Spokane in 2015 Worldcon Bid

A Spokane in 2015 Worldcon bid, with Bobbie DuFault and Sally Woehrle as prospective convention co-chairs, has been announced by the Seattle Westercon Organizing Committee.

SWOC’s conrunning resume includes three Westercons and the 2005 NASFiC. The group also has bid twice for the Worldcon, unsuccessfully, most recently for Seattle in 2011.

The bid invites presupports ($20) and “Friend of the Bid” memberships ($120), which can be paid for online at the bid website.

The full press release follows the jump.

[Thanks to Alex Von Thorn for the story.]

FOR IMMEDIATE 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
[email protected]
P.O. Box 1091
Woodville, WA 98072-1091