Mysterium 2010 Location Bidding Now Open

Last year, during our feedback panel in Boston, we made a commitment to get the location of the next Mysterium out as quickly as possible, so that attendees would be able to work the event into their budget earlier, and so that the committee itself would have more time to plan the event. We have also stated that we would be working on a way to better balance the distribution of Mysterium events across the four time zones in the United States and Canada, and again make it easier for people to plan their attendance. To that end, we are pleased to be making the following announcements:

First, we are establishing a time zone rotation schedule that will better ensure that we don’t favor one side of the country over another. Each year, Mysterium will move to a new time zone in a predictable and repeating pattern. The rotation will run as follows:

2010: Central
2011: Eastern
2012: Mountain
2013: Pacific

Anyone with an interest in seeing Mysterium come to their city may submit a proposal for that opportunity when Mysterium is scheduled to be in your time zone. If your city is selected, you will not be able to bid again for one full rotation (so if St. Louis is selected for 2010, it will not be able to bid again until 2018 to give another city the opportunity to host in 2014). These rules also apply for the city of Spokane. Because of the expense generally required to attend Mysterium in Spokane (where the cost of living is low but the cost of travel can be high), and because we do not wish to be impose on Cyan by inviting ourselves over, Spokane will be treated just like any other city from now on; we will not be maintaining the every-three-year visiting schedule that has been used in the past largely by accident and coincidence. There is one exception to this: if Cyan does explicitly invite us to Spokane in a year when Mysterium is scheduled to be in another time zone, we will still add Spokane to the list of candidate cities so that if the community wants to visit Cyan at their invitation, we can do so.

Second, we intend to announce the location of Mysterium 2010 on the last day of Mysterium 2009. To make that possible, we need your help! If you live in the Central time zone and want to see Mysterium come to your town, please let us know! Because we suspect that you know your town better than we do, we ask that you provide us with the following information when making your bid:

  • Round-trip airfare for one person on coach to the, for a few major cities for mid-summer (preferably covering a range of locations within the U.S.)
  • Map/list of neighborhoods in and around the city
  • Sample hotel costs (ideally 3-5 two to three-star hotels)
  • List of local activities and associated costs
  • List of events that may potentially coincide with Mysterium (large conventions, festivals, etc. again during mid-summer)
  • Local transportation options and costs
  • Hotel/Sales/Food/etc. tax rates
  • Any links or resources relating to the area that may be helpful in planning Mysterium

Local Chamber of Commerce or tourism offices have resources at their disposal that should be able to assist with this.

We also ask that if you submit a bid, that you commit to assisting the committee with local planning efforts, including:

  • Attending 1 committee meeting a month, beginning in September, following your bid’s selection.
  • Performing location legwork in a timely manner including: Calling & visually inspecting hotels; Locating attractions/food within walking distance of chosen hotel; Negotiating group deals for activities and attractions; Obtaining visitor information from city/area.
  • Assisting with on-site responsibilities such as manning registration, cat-herding events, and other tasks as needed.

Bids must be received by June 14th, 2009. To submit your bid, please use the form on this page at the Mysterium.net website. Thank you for your interest in Mysterium, and we hope to hear from bidders soon as we move Mysterium into a brand new time zone: Central Time!

Mysterium 2009 Pre-Registration Now Open!

Shorah Mysterium-goers!

We are excited to announce that the Mysterium 2009 Online Registration system is now up and running! If you’re planning on attending Mysterium this year in Spokane, we encourage you to register online in advance. Online registration will run until July 1st, 2009.

Registration Costs
As with last year, Mysterium carries a nominal registration fee to cover the costs of the convention. Online registration grants you a $5 discount over the at-the-door registration fees. Adults (over 17) are $15, Youths (8-17) are $10, and children (0-7) are $5 when registering online.

If you are traveling as a family (2 adults and 2-4 youths or children) or as a group (5 or more adults), the registration form has some special options for you. Families can register for $40, and groups of five or more can register for just $12 per adult.

If you only want to come for a day, you can purchase a day pass for just $8, regardless of the age of the attendee. Please note that a day pass does not include a swag bag or a copy of the 2009 convention book.

Why Register Online?
Online registration comes with a copy of our full-color, magazine-quality convention book at no extra cost. We are also working to finalize the rest of our online-exclusive swag. While there will be a limited quantity of convention books available at Mysterium for walk-in attendees, we encourage you to register online to ensure you receive one.

This year, online registration ties in with the rest of the Mysterium website. Once you’ve registered, your will be able to use your account to take advantage of additional attendee services offered in the future, such as our room share and carpool tools, which can help you find a ride to the event, or a room to stay in once you get there.

Registration Extras
This year, Mysterium is getting our t-shirts screen printed, and shirts will be distributed at the registration desk to those who order them. To ensure an accurate count for our final order, please indicate the quantities and sizes of shirts you wish to purchase when filling out your registration form. While we will have a handful of extra shirts available at the convention for walk-in attendees, we cannot afford to purchase large quantities of extra shirts, so if you want to ensure that you get a shirt, please register online by July 1st.

