Shadowgram Update #167 (Fest Dates & Location)

[Sandor]

Mixed feelings on this. I am extremely grateful that the announcement has finally been made.  It could not have been a moment too soon. However, I am discouraged that California is once again neglected (why is there never a West Coast Fest two years in a row?)

I'm in full agreement with Prof. Stokes on this one. Bring the DS Con back to California!

[D_Friedlander]

Yes, really, I think enough Easterners would have gone to a 2-day event in CA, IF the room rates were held an extra couple of days--- even if there was no more Fest, there's certainly plenty to do and see in that area that could fill an extra day or two.  And I'd miss the west coasters and anyone else I know, who may not be able to attend, like ProfStokes.

The best I can say is that Tarrytown is close enough to where I live that even if I didn't already have room-mates and couldn't get a room, I can drive back and forth for the couple of days, and if there are no other plans,  not even take it as a vacation--- Goodness, I could just call in sick on Friday.

If abbreviated conventions are the wave of the future, it might be worthwhile taking them to different locations in turn, and give some of the fans a chance to attend without always getting stuck for airfares.

Looking forward to seeing whoever can make it....

[ProfStokes]

I highly recommend that anyone going plan on the banquet. It could be the only meal you get in that hotel.

Yes!  Thank you for bringing that up, sheenasma. I don't know what the hotel is like now, but from my stay there in 2004, I remember there was one restaurant in the hotel and it was only open for a few hours a day.  If you were able to get in during those times, the service was incredibly slow and the food overpriced. The next nearest dining spot was only within driving distance. I ate two meals the entire time I was at that hotel, and one of those was the banquet.  By Monday, I was physically ill. Seriously, if you're planning to stay at the hotel, stop at a grocer's or a convenience store and stock up on food in advance.

Even if I had the money to travel to New York for the second time in a row, nothing could induce me to stay at the Westchester Marriott again. 

ProfStokes

[EmeraldRose]

Quote from: ProfStokes

[/color]Even if I had the money to travel to New York for the second time in a row, nothing could induce me to stay at the Westchester Marriott again.

Me, neither!  I am also in California, and it angers me to find the DS Fest will be in New York, again!  If I decide to go, I plan to fly into Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, rent a car, and stay at a cheaper hotel nearby.   I hope Jonathan Frid will be the "special guest" - I never met him before, and it might be worth it to go there again if I can see him.

----- Sally -----

[Julianka7]

Personally I think it's way passed time to have a fest in the mid west.
Chicago would be a good location.

[Raineypark]

I have to admit that the only meal I ate in the hotel was breakfast.....but I do recall that I thought it was excellent, and I made sure I ate breakfast there the following morning.  I think business travelers only eat breakfast in their hotel, and not their other meals.....so I expect breakfast to be the one meal the hotel gets right....

But Tarrytown has many wonderful restaurants within a cab's ride so there really isn't any reason to eat in the hotel.....

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I've read and heard many horror stories about the restaurants attached to the hotel, and I don't discount any of them - but my experiences were just the opposite. I don't recall the names of those two restaurants, but I ate at both and had no complaints whatsoever. On the Saturday night I ate at the one at the end of the corridor, and both the food and the service were spectacular (I had some sort of herb chicken that I would almost kill to get the recipe for because it was that good). My only complaint there, if one can call it that, was that it was so dark in the room that I was seated in that I could barely see the friend I was with or the food because basically the only thing lighting it all was one candle. But under other circumstances I may have thought that was romantic.    And on the Sunday a group of friends and I ate at the first restaurant, and again everything was very good. In fact, I think we pretty much overstayed our welcome there, but no one said a thing to us. And I should probably also mention that on neither night did we have reservations - we simply showed up and were taken care of as if we were regulars. But the one thing was that we showed up at both restaurants just as they were opening for dinner, so that may have had an awful lot to do with why we didn't encounter any of the problems others had as the nights progressed and service apparently backed up.  :- 

[Brandon Collins]

For those of you who have been to Tarrytown before--

I'm thinking of going to this year's fest. I want to go, but things haven't been taken care of just yet on my end. So, what I'm wanting to know is:

1. What's Tarrytown like? Is it town-ish, or is it more bustling and busy?
2. Are thing far away from the hotel? Is the hotel in the "city"?
3. Would you recommend driving? (I don't think I could get mum on a plane, and the train from here would be like $300!!!)

