Fun at Worldcon—Passport Scavenger Hunt!
We have a fun way for you to find all kinds of neat things to do at the Seattle Worldcon, and you can earn prizes too! Throughout the Summit Building, we have hidden 40 small Space Needles, each with a unique stamper attached.
Pick up a passport at the Info Desk on the Second Floor, and see how many Space Needles you can find! Bring your completed passports back to the Info Desk. 20 stamps gets you one of our enameled character pins, and 40 stamps gets a special pin only available for this challenge. Good luck!
Are You Throwing a Room Party Open to Worldcon Members? Would You Like to Attend One?
Seattle Worldcon has posted resources to help groups who are hosting open parties for Worldcon members at our headquarters hotel (the Sheraton Grand) to get the word out, and to help Worldcon members find those parties. While there will be a traditional white board at the Summit during the day (moving to the Sheraton after ), we have supplemented this by creating an online list of open parties which will be populated as groups check in, are assigned suites, and contact parties@seattlein2025.org to ask to be listed or to change their listing.
The elevators at the Sheraton Grand will be unlocked between – – to accommodate party-goers, including those who are not staying at the hotel. After that time an escort will be required to reach suite floors. Consider volunteering as an elevator operator to ease access for your fellow members. Please note that quiet hours at the Sheraton are after , after which gatherings may quietly continue, although repeated noise complaints after a first warning may cause a party to be shut down. Noisy behavior in hallways must also cease after for the sake of courtesy for other guests.
Finally, for groups throwing parties, a list of rules, including occupancy limitations and special occasion permit requirements, as well as resources for obtaining party supplies, has been posted on the Room Party Page.
Get Ready to Meet Our Guests of Honor
Our fabulous guests of honor will be featured in programming at the Worldcon in less than 48 hours. Catch them at their first sessions! On Wednesday, Bridget Landry gives a firsthand account of 20-years of six-wheeled Mars exploration in “Roving Mars” at noon in the Terrace Suite (4F). In the same room, Martha Wells has an interview and Q&A at 4:30 p.m. Nisi Shawl is reading at 5 p.m. in Room 447-448 before appearing with co-host K. Tempest Bradford at Opening Ceremonies at 7 p.m.; they will be in conversation with each other in the Terrace Suite on Thursday at 4 p.m. Brandon O’Brien‘s one-person poetry show, “Knock on Wood,” is in the Terrace Suite at 6 p.m., although you will have to choose between this and Alexander James Adams‘ concert one level above in the Signature Room (5F). Donato Giancola has a talk about linking personal projects and commercial commissions, which will include slides of his work, Friday at 1:30 in Room 431-432. And there is so much more! Please give our GoHs a warm welcome to Seattle, and they will pay you back with their awesomeness.
Electronic Versions of Print Publications Available Online
Anxious for a sneak peek at Seattle Worldcon’s print publications? The souvenir book, pocket program, and restaurant guide have all been posted online. Attending members can pick up their copies of the souvenir book by Registration, and the other books by the 2nd Floor Info Table along with convention maps and program grids while supplies last. (The most up-to-date information about the program schedule can always be found online.) Virtual attending and WSFS-only members who wish to be mailed a souvenir program book should check their email for a webform which must be returned before the start of the convention with an updated address. We hope you enjoy these materials—It was a pleasure to produce them.
Art Show Reception Open to All Convention Members
You are going to be amazed by the 99 artists showing in the art show, and there’s no better time to meet some of them surrounded by their work than the art show reception, which will be held on – in the art show. Add it to your calendars, and start planning your art purchases; a chance meeting with a work at Seattle Worldcon may lead to more than a smoldering passion, but a lifelong love affair.
A Matter of Health
Seattle Worldcon is working to help people stay healthy during the convention. Masks for individual use will be available for pick up at the Info Table, Exhibit Hall desk, Events Office, and Program Ops (Room 326). Should you develop symptoms of COVID/flu, tests will be available at ConOps (Summit Room 440 / evenings at Sheraton: Everett), or you can request contactless delivery of tests to your hotel room. We are also providing tracking of “hot spots” for exposure, so if you test positive for either Influenza A/B or COVID, please either email us at health@seattlein2025.org, complete our Google Form, or self-report in our Discord channel #disease-self-reporting. Click this link to see our full Health Policy and Information.
