Official Stuph:

Tina distributed copies of the 4/13/13 meeting minutes. They were approved, with one correction: Kathy wasn’t in attendance. Marcy reported that as of the end of April the treasury was at $166.12 (plus a donation of $160 from Byron & Tina, and Heidi’s new membership). Kathy requested $24.84 for reimbursement for postage for two meetings.

Byron said that there was not much to report. The annual ICG meeting went as routinely as possible. Carole Parker is looking for “stuff” for the newsletter; she can take photos and artwork as well as text. Aurora said that the ICG’s biggest project will be trying to find ways to add value to membership.

Costume-Con 31: Mike Bruno did a great job of promoting the con, with lots of outreach and a good website. There were over 500 attendees. Our best treat? Curtis and Robbie Dyer were there! Programming: Byron was bored a lot; Tina went to several and took copious notes. There was an interesting panel on the “Decline of Original Costume Design” which had a full house. Madison, Wisconsin, made a presentation for CC #34, and also won the bid; Byron will be running their green rooms. Aurora had 25 entries (the largest in years) in the Historical Masquerade. We awarded a Spazzy in the Historical, for the paper-doll ball gowns. Byron & Tina commented unfavorably on the hotel – shabby, dark, gloomy, ratty furniture in the lobby. The Con Suite was wonderful! Easy to get to, had real food most of the time, places to sit and converse. They kept it clean, with self-adhesive plastic sheeting to protect the carpets (keeps the hotel happy). Susan asked if there were any trends. Byron responded that it seemed to be a typical mix, though with more humorous entries than usual, and a larger number of ethnic entries.

Balticon: Heidi commented on the con. She thought that they had a good number of people. She mostly did art panels. The art show was lame. There were no good activities for artists (panels, workshops, etc.), and the Meet the Pros party was almost non-existent. The dealers room was almost all books. They had strong literary programming.

She was a judge for the Masquerade. There was some really good costuming, about 27-30 entries. Three kids did their own original costumes. She felt that Lisa’s costume should have won best in show.

Anime Next: Kathy went; it was her first anime con. She said the dealers’ room was not all anime-oriented. She picked up some Dr. Who items. Artists Row had prints and original work. The masquerade had fairly fancy tech(smoke and lighting effects). She wasn’t sure whether the tech belonged to the exhibition center or was rented. Live mike was available for those who wanted it. There were nine entries, some with very nice work. She was judges’ clerk. They had workmanship judging. One of the questions contestants were asked was “what did you learn in making this costume?” If they did (learn something new), it added to their judging score.

Lone Star Con 3 (WorldCon) (8/29 - 9/2): Byron & Tina will be driving there. Jill Eastlake is MD, Dave DeAntonio will be running the green room (Byron is mentoring him). Tina will be doing the repair table; they will provide a kit there, and she plans to bring various odds & ends that may be useful.

DragonCon (also Labor Day weekend): Susan said that there are now a lot more hotels, so more walking. Kathy said there are lots of people in costume – many come in costume just to pose and get photographed.

Albacon (1^st weekend of Nov.): Byron said it will be a relaxacon this year (with a writers’ workshop). They’re broke after last year’s con. They’ll have a bunch of pros and semi-pros. In 2014 it will be a “real” con again.

Philcon (11/8-10): The con’s hotel contract is up for renewal. Pups Lisa and Elektra are doing costume programming, masquerade and website.

Costume-Con 32 (4/25-28/14): Tina said that CC 32 has a flashy website which should appeal to younger costumers. Byron is running the Historical, and is looking for judges.

Costume-Con 33 (venue): Byron & Tina plan to check out the CC hotel while they are in South Carolina for a conference in early August. Rob & Sandy may have a hotel contract this week. The general time frame is for sometime in late April, avoiding the dates for other major Charleston events. Their promotional video is pretty good, keeps the audience entertained. Byron said they may have underplayed the Porgy and Bess connection; the opera is set in Charleston. He also said that 33 would be a good venue for uniforms – lots of Revolutionary War, as well as Civil War. Pierre and Sandy will be running the Historical Masquerade for 33.

Other miscellaneous items of potential interest:

Kathy commented on the costumes in a couple of Broadway shows she had seen recently. Cinderella was a lot of fun, and there were two costume changes/transformations on stage. Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike is a comedy (formerly off-Broadway) which won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. She said that in the second act, there’s a costume party with a costume best described as “Evil Queen as portrayed by Maggie Smith” in pink-sequined gown and tiara.

New Business:

Election of Officers: There were no nominees other than the present officers, who were re-elected for another year. A new office was created (by acclamation): Roving Ambassador, to which Diane Kovalcin was elected in absentia (since she was roving at present).

Byron said that Elaine has invited us to hold a meeting at her place (Tucson, AZ). Comments were “my heart is willing, but my finances are weak” and “OK, if she’ll fly us out.” Heidi said that she would be willing to host a meeting in Stroudsburg, PA.

September (9/21): at Diane’s

November (11/23): also at Diane’s

Meeting was adjourned at 5:29 pm.