Any other help you could provide would be great! Thanks!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I remember MB. It was 1991 to be exact.    Los Angeles in June and Thanksgiving weekend in NY.  Ah, the good ole days. 

'91 was certainly one of the years, and the last - but Fests were also held on both coasts in '87 and '89. And in '86 they were held in both Dallas and Newark. And in '85 there was a Fest in Newark as well as one as part of TimeCon85 in San Jose. 

Interestingly, though, there have been strings of uninterrupted years of Fests in the Newark/NYC area but never, as ProfStokes pointed out, two consecutive years in CA. I remember hearing that the East Coast Fests in general are supposedly more successful than the ones on the West Coast. I don't know if that is actually true - but the evidence of so many East Coast Fests would seem to support it...

[ProfStokes]

1. What's Tarrytown like? Is it town-ish, or is it more bustling and busy?
2. Are thing far away from the hotel? Is the hotel in the "city"?
3. Would you recommend driving? (I don't think I could get mum on a plane, and the train from here would be like $300!!!)

As I recall, Brandon, it's pretty isolated and more of a suburb than a city. Sleepy Hollow is a small town nearby, and the biggest attractions are Lyndhurst and Washington Irving's house.  I don't remember seeing any malls, theaters, other museums, or features that I usually associate with a "city" (in other words, it's certainly not Brooklyn).  You would likely need a rental car or a taxi to get from place to place.  It's a long walk to anywhere from the Westchester Marriott.

ProfStokes

[ProfStokes]

Interestingly, though, there have been strings of uninterrupted years of Fests in the Newark/NYC area but never, as ProfStokes pointed out, two consecutive years in CA. I remember hearing that the East Coast Fests in general are supposedly more successful than the ones on the West Coast. I don't know if that is actually true - but the evidence of so many East Coast Fests would seem to support it...

And yet, most of the regular actors who attend Festivals live on the West Coast.  I believe their expenses (travel, hotels) are paid by the Festival, so I would imagine the cost of bringing so many people back and forth would exceed any profits that could be made from the larger East Coast fan base.

ProfStokes

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I would imagine the cost of bringing so many people back and forth would exceed any profits that could be made from the larger East Coast fan base.

One would certainly assume that. But maybe not.    Like I said, the evidence would *seem* to be to the contrary...

[dom]

1. What's Tarrytown like? Is it town-ish, or is it more bustling and busy?
2. Are thing far away from the hotel? Is the hotel in the "city"?
3. Would you recommend driving? (I don't think I could get mum on a plane, and the train from here would be like $300!!!)

1, Townish but it ain't Mayberry.
2A, Yes. 2B, No.
3, Yes. I did. (And with someone who could have been my mother - she came with luggage and driving instructions, lol. I'd name names but I fear the WOODEN SPOON!)

I had no trouble with the restaurants at the hotel. I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner there on and off. Great food, great friends, great memories. The Fest itself was the lowpoint of the trip...but I'm not bitter.  

[Mysterious Benefactor]

it's pretty isolated

That's probably putting it mildly. The hotel is situated in the middle of nowhere in an industrial park.  :-  Though, as Raineypark pointed out, some restaurants are just a cab ride or drive away. And, of course, one can certainly take the train into NYC, which is what I did twice in '04.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

(And with someone who could have been my mother - she came with luggage and driving instructions, lol. I'd name names but I fear the WOODEN SPOON!)

I'm sensing no pignoli cookies for you ever again! And that's probably the least of it when she reads that!!