Dance the Night Away!
And your Saturday afternoon too! On the Dance/Movement track, amongst Tai Chi and lightsaber training, you will find several opportunities to get your dance on, whether your preference is a Regency waltz or a boogie. Dances start nightly at at the Sheraton, featuring deejays DJ Wüdi on and Dan Murphy on and Worldcon favorite John Scalzi on . On , you can attend the Timey-Wimey Masked Ball produced by professional dance caller Susan de Guardiola, who will be back
Seattle Worldcon Publishes Member Numbers and Demographic Information
Data nerds alert! We have published Seattle Worldcon’s membership numbers and demographic information (as of ) on our website, excluding day memberships. What insights can you draw out? We’ve been too busy to do much analysis ourselves. We do know that we are preparing to see a lot of you on Wednesday—and from 59 different countries. A Worldcon record!
Get Ready for the Daily ‘Zine
The Daily ‘Zine (and Nightly ‘Zine) is your twice-a-day convention newssheet—packed with updates, fun finds, and your contributions.
Have a hilarious overheard moment? Met a guest in an unforgettable way? Attended a party worth crowing about? Got a comic or cool photo? We want it all!
Send submissions to zine@seattlein2025.org.
Find the ’Zine each morning & afternoon online, in Guidebook, at the Info Desk, Safer Spaces lounges, and the Worldcon Cantina.
Hold On to Your Badge!
In just a few days we will unveil our badge designs to our attending members, featuring art by Guest of Honor Donato Giancola. But what if you find yourself inside the Summit Building and your badge is missing? Your best bets are to check the Info Desk (2nd Floor Concourse), then ConOps (Room 440), and finally Registration (1st Floor Lobby). Hopefully it will be recovered! Replacement badges are $50 for adults and $25 for teens.
Signups Open Now for Limited Participation Events on Wednesday
As a reminder from last issue, to vary your Worldcon experience you can sign up for limited participation sessions through the convention portal (having trouble? read the instructions). For most days, sign-ups will open the previous day, from –, with participants randomly chosen and notified by email from all those who signed up during the sign-up window. Wednesday’s sessions, however, are open now through Feeling unlucky? Don’t worry, there are hundreds of opportunities to choose from. Branch out and find the unexpected! May the odds be ever in your favor.
Guidebook Is Fully Up to Date!
As of this writing, Seattle Worldcon’s mobile app Guidebook, and its desktop version, are fully up-to-date, with new features added like a catalog of special exhibits (over 20), a track menu to filter the program schedule, and location information for all the 99 art show participants, 135 dealers, and 42 fan tables waiting to be seen on the 2nd Floor Flex Hall. According to the app there are 951 panelists and performers appearing in the program schedule, consisting of 1,159 sessions. 261 of those sessions are available virtually, some streaming from the Summit, and some originating natively in the Zoom Events platform. Are you wondering how to watch a virtual session? The link will be posted on Guidebook before it starts.
Spotlight: The Head!!! That Wouldn’t DIE!
A can’t-miss event on in Ballroom 2 is the Seattle premiere of this hilarious and poignant musical. It’s the spring of 1964, and Jan learns the hard way her fiancėe has been closeting secrets. Inspired by the classically bad movie The Brain That Wouldn’t Die!, the folks of the TAO Collective and writer/director pug Bujeaud strip the original to its bones and re-dress the story of Jan in the Pan and friends in unexpected ways, with 14 original songs embracing the kitschy and profane, all while examining and rejecting the privilege intrinsic to the original. HEAD!!! has morphed into a musical tribute not only to B movies, but to the weird and wonderful inherent in us all.
Have a Great Convention!
It’s been fun bringing you Dispatches From Yesterday’s Tomorrow for the last time before we assemble both in Seattle and in virtual space. Have a blast building yesterday’s future! We’ll sit back and wait to read your dispatches from there. Editor: Cheryl Dyson; Publications DH: Kevin Black; Web Team: Michael Hanscom, Cee Chen.