Today, as I was adding tasks to our house calendar, I realized that I have less than two weeks to go! I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty darn excited. I can’t wait to share all that incredible sustenance with y’all.
Since I first realized that Sci-Fi conventions had this thing called a consuite, I’ve been fascinated to see the differences that exist. Budgets and donations are ALWAYS a consideration when planning what to serve in a consuite. In over twenty years, I’ve seen everything from a couple of bowls of chips, a veggie tray, and some two liters of Coke to full meals. Each and every one of those consuites had one thing in common, to give you, our dear attendee, a place to rest and grab a quick snack or drink in between the plethora of content made available by truly inspired programming directors everywhere.
Gary, on conrunner.net, says this about eating at conventions, “Try to get a “real meal” as often as you can. A diet of snack food is a game for the young and strong of constitution…. Also, it must be said that the Consuite, parties, etc. are not meant to be a fannish soup kitchen.” This brings me to my next point. The second convention I attended was a LibertyCon. My idea of a ‘consuite’ was nil. The first con I’d attended had a consuite with not much more than the snacks I mentioned earlier. I thought the weekend-long room party by the pool was the norm. I asked my friend, Crystal Ritchie, why she and her group provided so much actual food. Her response was simple. “The better you eat, the less likely you are to end up with concrud.” No one wants to attend an awesome event just to spend the next week sick and depressed.
Then I found the LibertyCon consuite. On Saturday, you could always find pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches for lunch and Spaghetti Gravy for dinner. Regardless of the day, they had real substantial food.
As the times and locations have changed, one thing that hasn’t changed is keeping substantial food in the LibertyCon Consuite. While we are not a restaurant, we will have a nice spread, including a Taco Bar on Friday evening and a Pulled Pork feast on Saturday evening. And never fret, some favorite Breakfast and Lunch items will be available again this year. Plus, we’re adding new items to our already incredible menu. Remember, we will have a limited amount of allergen-friendly items kept in the prep room; just ask. :)
Additionally, remember that our consuite is run by volunteers with limited resources. Although we try to provide the most up-to-date equipment, we are still limited by hotel electricity and volunteer time. Please be kind to our volunteers, they are working tirelessly to ensure you eat, and eat well, throughout the weekend.
As always, we continue to seek folks that are willing to give just 4 hours of time between Friday and Sunday evening for our dynamic team. If you think you may be interested in seeing behind the curtain, please send an email to me at hospitality@libertycon.org. I will also be available onsite beginning Thursday. Come say Hi!