Boskone 61

Boskone 61 Positive Covid Reports

Sharon Sbarsky — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 18:46:23 +0000

There is a #covid-reports channel in the WELCOME AND HELPDESK category of the NESFA and Boskone discord for COVID reports *. Future reports will continue to go in that channel as well as here in the Boskone Blog.

The Discord channel or Boskone 61 (info@boskone.org) has received the following positive Covid reports from Boskone 61 members:

Case A, February 12, 2024:

An attendee, who prefers to remain anon, tested positive on Sunday. He was in Harbor 1 for the Ig Nobel Readings and Marina 1 for Tai Chi. He was in Staff Den from approx. 4:30pm to 6pm and was only unmasked to eat a banana. He left Saturday evening due to “extreme tiredness” and then left Boskone. Mask was worn for the Igs and Tai Chi.

The reporter also said:
I interacted with him during the Igs; both of us were wearing masks. I tested negative this [yesterday] morning.

Case B, February 13, 2024:

The Boskone member said:
Just want to report that I tested positive for covid yesterday. My best guess is that I picked it up some time on Friday. I was at the Speculative Evolution and Appeal of Unappealing Characters panels, and I spent a decent amount of time in the dealers room and art show. I was masked for all of those, but I spent time unmasked in the bar both Friday and Saturday.

I’ve already reached out to everyone I had close interactions with and so far the ones who have tested have been negative. My initial symptoms were fatigue and a dry throat.

Feel free to share this information anonymously.

Case C, February 15, 2024:

Boskone Staff, Jenny Kraus posted on Discord:

After coming down sick Monday evening with what I thought was just a bad head cold, I tested last night and was Covid Positive. I worked in Art Show all Friday and Sunday and attended a few panels on Saturday – all while masked. I was unmasked in the hotel restaurant, bar, MaltCon Sat & Sun nights, and the staff dinner in the Staff Den Sun night.

Case D, February 14, 2024

Boskone member mostly in Harbor 1, with some time in the Staff Den, and Independence Boardroom, followed by some time during setup for the Reading Area. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, had breakfast in the Hotel Restaurant. Saturday and Sunday with various techs.

Case E, February 15, 2024

James Reynolds reported:
I’ve had a bad runny nose and fatigue since Monday evening. I just tested positive.
I spent most of my time in the Art Show and the Dealers room, dinners at O’Connors.
Today (Feb 16) he reported that his roommate, Jane Sibley, tested negative.

________________________________________

* There have also been reports of flu, colds & con crud, but not posted here. If you aren’t sure, please test yourself for Covid.

Boskone 61 Schedule

Sharon Sbarsky — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 15:14:22 +0000

Boskone 61 Schedule is now online at /program/schedule/

There are links to the interactive and non-interactive schedules.

Boskone 61 Program Participants

Sharon Sbarsky — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 17:18:32 +0000

The preliminary list of Program Participants (as of 1/18/2024) is on the website at: /guests/program-participants/

Boskone 61 At-Con & One Day Rates are Available

Sharon Sbarsky — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 20:32:56 +0000

Full and One Day Boskone 61 Memberships are available online.

Full Weekend Rates January 17. 2024 through At Con Registration
Adult: $70
Young Adult (18-25): $40
Teen (13-17): $25
Child (5-12): $25

One Day Rates

At-Con	Ages	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Adult	26+	$25	$50	$20
Young Adult	18-25	$20	$30	$20
Teen	13-17	$13	$20	$13
Child	5-12	$13	$20	$13

Online Only (all ages): $12.61

Kid-in-Tow & Adult-aide are $0.

Active Military & Dealer prices will always be $50.
Active Military: $50
Dealer: $50

Hotel Block Reservation Deadline Extended

Sharon Sbarsky — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 20:24:27 +0000

Our block rates are now good through January 26, 2024 or until the block is sold out. 20 more quiet block room nights have been added to Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10. These are likely to be King bed rooms. Please don’t delay in making your reservations. If you don’t get the dates you want, please send your confirmation and name on the reservation to hotel@boskone.org with your requested changes. If you want two beds, let us know about that also but there may be no double-doubles left and you may need to ask for (and pay for) a cot. We make no guarantees that we can update your reservation, but we will ask. (Please make your reservations early next year; they may be canceled up until 3 days before the your check in date.)

Boskone 61 Room Block is Open

Sharon Sbarsky — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 01:04:44 +0000

Guest Room Rates

$185 plus tax (currently 16.45%) for Single/Double/Triple/Quad

The Boskone 61 hotel rates at the Westin Boston Seaport District include in-room WiFi. There is also free WiFi in the lobby area.

Guest Rooms – Reservation Link for all room choices

Party Room
Quiet Room

*Party Block Notice: When making your reservation for a room in the “Party Block,” please note that this year we’re requiring people to book for both Friday and Saturday to avoid holes in the party block that could potentially be filled with non-Boskone attendees would could potentially complain about noise and cause parties to shut down early.

See our Accommodations page for more information.

Boskone 60 Positive Covid Reports

Sharon Sbarsky — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 16:04:37 +0000

We have created a covid-reports channel in the WELCOME AND HELPDESK category of the NESFA and Boskone discord for COVID reports. Future reports will continue to go in that channel as well as here in the Boskone Blog.

Boskone 60 (info@boskone.org) has received the following positive Covid reports from Boskone 60 members:

Case A:

This member asked that their name not be used.

