OzCon International: Some reminders!

We're nearly down to about four weeks until OzCon International! So I have some reminders.

One is that if you're planning to eat your meals with your fellow attendees in the dining room, you need to purchase your meals in advance. The final day to purchase your meals is July 25th.

The hotel's catering staff needs to know how many people to prepare for and time to make sure they have enough food on hand. Hence the deadline. We won't be able to sell meals onsite at the convention.

There are some restaurants in a short driving distance away, but outside food won't be allowed on the convention site. Please keep any such items in your hotel room.

We wanted to offer sit down meals for all attendees in one area at the same time as this was a pretty favorite way to do meals in years past but hasn't been possible for a bit. It's a great time to chat with your fellow fans. So I highly encourage going ahead and getting your meals paid for.

If you register for all three days of OzCon International or get a supporting membership, you automatically get two collectible souvenirs: the program book and the tote bag. These are made in limited runs specifically for the convention and are thus very collectible.

The tote bag is dual-sided and features full color artwork by W.W. Denslow and John R. Neill. The bags are sponsored by Cindy Ragni of Wonderful Books of Oz.

This year's program book is full color and features essays by many Oz fans, as well as a poem and two short Oz stories, and a guide to Ozzy locations in the greater Los Angeles area with original photographs. The front cover is a beautiful original piece by Maurine Starkey.

If you donate extra to the convention with the $50 upgrade option, you also get a poster and the hardcover edition of the program book, which is in a larger format and has a back cover illustration by Eric Shanower not on the standard paperback.

EDIT: If you want to upgrade to the hardcover program book, you have until midnight July 14, this upcoming Saturday.

To get your book and tote bag, make sure you're registered for a 3-day membership at the convention, or if you can't attend, simply get a supporting membership and you'll get a tote bag and program book mailed to you.

To register or purchase a supporting membership, go to http://ozconinternational.com/registration.html