Be
a STAR! Why should costumers vote for Charlotte in 2004? Because Charlotte wants you to be a STAR! That includes all star facilities and all star treatment. The Directors for the Charlotte bid realize what a wonderful favor costumers do for each and every convention by putting on a fantastic show of costuming talent. The masquerade is traditionally the best attended function at any Science Fiction / Fantasy or Horror related Convention. Costumers can spend thousands of dollars and months of work to create exquisite wearable art for one shinning moment on a World Con stage. We the convention staff want to provide you, the costumer with everything you need to make it happen. Together, we can put on a show like World Con Fandom has never seen before!
How are we different? First, take a look at the facilities shown on this page. Then, join Charlotte2004Masque mailing list at Yahoo.com to tell us what YOU WANT! That's right! Has any convention EVER asked you what you want in an open forum? We hope to kick off this new millennium with a new approach to World Con Masquerading. We want YOU the participants to help US plan the program. All the way from what kind of snacks do you want backstage to what kind of guidelines you want set for on stage.
First, lets take a look at the function space...
The Grand Ballroom The first class Charlotte Convention Center Ballroom spans 35,000 square feet with a dedicated audio-visual projection room that provides superior sound and lighting. This space is actually four ballrooms in one and accommodates over 4,000 guests in theater style seating. At the Charlotte World Con, the Grand Ballroom will be used primarily for the TWO most important events of the convention, the Hugo presentations and, of course, the Grand Masquerade!
Click here for the virtual tour!
(Please note that most photos provided by the Convention Center show the Ballroom set with banquet tables which are not appropriate for our usage.)
Pre Function space that actually has SPACE! Tired of waiting in dark dingy wings and feeling like cattle in a holding pen? Not for our stars! Please note both luxurious Pre Function space options available in Charlotte. First, the Ballroom Pre Function space offers 15,000 square feet of indoor lobby space overlooking the graceful Ballroom Terrace. If you need to get a breath of fresh air to calm your nerves, or sneak a smoke, you may stroll comfortably in a huge well lit, manicured open terrace of almost twice that size.
This area may be left open for costumers and other guest to co-mingle and take photos during the presentation.
Pre Function rooms with video feed! Also available for our use is a nearby complex of Meeting rooms for Pre Function space. These rooms would provide superior seating capacity as well as closed circuit TV connections and sophisticated audio/visual equipment. This would allow the contestants to watch the show in progress in comfort. It would also allow normal conversation without fear of sound bleed to the auditorium. Some sections may be set aside as "quite" space for collecting one's thoughts. Once again, there is a large block of rest rooms which can be reserved for contestant usage.
*Note: Composite photo created by Susan Stringer. Actual shot had a blank screen and two business men in the foreground. Changing them to costumed characters seemed more appropriate.
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How important are you to Charlotte? Let's take a look at the floor plan of the facilities and maybe it will impress upon you how much space we are discussing. The Convention Center is as tall as a normal five story building but is divided into three spacious floors giving unusually high 30' ceilings on the Ballroom level. Green Room Options The Prefunction area shown in yellow to the left (North) of the ballroom and the Terrace shown in tan would provide contestants and other members of the convention to mill around, get some air and take photos of costumes before, during or after the presentations. Bulletin boards will be provided to keep contestants advised of the progress of the presentations. The Primary Prefunction area will be the block of Meeting Rooms #217 shown in green to the right (South) of the Ballroom. If the stage is set to the right (South wall) of the Ballroom, this will be only a short distance to walk by crossing the East Prefunction space and through special doors in the service area shown in lavender. The official Photography stations will most likely be set up in either the East Prefunction area or the main Lobby Prefunction area to catch each costumer as they exit the Ballroom. Exact logistics will not be available until such time as the Masquerade Mistress can actually view the site. Click here for more floor plans! Interested yet? I hope so! |
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Click on the Masks below to get more
information about the Charlotte 2004 World Con Masquerade
Charlotte 2004 Homepage |
Masquerade Email List |
Charlotte Convention Center |
Bright Ideas |
This is the official web
page for the Charlotte 2004 World Con bid Masquerade, a department under
Programming. It
has been prepared by Susan Stringer for the Charlotte 2004 directors.
It is made FOR Costumers by a Costumer and all opinions stated here are
strictly those of the author.