Date: Tue, Feb 21, 2023 at 11:19 AM

My temperature was creeping up all day yesterday, and I got a positive test in the evening. I assume this is from breakfast at the Westin Saturday morning*. Sauciete has tall ceilings and good ventilation and I had a table by myself. But the staff wasn’t masked, nor the patrons, of course. This was the only time I took my mask off in public for months.

* Somewhere around 8 to 9. I left the con around noon, and didn’t recognize anyone in Sauciete,

Case B:

Date: Wed, Feb 22, 2023 at 11:34 AM

Tyler Stewart was staffing the Pandemonium booth in the Boskone 60 Dealer’s Room on Friday and Saturday of last week, and he just tested positive for Covid.

Case C:

date: Feb 22, 2023, 1:18 PM

Saw you putting in reports so here’s ours – one of my has tested positive after the con. They have been basically asymptomatic and both of us in the same hotel room have tested clear twice, so I have hopes they weren’t shedding much. They did not go to many things in person and we ate in the room, but we were at the Glasgow party on Saturday for a bit and the Stan Rogers singalong. (They neither had snacks at Glasgow nor actually did meaningful singing.)

Attend a Welcome to Boskone Session

eunderwood — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 14:32:55 +0000

Coming to Boskone for the first time or coming back after a break? Be sure to join one of our Welcome to Boskone sessions to get a lay of the land and to meet other Boskonians!

We have sessions for in-person members as well as online members. So, find the date and time that works for you, and we’ll see you here!

IN-PERSON SESSIONS

Fri 5:30 PM
Galleria – MeetUp 2
Welcome to Boskone: Touring Boskone
New to Boskone? Or returning after a long absence? Join us for a tour of the Galleria and the programming floors so you can learn what Boskone has to offer, learn some of the convention lingo, and meet other people. We’ll meet down in the Galleria, at Meetup Table 2, to the left of the Art Show and up the short flight of stairs (take the nearby ramp if needed).

Sat 10:00 AM
Galleria – MeetUp 2
Welcome to Boskone: Touring Boskone
New to Boskone? Or returning after a long absence? Join us for a tour of the Galleria and the programming floors so you can learn what Boskone has to offer, learn some of the convention lingo, and meet other people. We’ll meet down in the Galleria, at Meetup Table 2, to the left of the Art Show and up the short flight of stairs (take the nearby ramp if needed).

VIRTUAL SESSION

Fri 2:30 PM
Virtual 1
VIRTUAL: Welcome to Boskone
Virtual attendees! New to Boskone? Or returning after a long absence? Join us for a short discussion about what Boskone has to offer, learn some of the convention lingo, and meet new people. While we can’t stroll through the physical convention space, we’ll take some time talking about the schedule and how to connect with friends and fans in the virtual environment.

Boskone 60 Updates, Memberships, and Online Access

eunderwood — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 02:24:34 +0000

Coming to Boskone 60? Great! We look forward to seeing you in-person or online, February 17-19, 2023. In the meantime, here is some key information that will help you to connect to Boskone.

Registered Members: Check Your Email for the Online Activities Link

On February 12, Boskone 60 Registration sent out an email to all registered members (as of that date) that included the access link to the online programming site and to the discord server. If you don’t see the email, please check your spam folder. If you still don’t see the email, please contact us at registration@boskone.org.

This email includes all the information you will need to connect to Boskone virtually. Members who purchased their memberships after February 12 will receive the email today and memberships purchase from this point forward will receive their connection information on a rolling basis. So, please do not wait until the last minute to purchase your membership as it make take a little time to receive your access email and to log into the site.

Boskone 60 Memberships

If you haven’t yet purchased your in-person or online membership, there is still time! In-person memberships can be purchased via the registration website until it closes on Thursday, February 16 at 9pm Eastern time. In-person Boskone 60 memberships will also be available for purchase onsite at the Westin Boston Seaport District, located at 425 Summer Street Boston, MA 02210.

Virtual memberships will be available for purchase online through the end of Boskone 60, from now until February 19, 2023.

To purchase your membership, visit the Boskone 60 registration site.

Join our Welcome to Boskone sessions!

For those of you who are new to Boskone or who have been away for awhile, join us at one of our Welcome to Boskone sessions for either in-person or online members:

Welcome to Boskone: Touring Boskone
Boskone, Conventions, Fandom / Fanfic New to Boskone? Or returning after a long absence? Join us for a tour of the Galleria and the programming floors so you can learn what Boskone has to offer, learn some of the convention lingo, and meet other people. We’ll meet down in the Galleria, at Meetup Table 2, to the left of the Art Show and up the short flight of stairs (take the nearby ramp if needed).

- Virtual: Fri 2:30 PM
- In-person: Fri 5:30 PM
- In-person: Sat 10:00 AM

See you soon!

Memberships for Members in Need

eunderwood — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 12:25:38 +0000

This year, Boskone 60 has received several membership donations that have been designated for people in need who don’t have the funds to pay for a full weekend membership. A few of them have specifically been designated for people of color who are in need of a membership.

If you are a person in need and would like to request one of the donated memberships, please contact FantasticFund@boskone.org and let us know that you need a community membership to attend and let us know if you will be attending in-person or online only.

We trust our community to know if they are in need or not, and we will not ask for proof of need. Our only request is that you only request one of these community memberships if you are sure you are able to attend because we only have a few of these memberships.

Before requesting a membership, please see Boskone’s Code of Conduct and in-person policies regarding Covid (all attendees must be vaccinated) and mask wearing (a mask must be worn at all times) here /about/policies/.