All posts by SF3 President

WisCon 44 is now canceled.

WisCon 44 is now canceled.

We are currently working on an online event to replace it — a WisCOnline, if you will. More details will be coming in a second blog post by next Monday (March 30).

WisCon 45, in May 2021, will be a banger, with all the elements of WisCon 44 that we are unable to carry off online, as well as all of the normal elements of WisCon 45! More details will be coming soon on W45 as we confirm them; watch this space!

If you have already paid for your registration and/or Dessert Salon tickets for WisCon 44, we would deeply appreciate it if you could allow us to roll over your membership and dessert tickets to WisCon 45. Having those funds available will allow us to keep our plans in place despite the long gap between in-person conventions. If you are willing to roll over your paid order, no action is necessary. If you need to have your order refunded, please email registration@wiscon.net before April 15, 2020.

There is no need to cancel your room reservations — the entire WisCon block has been cancelled as well. Please do not call the hotel at this time; we will be sure to provide further details in upcoming posts about room blocks for next year.

We apologize that it took us a few weeks to make this decision. WisCon relies on many small or independent businesses, including our hotel — The Madison Concourse Hotel is not only independent and unionized, they are a valuable partner in putting on the convention, and many of the things we do wouldn’t be possible without their flexibility and hard work. We needed to make sure that we are all getting through this in good shape, and that required some deep, thoughtful conversations.

Thank you again for understanding, and stay tuned for more information coming soon!

March 6 Update on COVID-19

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by a virus that was first detected in China and has since been detected in almost 70 locations across the globe, including the United States. We wanted to update our community, since WisCon 44 is scheduled to take place in Madison, Wisconsin, at the end of May.

As of March 6, WisCon 44 is scheduled to happen.

Our Conference Committee (ConCom) and Board of Directors are monitoring the situation, which continues to change quickly. We will be reevaluating the situation regularly with increasing frequently as we get closer to our scheduled date. This includes checking in with our host hotel, the Madison Concourse, and monitoring announcements from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Public Health of Madison & Dane County and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

As of March 5, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports: “Although one case of COVID-19 has been detected in Wisconsin, the immediate health risk to the general public in Wisconsin, and the U.S. as a whole, remains low.” Based on this assessment and the information available from the CDC, the ConCom is continuing to move forward with WisCon 44 as planned.

At the same time, we recognize that the situation may vary depending on where our members live and work. WisCon can refund your membership or defer it to next year for anyone whose travel is impacted by COVID-19 or has any concerns about traveling. If at the time of WisCon you feel sick; are worried that you might have been in contact with people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19; or have a weakened immune system and are concerned about attending; we encourage you to stay home. You can receive a refund or we can defer your membership to next year. If you have any questions about refunds or deferring your membership to next year, please reach out to registration at wiscon dot net.

Additional resources:

The ConCom will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and reevaluate regularly. We will publish another update on 3/20, and we’ll keep you informed of our plans with increasing frequency as WisCon 44 approaches. Thanks for your patience, understanding, and for washing your hands often with soap and water!