The Dublin 2029 bid is just back from the 84th WorldCon in Los Angeles USA, also known as LAcon V, and what a brilliant time we had!
We went all out for the LA Worldcon to make sure our Dublin 2029 presence truly shone. We were at the in-person and virtual fan tables every day, sharing our excitement with fans and spreading the word about our bid. Our amazing volunteers talked with hundreds of people as they passed by, answering questions, starting conversations and forging connections with the SFF community; all building enthusiasm for the Dublin bid. It was an incredible experience and we are so grateful to everyone who stopped by, chatted with us, took our delightful ribbons and postcards and supported us.
On the first night of LAcon, a Thursday night, Dublin 2029 sponsored a Céilí (our Scottish friends would spell this as ‘Ceilidh’). It was an evening of traditional Irish music, dancing, laughter and community. We brought in local LA band Stepwise (https://stepwiseband.com), who describe themselves as ‘a traditional Celtic folk band’. The members of the band are Liam Lewis (mandolin, guitar, fiddle, voice), Olivia Breidenthal (fiddle and voice) and James Yoshizawa (percussion). James is the current All-Ireland Champion bones player! They were brilliant, performing a mixture of traditional Irish songs with tight vocal harmonies and tune sets. We had people dancing all evening alongside those just sitting and soaking up the music.
On Friday afternoon, our volunteers and close friends gathered in the Dublin 2029 party suite for a small social, a ‘do’ if you will, spending some time together and having the chats and a laugh. Good friend of the bid Dave O’Neil held court behind the bar, making Irish coffee that he learned from his dad who in turn claimed that he learned them from the inventor back in Limerick. It remains to be seen whether or not this was the truth or an outrageously tall tale, but quality of the Irish coffee definitely lent it credence. It was lovely taking a little time to relax, catch up and enjoy the company of the Dublin 2029 community.
Friday night we were full on for Party night for Dublin 2029. The suite was full and rockin’. The room was decorated with fairy lights, Irish flags and QR codes directing people to our Dublin 2029 website. We had Hugo-winning fan artist Sara Felix in one corner doing artistic versions of our logo in body paint on people’s arms. We filled a table with a selection of Irish cheddars and crackers and a big pile of boiled salted potatoes. We will embrace the clichés when it suits us, especially when we are hungry! And they really were amazing! Everyone loved them and we went through 11 kg (25 lbs) of salted spudy goodness. We had three bartenders serving nine different Irish whiskies, two Irish gins and a refreshing skippy shanty punch plus boogie fruit filled water. There weren’t any leftovers of the whiskey and gin as we finished them within a half hour of the party closing. Conventioneering is thirsty work. Everyone had a glorious time sharing in our warm Irish welcome and hospitality.
Saturday was an incredibly busy day. It started bright and early for our co-chairs, Brian and Marguerite, with their attendance at the Future WorldCon ‘Question and Answer’ panel. They talked about the bid, our planned site (The Conference Centre in Dublin’s Docklands), our great team of volunteers and the ideas we have for making WorldCon 87 a special one. We may be biased, but they made a great impression of our bid and the work done for it so far, as well as the lessons and legacy of Dublin 2019.
Saturday at noon pacific time, Dublin 2029 had its virtual party in the LAcon virtual space. It was hosted by Phil Dyson and Irish author Ruth Frances Long, with our special guest Diarmuid Fanning. Diarmuid is a seanchaí, a traditional style of storyteller, and worked professionally in one of Dublin’s museums as such. The evening started off with a mini scavenger hunt that was much enjoy, followed by lots of conversation, laughter, and Diarmuid spinning tales for us from the Darklands.
Saturday early evening a lot of the Dublin party volunteers gathered for a drink in the Convention bar. It was a chance to come together after the party and for Dublin bid to express its thanks and appreciation for all the hard work volunteers did.
Saturday night was the WorldCon ‘Masquerade’. Dublin sponsored a very special presentation, Dublin 2029 sending a love letter to Worldcon, Our Crossroads lit by stories and stars, composed by Gary Lloyd. This was a video presentation with accompanying song from Marguerite Smith, one of our bid chairs, and Meg MacDonald, our Division Head of Programme. It was stunningly beautiful. For those who attended LAcon, I strongly encourage you to watch the ‘Masquerade’ and see the Dublin presentation at 55 minutes.
All in all, we had a fantastic time at WorldCon 86/LAConV; we met a lot of people, got them eating, drinking, dancing, tapping their toes and above all, got them talking about Dublin 2029. We hope this will all bear fruit in the short term for our bid and in the long term for the 87th WorldCon itself.
(Touchwood!)
– Text and photos from JJ Brutsman.