FAQ

Are you associated with the group who bid for the Worldcon in Chicago in 2008?
We are. Many of us on the bid committee are the same folks who worked so hard on that bid. To be sure, there are some new people...but those of us on the 2008 bid are just now coming down off that high you get from being the most-successful-bid-EVER-never-to-win-the-Worldcon, so we figured it was time to get back on this proverbial horse.

You'll be serving hotdogs?
While we know that the hotdogs the 2008 bid served were quite popular in some areas, after four years of serving them, many of us are not yet ready to go back to that particular well. The bid for 2012 has a different theme and flavor and hotdogs don't fit as well this time.

Seriously?
Yes, we have no bananas. Er, hotdogs! Crud! No, we will not be serving hotdogs.

What about pizza?
The minute one of you comes up with an airplane portable pizza oven that a hotel will let us use in a room, we'll get right on that.

OK then, we'll settle for hotdogs.
Aaaaaaarg! No, no hotdogs, and once you see what we will be serving, we think you won't miss them as much.

Why should I want to bring the Worldcon to Chicago?
An excellent question, you will note we have a whole page dedicated to answering what Chicago as a location brings to the Worldcon...but that's only part of the answer. The other part is that we have a group of folks with some ideas about an event they would like to throw that have them all EXCITED about things and ready to do the hard work of making that event happen for you.

Where will you hold it?
As you can see on our facilities page, we are still negotiating with facilities and cannot yet announce anything definite about location.

What are the dates?
We have not yet been able to set firm dates; we are still talking through all the options with facilities.

Are you looking at the "older tradition" holiday weekend or the "newer tradition" weekend in early August?
Yes! We are exploring all weekends in that range with facilities here in the city.

Why should I donate?
Much of the money that the bid needs to do its work comes from donations given to us by folks just like you. We use this money to advertise and throw parties at regional conventions all around the country. You get the benefit of your donation by attending and enjoying our parties and helping to support the program books we advertise in. We have it on good authority that it is also excellent Karma, a Mitzvah (perhaps even a double Mitzvah on Saturday), and we have an intern researching if it might also be a plenary indulgence.

Does my donation reduce my membership if you win the Worldcon?
Our pulp collector memberships ($20) do not reduce your attending membership cost to the Worldcon. We offer a "friend" membership that will convert to a full attending membership if you vote in the site selection election in 2010.

What if I would like to join the bid?
Hello, Eric Stratton, Rush Chairman, damn glad to meet you! Grab one of us at a bid table or send us an email at info@chicagoin2012.org and we'll talk with you about everything that's involved with being on the bid committee and get you all hooked up!