. We'll post at least one more update before going on hiatus so that you know when to expect communications to slow down.
Questions, comments, and feedback can be emailed to jen@fanworkscon.com or left here as screened comments.