On Sunday, Mysterium is planning a day-trip expedition to the nearby Silverwood theme park and Boulder Beach water park. Tickets to this optional activity are $50 for adults and youths, and $25 for children. This price includes admission to both sides of the park, a BBQ meal for lunch, and unlimited drinks all day long.

Go Forth And Register!
Click here to log into your Mysterium.net account or register for a new one. Once you’ve logged in, you will be able to complete your registration.

See you at Mysterium!

Mysterium 2009 Con Book & Cookbook Submissions Call

Shorah!

Because Mysterium is an event by fans, for fans, the Mysterium Committee is always looking for new ways to showcase the community’s creativity at the event. To that end, we will, for the first time, be providing a con book for attendees at the convention. In addition to information about the weekend’s events, we also want to add as much community content as possible. If you have a Myst- or Uru-related story or image you would like to share with the community, please send it to us using the submission form on this page.

In honor of Mysterium’s 10th anniversary, we are also creating a Mysterium Cookbook, which will be sold online to help cover the costs of the convention. If you have a Myst, Uru, or D’ni-themed recipe (or even something that could pass as a Myst, Uru, or D’ni-themed recipe), please send it to us using the submission form on this page.

Both books will be full-color 8.25″ x 10.75″ glossy magazine-style booklets, printed using an on-demand printing service called MagCloud. The con book will be included in the cost of registration, and given to each attendee who pre-registers. A limited number of books will be available for walk-in registrants, so if you want to have a con book at Mysterium, we recommend pre-registering to ensure you get one.

The cookbook will be sold separately through MagCloud before and after the convention, and anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the con book can do so after the convention, when it will be made available at cost. Proceeds from the sale of the cookbook will be put toward the cost of the convention.

Submissions for the Mysterium 2009 Con Book and Mysterium Cookbook must be submitted by May 31st to allow sufficient time for publication. Guidelines for submissions to these books can be found on the submission forms on our website at Mysterium.net.

Con Book Submissions

Cookbook Submissions

Mysterium 2009 Hotel Announcement

Shorah!

The Mysterium Committee is pleased to announce the hotel that will be used for Mysterium 2009. Due to the interest and attendance typically seen at Spokane Mysteriums, we have decided to use a different hotel this year that is closer to downtown and the airport, and which offers us more space and flexibility in organizing events and activities.

Mysterium 2009 will be held in the University District / Downtown Comfort Inn Suites [ Google Maps ]. (For those who like to use Street View, the hotel appears as the “Shilo Inn Hotel”, as it was just recently bought by Comfort Inn.)

Booking should be done via the hotel’s front desk at (509) 535-9000. Mention the Mysterium group to obtain our group rate and be booked within our room block. You may book a room for up to three days before and after the event using the Mysterium group rate. Rooms reserved under the group rate are $89/night plus tax for up to four occupants. AAA members and attendees in general are encouraged to check for the lowest possible rate; reserving this early may net discounted rates below the Mysterium group rate for individual travelers, but please be aware you will be booked outside of our room block.

Mysterium will be making use of the Pend O’reille (“pond-o-ray”) Room on the 5th floor throughout the weekend. The registration desk will be open officially starting at 10:00 AM on Friday, July 30th. If you are arriving on Thursday, an unofficial registration desk will be open starting at 5:30 PM so that you can pick up your registration packet and more easily meet up with other attendees.

ROOM & RIDE SHARING

The Mysterium Committee once again plans to provide tools for attendees to make room and ride sharing plans with each other. More information about these tools will be made available in the coming weeks. As always, the Mysterium Committee is not responsible for your travel plans or those with whom you choose to room.

TRANSPORTATION

The Comfort Inn Suites offers a complimentary airport/Amtrak/Greyhound station shuttle, which operates 7AM to 11PM. Details for a local attendee-run “shuttle” for anyone needing transportation to or from any of these locations outside of these hours are still being finalized.

Mysterium 2009 Logo Contest and Presentation Submissions

Hello community members! We have two new deadlines and one new contest to introduce to you today.

LOGO CONTEST:
Once again it’s time for the Annual Logo Contest! There have been some changes from past years, so please make sure you read the submission guidelines carefully. We’re excited to see what this year’s submissions hold!

The Mysterium 2009 Logo Contest Submission Deadline is March 31st. Detailed guidelines are available at http://www.mysterium.net/mysterium-2009/logo-contest-2009/

PRESENTATIONS:
Presentations have been a staple of past Mysteria, and this year is no different. We are offering several different formats to encourage a greater range of fan-led activities. Presentation requests should be made by May 31 via the form at http://www.mysterium.net/mysterium-2009/presentations-2009/.

In the coming weeks we’ll talk more about transportation and hotel offerings, so stay tuned for upcoming announcements!