Conterpoint 2007

The 17th Floating East Coast Filk Con

June 22-24, 2007

Progress Report One

The Floating Northeast Filk Convention returns to metro Washington, DC! Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until 2021 for the return of the cicada chorus. But here’s what we can promise you:

Our Guests

Guests of Honor: Wild Mercy

Wild Mercy has been rocking casbahs all over the Midwest. The band consists of long-time filkers and Hall of Fame inductees Barry and Sally Childs-Helton, plus harpist Jennifer Midkiff and keyboardist Debbie Gates. Wild Mercy stirs folk-rock, traditional, Celtic and jazz styles into a rich stew of exuberant music. We’re looking forward to introducing them to the Wall of Instruments™.

Toastmaster: John Hall

John has been filking since before some of us could even talk. A long-time member of the Dorsai Irregulars, John keeps the songs of the Dorsai and other filk and folk standards circulating. He is also an excellent auctioneer and will be conducting our Interfilk auction on Saturday evening.

Interfilk Guest: Seanan McGuire

Interfilk favors us this year with the fabulous Seanan McGuire, riding the wave from her had-to-be-there-to-believe-it appearance at OVFF 2005. Seanan wraps together deep, poetic lyrics and complex melodies, a soaring voice, and an exhilarating hold-nothing-back performance style. (Occasionally while wearing a stunning pink prom dress!)

Conterpoint will feature the debut of Seanan’s first studio album, Stars Fall Home. A CD release party is scheduled for Friday night.

Events


We hear our guests are conspiring to bring us some of the wildest filk antics ever. The joint is sure to be shaking like the San Andreas. It’s a good thing there’ll be a Dorsai on hand to keep order!

We will have the usual array of concerts, workshops, one-shots and theme filks. Local favorites The Boogie Knights will make a stop on their 25th anniversary tour.  Michelle Dockery and Tony Fabris will also grace our stage. Our Toastmaster will be hosting a Dorsai theme circle, and Sally Childs-Helton will be conducting a percussion workshop.

Programming will begin at 7 PM on Friday and continue until 4 PM Sunday afternoon. There will not be a banquet this time, but there will be a two hour dinner break on Saturday.

Special Dead Dog Event

Our ConChair and Registration head have decided to save everyone an extra trip and hold their long-delayed wedding on Sunday evening. There will be a two hour dinner break before the ceremony. A dessert reception will be followed by a soup course: the wedding band will be former Conterpoint GOHs Clam Chowder.

Songwriting Contest

The theme of this year’s songwriting contest is “True Love.” (Not necessarily romantic!) Entries that have been previously published  in print or online must have appeared after June 18, 2006. All entries will be performed at the convention. If you cannot attend (or prefer not to perform), someone else may present your entry.

Songbook

Gary McGath is again producing our souvenir songbook. In a filk first, the songbook has  morphed into a CD with lyrics and music in PDF format and MP3 sound files. A limited number of paper copies will be available for those who require them. Please contribute! All contributors, attending or not, will receive a copy.

Please send your  songs to Gary McGath, 42 Heather Court, Nashua NH 03062, or by e-mail to songbook (at-simbol) mcgath.com. The deadline for submissions is May 15th.

Childcare

If there is demand, we are planning to have a childcare room on site. Interested parents and volunteers should contact Sheryl (see Committee listing below) ASAP. We would also love to hear from volunteers who want to run children’s programming.

Con Suite

As in previous years, our Con Suite will be directly above the main function room (and easily accessed by the elevator located right outside the door).  Come grab a quick drink or snack between events, or  just hang out for a while with friends. Chocolate Chip Cookie Conspiracy (and other) donations to the con suite will be enthusiastically welcomed.

We will also be offering a kosher refreshments  table. Please be extremely careful to put only kosher food on the kosher table. If in doubt, ask a con suite staff member.

Volunteers

Running a convention takes all the help we can get, especially at the registration table or in the con suite. We’re also looking for a few good mike wranglers.  Please contact Steve or Crystal (see Committee listing below) in advance or at the con.

Dealers

Tales From The White Hart returns with CDs, songbooks, fanzines and garb available for your shopping pleasure.  Limited space is available for additional dealers in the main room. You may also sell from your room. Suites close to the function space can be arranged by prior request.  Contact our Hotel Liaison for details.

The Hotel

Conterpoint 2007 returns to the Woodfin Suite Hotel in Rockville, Maryland. The room rate is $109/night single-quad for a nicely appointed suite that includes a living room and kitchenette. There is also complimentary breakfast in the hotel restaurant (7:30 AM to 10:00 AM Saturday & Sunday).

Call 888-433-9407 (toll free) or 301-590-9880 (local area) and mention Conterpoint to get the convention rate. The room block closes May 22, 2007.

The Woodfin hotel’s web address is http://www.Woodfinsuitehotels.com/hotels/rockville.html. Note  that the reservations link will only give you the standard room rate, not the convention rate.

