SMOF News, volume 1, issue 22
More guests object to (lack of) vaccination policies, and news in brief.
Vaccination Policy Fallout Continues
Last week, author David Mack announced that he was pulling out of Farpoint (Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA, February 25-27) over its refusal to make proof of vaccination a condition of attendance. Farpoint has since updated its COVID policy, capping attendance at 1000 and re-emphasizing that all members must wear masks. Proof of vaccination will still not be required.
Chair Steven H. Wilson has written about the thinking behind the policy:
Here I want to say that there is not one, single person on the Farpoint committee who has expressed, in all this discussion, the position that people should not be vaccinated. All of the committee are, indeed, vaccinated, and most of us have had our booster shots.
We want to keep our attendees safe. We would love to wave a magic wand and say no one gets Covid at our event. But we can’t. If we were to require, as some conventions have, proof of vaccination in order to enter our event, all we could guarantee was that, if you got Covid inside the Farpoint convention area, you’d have gotten it from someone who produced documentation that they were vaccinated. And, since the hotel is not requiring vaccinations, we would have no way of knowing that you didn’t get it in the bar, in the restroom, or in the public hallways.
Requiring vaccination cards, then, we decided would accomplish very little.
Mack has since also withdrawn from MidSouthCon (Memphis, Tennessee, USA, March 25-27) because it will not require proof of vaccination either, though in this case the con’s hands are tied, because the state of Tennessee bans asking for such proof. In addition, Mack says:
To preempt further confusion, I have updated my website’s Contact page with a statement making clear that I will not participate in person at any event held in a state (which currently includes Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alaska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, and Utah) that legally bars venues and events from requesting proof of vaccination as a condition of entry and service.
An update from MidSouthCon reveals that Mack is not the only one:
First, due to circumstances beyond our control, David Mack, Amanda Makepeace, Andy and Kristin Looney and Maggie Thompson will not be attending the convention. We sincerely thank them for accepting our invitations and for hanging in there for the last two years and hope we can bring them at some time in the future.
Makepeace was to have been the Artist Guest of Honor, the Looneys were the Gaming Guests of Honor, and Thompson was the toastmaster. The new toastmaster is John Jackson Miller; the other slots have not yet been filled.
In Brief
Roger Sims, co-chair of the 1959 World Science Fiction Convention and chair of many other Michigan conventions, died January 23. Obituary at File 770 • Remembrance by Rich Lynch • Fancyclopedia 3
Corflu 39 Pangloss (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), has rescheduled from its original March dates to October 21-23. The FAAn Awards will be awarded in a Zoom ceremony on March 20, and the deadline for voting is still February 25.
Event Calendar
Weekend of January 28-30
Conflikt (music), online (usually Seatac, Washington, USA)
Game-iToba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
MeepleCon (gaming), Melbourne, Australia
Platypus-Con (gaming), Juneau, Alaska, USA
Winter War 2022 (gaming), Champaign, Illinois, USA
Protocon ‘22 (gaming), online (usually Kearns, Utah, USA)
AmberCon NI (diceless RPGs), online (usually Belfast, UK)
Setsucon 2022 (anime), Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA
UChi-Con 2022 (anime), Chicago, Illinois, USA
Mouse-Con Bakersfield (Disney), Bakersfield, California, USA
Weekend of February 4-6
Capricon 42, Wheeling, Illinois, USA
Sci-Fi Fantasy LA (sf and science), Pasadena, California, USA
Running GAGG 25 (gaming), Geneseo, New York, USA
TableTopCon (gaming), Southport, Australia
CaptainCon 2022 (gaming), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
Adventure Con 2022 (RPGs), Hamburg, Germany
Chattanooga Railgaming Challenge, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
SSA+S Toracon (anime), Sarasota, Florida, USA
WeebCon (anime), Allen, Texas, USA
East Bay Comic Con, Concord, California, USA
Weekend of February 11-13
Boskone 59, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Atlanta Steampunk Expo, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
ScotiaCon (anthropomorphic), Glasgow, UK
FurcoNZ 2022 (anthropomorphic), Ōtaki, New Zealand
ATG Expo (gaming), Waco, Texas, USA
Game On!, Bellevue, Washington, USA
Geekway Mini (gaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Ohayocon 22 (anime), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Kami-Con Season Thirteen (anime), Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Anime Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Animangapop (anime), Plymouth, UK
Savannah Animazing Con (anime), Savannah, Georgia, USA
Brick City Anime Festival, Ocala, Florida, USA
Animefest 2022, La Jolla, California, USA
MissouriCon (media), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Weekend of February 18-20
Radcon 8B, Pasco, Washington, USA
Life, the Universe, and Everything (symposium), Provo, Utah, USA
Anthro New England 2022: Back to the '90s, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
DunDraCon 45 (gaming), Santa Clara, California, USA
Con of the North (gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Orccon 2022 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA
Williamsburg Muster (wargaming), Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Decepta Con (social deception gaming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Japan Expo Sud (anime), Marseille, France
ExpOtaku Logroño (anime), San Millán, Spain
Katsucon 2022 (anime), National Harbor, Maryland, USA
Zipcon 2022 (anime), Akron, Ohio, USA
47th Annual Boston Sci Fi Film Festival, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Con Nooga (media), Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Alaska ComiCon, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Fan Expo Vancouver (media), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Shawicon (media), Shawinigan, Québec, Canada
Gallifrey One: Thirty-Second to Midnight (Doctor Who), Los Angeles, California, USA
Weekend of February 25-27
MystiCon, Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Gamicon Gallium (gaming), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
Total Confusion 36 (gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA
CalCon 28 (gaming), Kalmar, Sweden
Festival International des Jeux (gaming), Cannes, France
Revelation (gaming), Sheffield, UK
K2 Convention (gaming), Dungarvan, Ireland
GenghisCon (gaming), Aurora, Colorado, USA
Fire and Ice Convention (gaming), Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA
TantrumCon (boardgames), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
PrezCon 2022/RevCon (boardgames), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Intercon U: Ultraviolet (LARPs), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
LVL UP EXPO (video games), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
SoCal Gaming Expo (video games), Ontario, California, USA
Kawacon (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA
ZipCon 2022 (anime), Akron, Ohio, USA
Anime Crossroads 2022, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Farpoint 29 (media), Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA
Cult Classic Convention (media), Bastrop, Texas, USA
Nerd Fest (media), Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA
Armageddon Expo Tauranga (media), Tauranga, New Zealand
Coda
Citizen science projects which need volunteers (Science News)
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