Thu, October 20, 2005 12:18:47 AM
From:
Becky Bain <rememberthemagic@earthlink.net>
...
To:  

Remember the Magic!
Newsletter, October 2005

How quickly time flies!  It’s already October and we are seriously into the thousand details of planning the next Beauty and the Beast convention.  Just to bring everyone up-to-date, the 2006 national convention is

Remember the Magic
July 7-9, 2006
Red Lion Hotel Denver Central  4040 Quebec St
Denver, Colorado  USA

Registration

For registration information and hotel reservations go to: 
www.rememberthemagic.net.

We hope everyone is planning to come out a day or two early in order to adjust to the Mile High City’s altitude and get to see a bit of Denver.  We have several field trips in the planning because there is no better western city to visit!  Denver is a city of significant historical interest with scenery beyond compare!  There are also a number of fun things to do outside the city which might provide a side-trip before or after the convention.  Taking a drive into the high country or visiting our mountain casinos are just a couple of the many possibilities Colorado has to offer.

Early registration is still $140.00, but only for a few more weeks, until November 1, 2005.  In addition to the discounted rate, the first 50 paid-in-full registrations will receive a complimentary plush Red LionŽ beanie-style toy in their tote bags upon registration at the convention.  Over half the lions are already gone, so get your reservation in soon!  From November 2nd through March 1st, 2006 the rate is $155.00; from March 2nd through June 1st, $165.00; and registrations after June 2nd are $175.00.  The registration fee includes the banquet on Saturday evening, a tote bag with the convention fanzine and sport bottle, and most convention activities, including any guest question and answer sessions.

For those of you who have been debating financial considerations, we do offer a payment plan to help facilitate your decision.  This includes three installments.  The final installment’s postmark will determine the final cost of your registration.  For example, you can pay $50 in August, $50 in October, and $55 in December for a total of $155.00. Checks or money orders should be made payable to:  Supporters of Beauty and the Beast.  We also accept PayPal.  Whether payments are made in one or three installments, if PayPal is used, there is an additional charge of $5.00 to cover the PayPal fee.  To download a registration form or for further information see our website at: 
www.rememberthemagic.net
 , email us at:  info@rememberthemagic.net, or send a SASE to Krys Britton, 1125 E 14th Ave #9, Denver CO, 80218.

Please be sure to put your email address on your registration form.  If you’ve already registered or are waiting to register, you can email
m.davis53@comcast.net and ask to be placed on our email list for future newsletters.  Those of you without email addresses, please don’t panic, you will continue to receive your newsletters via U.S. mail.

A couple of you have asked about our refund policy.  Following previous convention policies, we have established a refund policy of a full refund if requested 60+ days prior to the event, a refund of half of the fee if requested 30+ days prior to the event, and no refund within 30 days of the event.  PayPal fees will not be refunded.

Hotel:

There are two Red Lion Hotels in Denver.  The convention will be held at the Red Lion Hotel Denver Central at 4040 Quebec Street.  This Red Lion has a new ballroom and meeting area where we will have our Dealer’s Room, Art Show, the Saturday night Banquet, opening and closing ceremonies, Q&A with guests, and all of our panels and workshops.  Along with the registration desk and gift shop, the lobby also has an adjacent bar and restaurant for visiting.  For the three days of the convention, all of these public areas will be non-smoking.

The deluxe rooms, which are called ‘premium rooms’ on the Red Lion website, include the 4
th and 5th floors, which have been recently renovated with pillow-top mattress, coffee maker, hair dryer, a console with cable TV and a mini refrigerator in each room.  Play Station and high speed Internet access is available for an extra fee.  There are king rooms with one king size bed and double rooms with two double beds.  All deluxe/premium rooms are $85.00 per night with up to four persons in the room.  Room tax is 13.85%.  Standard rooms which have not been renovated are available at $72.00 per night.  The same rate is available for three days before and three days after the convention

Some reservations clerks have been telling callers there is an additional fee for more than two in a room, but this is not so.  Rest assured we will be on hand with a copy of our hotel contract to keep you from being overcharged at checkout! 

If you visit the Red Lion website now, you may see lower room rates.  These are non-peak, non-summer rates, and will go up substantially for summer dates.  For those of you not renting a car, a free shuttle runs between the hotel and Denver International Airport from 4:30 a.m. to midnight each day.  Another free shuttle runs to downtown Denver in the afternoon and evening each day.