For those who can’t resist the Internet’s siren call, there is a 24-hour business center with Internet access off the lobby. All sleeping rooms have high-speed Internet access for $5.95 per day.  The lobby and meeting rooms have free wireless access.

How To Get There

The hotel’s address is: 1380 Piccard Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850.   The hotel is located just off I-270 and less than 10 miles from I-495, (the DC Beltway).

Approximate driving time to the hotel is 3 hours from Philadelphia, 4 ½ hours from New York City, 7 hours from Columbus, 8 hours from Boston, 10 hours from Toronto, and 12 hours from Atlanta.

Driving From the West/Northwest:

Take I–70 south to Frederick, Maryland. Pick up I–270 South towards Rockville/Washington. Get off at Exit 6, MD Route 28 (West Montgomery Avenue). At the top of the ramp, turn right. At the 2nd light, turn right onto Research Boulevard.  At the 1st light, turn right onto Gude Drive. At the next light, turn left onto Piccard Drive. The hotel is on the left.

Driving From the South:

Take I–66 East or I–95 North to I–495 North.  Take I–495 North toward Rockville/Silver Spring. Cross the Potomac River (via the American Legion Bridge). Stay left at the I–270/I–495
split and follow the signs for I–270 (Rockville/Frederick). Take Exit 8 to Shady Grove Road/Redland Road. Stay to the right on the exit ramp and follow the Redland Road sign. At the first light, turn right onto Piccard Drive. The hotel is on the right.

Driving From the North/Northeast:

Take I–95 South to the I–95/I–495 split. Follow I–495 toward Bethesda/Silver Spring. Take I270 North towards Rockville/Frederick. Get off at Exit 8, Shady Grove Road/Redland Road. Stay to the right on the exit ramp and follow the Redland Road sign. At the first light, turn right onto
Piccard Drive. The hotel is on the right.

By Public Transit:

The hotel is about one mile from the Shady Grove Metro station at the end of the Red Line. The hotel has a free shuttle running on weekdays only. When you get to the station, call the hotel desk at 301-590-9880 to request a shuttle. Otherwise, call one of these taxi companies:

Action Taxi
301-840-1000
Regency Cab
301-990-9000
Barwood Cab
301-984-1900
Montgomery Taxi
301-926-9300

By Air:

Washington, DC has two main airports: Washington Reagan National (DCA) across the river from downtown DC, and Washington-Dulles International (IAD) in suburban Virginia. National is about a 30 minute drive from the hotel; Dulles about 40 minutes. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is also an option but is a 60 minute drive from the hotel.

Airport Transportation Options:

National Airport has a Metro (DC’s subway) station. Take the Yellow Line toward Mount Vernon Square or Fort Totten. At the Gallery Place/Chinatown station, transfer to the Red Line toward Shady Grove. Allow a bit over an hour to travel between National Airport and Shady Grove.

If flying into Dulles or BWI, we recommend one of the local shuttle services: SuperShuttle (800-BLUE-VAN) or The Airport Shuttle (800-776-0323). Reservations should be made at least 24 hours in advance.

The Washington Flyer runs a shuttle service be-tween Dulles Airport and the West Falls Church Metro station (at least twice an hour from 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM, $8 one way or $14 round trip). From West Falls Church, take the Blue or Orange line toward either New Carrollton (Orange) or  Largo Town Center (Blue). At Metro Center, transfer to the Red Line toward Shady Grove. Allow about two hours total between Dulles Airport and Shady Grove. Follow public transit directions above.

From BWI, catch the BWI Express/B30 service to the Greenbelt Metro Station. Buses run every 40 minutes from 6:58am to 10:48 PM on weekdays and from 9:38am to 10:48 PM Saturdays and Sunday, Take the Green Line toward Branch Avenue. At Metro Center, transfer to the Red Line toward Shady Grove. Follow public transit directions above. Allow about two and a half hours between BWI and Shady Grove.

Arriving By Train:

Union Station in downtown Washington is served by Amtrak, MARC (Maryland commuter rail) and VRE (Virginia commuter rail). If arriving by train, go to the Union Station Metro (DC’s subway) stop (located inside Union Station) and take the Red Line to Shady Grove.  Allow about 45 minutes between Union Station and Shady Grove. Follow public transit directions above.

Committee

ConChair: Crystal Paul (malachite (at-simbol) speakeasy.net)

Registration: Steve Brinich (sbrinich (at-simbol) speakeasy.net)

Programming: Sheryl Gere (sherylg (at-simbol) speakeasy.net)

Songbook: Gary McGath (garym (at-simbol) mcgath.com)

Hotel Liaison: Gary Ehrlich (electro (at-simbol) speakeasy.net)

Con Suite: Cat Birzer (clangrehr (at-simbol) cox.net)

Guest Liaison: Randy Hoffman (mrgoodwraith (at-simbol) yahoo.com)

Publicity: Gary Ehrlich and Rob Balder (electro (at-simbol) speakeasy.net or pclips (at-simbol) aol.com)

Sound & Recording: Scott Dorsey (kludge (at-simbol) panix.com)