By Keith G. Kato
2017: The 2017 World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”) will convene from 9-13 August 2017 at the Messukeskus Exposition & Convention Centre in Helsinki, Finland. Details can be found at the Worldcon website. Should you get the urge (and funds) to attend at the last minute, please be aware there is no central hotel, but about a dozen smaller hotels spread throughout the city.
The 2016 Worldcon in Kansas City was quite a hectic endeavor for us, with a well-staffed Information table, multiple program items, an Art Show display of the Heinlein bust for the Hall of Famous Missourians, a reception/party, Heinlein’s six nominations in three categories for the Retro-Hugos, and a post-Worldcon side trip for about 30 of us to the Missouri state capitol of Jefferson City for the formal Induction Ceremony of the aforementioned Hall of Famous Missourians. The Heinlein Society will have a smaller presence in Helsinki, primarily another Information table. At our table, we will once again hand out Society-specific ribbons for name badges, including some ribbons that are unique for 2017:
It is not entirely certain that the Society will host a reception, so members attending the Helsinki Worldcon should check at our information table Wednesday and Thursday for final information.
There are no Heinlein-related program items (that we know of), but Keith Kato will conduct his “Shotokan Karate Workshop” on Thursday, from 11:00-12:30.
2018: The 2018 Worldcon will convene from 16-20 August 2018 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. Details and membership information can be found at the 2018 Worldcon website. The principal hotels in San Jose will be the San Jose Marriott and the Hilton San Jose, and we anticipate a fair representation of Society people to attend. Specific programming information will formulate in the coming year.
However, we have been informed by the Special Collections of the University of California, Santa Cruz, that they plan an exhibit of items from the physical Heinlein Archives that will run concurrently with the San Jose Worldcon. The drive from San Jose to UC Santa Cruz is basically about 30 minutes, so the Society is investigating a field trip to the University to see the Heinlein exhibit, tentatively beginning in the late afternoon of 15 August 2018. See future Newsletters for details as they develop.
2019: Strictly speaking, the 2019 Worldcon is not yet determined, and the site will be chosen by membership vote at the 2017 Worldcon. However, only Dublin, Ireland, has filed to host, so…. As usual, whenever the Worldcon is held off the North American continent, a NASFiC (“North American Science Fiction Convention”) site will be chosen in 2018.