We suggest you make room reservations ASAP to ensure a place in the reserved price block. This will also aid us in our planning, and there is no cost to call and reserve your room!

The Red Lion is working to make their online reservation system available to con members, but this feature is not enabled at the present time.  To make reservations, please call 1-800-RED-LION and be sure to tell them you are registering for
Remember the Magic in order to get the special convention rates.  To learn more about the hotel, visit their website at:   http://www.redlion.com/WHC/Hotels/ShowHotel.asp?ID=177
 

Let us Know You’re Coming!
There are a number of decisions, such as ordering tote bags, printing con zines and negotiating with guests, which depend upon knowing approximately how many are coming to the con. Here’s an easy way to let us know you’re coming without expending any money. Make your hotel reservations now! All that’s required to hold your reservation is a credit card.  The card will not be charged!  If you have trouble with the 800 number, you can call Glen Tyler directly at 303-262-7728 and he will personally take your reservation and provide a confirmation number. If you prefer, you can email him at
Glen_Tyler@hilton.com with your reservation details. Please take time today to make your reservation and help us with our preparations! No credit card? Send an email to m.davis53@comcast.net  and ask to be put on our list of those who will attend.

Collector Alert!!!

Any of you collectors out there, please start watching eBay!  A large number of “Beauty and the Beast” fiction/poetry/art zines will be listed in upcoming weeks to help defray costs of our convention.  This will be a great opportunity to fill those holes in your collection, and the bonus is many of these zines are signed by the authors!  Just check the ‘search title and descriptions’ box and type in keyword “Remember the Magic zine” to check out these auctions.

“Remember the Magic” Fanzine

The official Convention Fanzine is really starting to shape up!  It will include stories, poetry and art.  We already have commitments from some of your favorite authors, including Becky Bain, Margaret Davis, Kay Simon, Carol Kyne and Betty Neiswender.  Although this will be included in our convention tote bag at no additional cost, you might consider buying an extra one for a birthday or Christmas gift, or for a friend who can’t make it to the convention this year.  For you writers and artists, it’s not too late to contribute!

Stories and art should be rated G to PG-13 and can be about any of the characters we love.  Our fanzine editor may request revisions for grammar, spelling or content that exceeds PG-13.  Deadline is January 1, 2006.  Submissions should be hard copy for stories or poems (by floppy disk later) or photocopies of art (original or scans later).  Send to Carol Kyne, PO Box 162, Concord, NH  03301

A Tunnelish Tea?

We are also thinking of having a Sunday afternoon charity event. We need your input and will be creating a poll at our website to see how many of you would be interested in attending. This event is a tea which would include scones, savories and sweets as well as a short workshop to teach participants how to properly select, brew and serve tea and its accoutrements.  We are estimating the cost to be around $12.50 per person, and all of the proceeds would go to our convention charity.  The Jane Austen Tea Group (made up of several members of the Colorado BATB group) will be hosting this event, and they put on a wonderful spread!  Again, we need your feedback and input on this so please watch for the poll on the www.rememberthemagic.net site.

Now, for some convention particulars:

Dealer Tables

There will be a small dealer room at the convention.  A dealer table is 72” x 30” and includes a table cover, skirting and two chairs.  Electricity is available on a first-come, first-served basis.  Early registration cost from now through November 1, 2005 for a dealer table is $30.00.  From November 2 through March 1, 2006 the cost is $40.00; from March 2 through June 1, 2006 the cost is $50.00.  After June 2, 2006 the cost is $60 if any tables are still available

Convention Activities

Negotiations with possible guests continue, and we hope to have information for you soon.  You can also vote on your favorite episodes at our website so we can plan to show those at the convention, complete with popcorn!  There will be panels, discussions, and workshops.  There have also been rumors that we may even see that popular activity ‘Mad Libs’ that many of you will remember from previous conventions.

Charity:

Our charity is Food Bank of the Rockies.  We would like to ask each person attending the convention to bring at least one non-perishable food item for the food bank, and will have an auction to augment these donations.  For Food Bank information, please see: 
http://www.foodbankrockies.org/ 

We Welcome New Tunnel Folk…

Someone who is not a part of the Beauty and the Beast fandom recently asked me whether ‘Outsiders are welcome’ at this convention.  I replied, “In the Tunnels, no one is an outsider”.  What gathers us together for this event is a love for the show, and even though many of us are already friends, there are still wonderful friendships and memories waiting to be made.  Let’s make next summer in Denver the next chapter of our personal “Beauty and the Beast” stories and get those memories going!