Event: Barliman’s Bash, 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dates: Wednesday July 23, 2003 – Sunday July 27, 2003.
The fourth Bash is coming up fast, and here are the basics that you’ll need to decide if you want to attend.
The four-day event is social in nature – it’s not a convention, it’s a gathering. We do this to hang out with other Tolkien geeks…er, admirers. Sure, debating Tolkien minutiae and the like is something that we’ll certainly do – but it’s not the primary purpose for being there. The primary purpose is to have a good time.
There are two official, ‘everybody attends’ events scheduled for the Bash. First, on the evening of Wednesday the 23rd, there will be a reception. We’ll have some food, and there’ll be a cash bar. This is where you get to meet everybody you’ve never met before, and reunite with the folks you haven’t seen in a while.
On the evening of Saturday the 26th, there will be a banquet dinner, again with a cash bar. It has been suggested that this event be formal, or costume, or some combination thereof. I’m considering it, but don’t hold your breath – though dressing formally or in costume is *more* than acceptable – just don’t expect everybody else to be doing so.
We’ve been brainstorming to come up with a few other, optional (and Tolkien-related) events to scatter throughout the Bash, and will certainly have at least one or two such things, for those who simply cannot envision attending a Tolkien-related event without Tolkien-related activities.
Where, some of you ask, are we staying? We’ve reserved space in the Courtyard by Marriott, Downtown Toronto. It’s a new property, in downtown Toronto (to state the obvious). So, for the first time, our group will be within walking distance of practically everything you’d care to do in Toronto. Visit the CN Tower, and gaze over Lake Ontario. Do some shopping, or go see a play. Wander through Toronto’s many museums and galleries.
We’ve managed to secure the rooms for $149 per night, Canadian funds. This works out to roughly $100 per night, US funds, for single and double occupancy – which is quite a deal for a downtown property in the midst of tourism season. Triple and quadruple occupancy is available, but the accounting gets a bit more complicated – so just email me if you’re interested in those rates.
People attending the Bash are *strongly* encouraged to stay at the hotel – we are required to fill a certain number of rooms, and will have to pay a financial penalty if we fail to do so. Information on making reservations can be gotten from Curunir, and will be posted on the Bash webpage, here at TOR.n, as soon as he’s got it done – the slacker.
There will, sadly, be an associated fee. In order to pay for the catering, and for the meeting space in which the official events are to be held, we’re charging a fee of $75.00 US per attendee. Info on paying this fee can also be obtained from Curunir, and will likewise be posted on the Bash webpage, when aforementioned slacker gets it up and running – which should be very soon.
And those, friends, are the basics regarding Barliman’s Bash 2003. If you have any questions whatsoever, or to be added to the Barliman’s Bash info mailing list, just email Curunir, and he shall see it done.
Take care of yourselves, be well, and we hope to see you all in Toronto!
