The deadline to purchase your FARPOINT CONVENTION tickets is January 31, 2024. Purchasing in advance ensures you get the lowest price for the convention, as prices will be higher at the door. Don’t forget that every attendee receives 1 complimentary signature from the celebrity guest of their choice (1 Saturday and 1 Sunday) as part of their ticket purchase. CLICK HERE to go to our secure Square ticketing site.
The convention schedule is available now! Download a PDF or go to our interactive online app to plan your weekend at Farpoint Convention. Please note that final changes may be necessary before the convention. Bookmark our website and social media pages to make sure you remain up to date.
We would like to congratulate Christopher Carothers, our 2024 Contact Award recipient. The Volker/McChesney award was created in 2006 to honor area fans who have exemplified service to the fandom community. The award was named for two past Farpoint Chairs, Beverly J. Volker and Marion McChesney, lynchpins of local fan activity who had been instrumental in the creation of Baltimore area conventions and fanzines. The award recognizes long-term contributions to the fandom community through creative and service endeavors. It says that the recipient has shaped our local fandom in an unforgettable way.
Beverly and her sister Nancy Kippax started a fanzine called Contact in 1975, choosing a name that they felt defined the goal of the U.S.S. Enterprise’s explorations, and our need to seek out and embrace fandom, discovering the difference in others, and delighting in that difference. Joining the “Contact Crowd”, providing stories, art and editing to many issues, were two other talented fans, Marion McChesney and Sandra Zier-Teitler. This group provided key support to the committee of the early Shore Leave conventions, and then started running their own conventions in 1984. And so, for Bev, for Marion, for Nancy and for Sandy, we proudly announce the award is renamed as the Contact Award, which honors each of them, and the spirit and gifts they shared with us all.
Chris Carothers, as our 2024 recipient, represents the modern version of the spirit that led our fandom forebears to work to reach out and support the fandom community. Chris is familiar to Farpoint Attendees as the host of Vic’s Place Karaoke and the Ten Forward dance party and as a member of the Luna-C troupe. Chris and his late production partner Lee Warren, together with their incredible team, have been lighting up the late nights at Farpoint for decades now. Chris has a knack for making whatever he works on easier and better. He goes out of his way to help other fans, and puts his whole heart (and his considerable skills) into the effort.
(Text credit Steven H. Wilson for input to this announcement text providing a history of Contact fanzine and the Contact Crowd. Photo credit Laurel Mill Playhouse).
Hotel reservations are available through our website page. The room rate for Farpoint is $129/night and available through 1/09/24. Please remember that booking directly with Hilton is the only way to get the best rate available for our weekend and ensure that Farpoint gets credit for your room against our room commitment with Hilton. Rooms booked via third party services cannot be counted toward Farpoint’s agreement with the hotel.
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!
Tuesday, November 28, 2023 is GIVING TUESDAY, a movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world. Whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help, every act of generosity counts, and everyone has something to give.
This year, Farpoint Foundation is working hard to move our annual convention at short notice to a new venue. We’ve been successful in locating and securing our new venue and are navigating the increased infrastructure costs this change caused. We are required to pay larger deposits and create new room layout design drawings and signage, all of which costs additional funds. Farpoint Foundation appreciates the support we’ve received since the venue news was announced and ask our followers for continued support as we move through this change to our upcoming February 9-11, 2024 convention. Please DONATE and SHARE this announcement when/where you can, with many thanks from everyone at Farpoint.
Our partners at the Julien Fleming Memorial Fund are offering a 2024 calendar for sale to raise funds for their work. They make great gifts and your purchase generates a donation to the fund! It’s a win-win! Check out their store.
11/15/2023 – Our Hotel page is now updated with the room reservation link! Directions for drivers, fliers and pubic transportation are on the Getting Therepage.
Thank you all so much for your patience as we work through the logistics of transferring Farpoint Convention 2024 to a new venue. To say the Delta closing was a shock is an understatement to us all.
We have signed the contract with the DoubleTree by Hilton Pikesville and are waiting for a copy of the executed version. Hilton seems to be very “corporate” in that they have a procedure for accepting and executing contracts for events with new customers. Turns out we have gotten very spoiled with our easy relationship and quick interactions with the Delta over so many years.
Please be assured that our contract is firm and we are waiting on Hilton to work through their procedures on their side to establish us as an event in the Hilton system. Their corporate procedure steps require that they will not release the room registration information for attendees until they have dotted every “i” and crossed every “t” on their end. This includes verifying contract signatures and processing our request for credit to avoid having to pay the entire hotel bill 30 days up front. Our hotel liaison is pushing hard to make that happen, because we want to get the room reservation information out to attendees ASAP.
HELLO to our new hotel home – the DoubleTree by Hilton in Pikesville, MD! The ink is still drying on the deal and we are putting together the information on our hotel room block for you to make your reservations. The good news? The original dates of February 9-11, 2024 and room rate of $129/night will remain in place! Look for further news here on the website and on our social media with the link to our hotel reservation page when it is established.
And a sad FAREWELL to our beloved Delta Hotel / Hunt Valley Inn. We had a wonderful farewell event on Saturday, October 28, 2023 with lots of friends, fun, laughter, and food, along with some tears. Our founder Steven H. Wilson has shared some thoughts on the weekend on his Facebook page – please enjoy his remembrance of the very long association his family has had with the Delta / HVI both personally and professionally. Thanks to the ShoreLeave Convention team for co-hosting and to our wonderful family from the Delta / HVI for their years of friendship and support. We’ve added a few photos from the event below, and you can see more online on our Instagram and Facebook pages. Please make sure to open each image to see the full detail. Photo credits – Phil Giunta
Not everyone but almost all of the attendees!Howard Weinstein speaking. Bob Greenberger trying to figure out what’s going onFarpoint’s Steve Wilson with regular guest Danielle Ackley-McPhailDiane Baron, Susan Olesen and Alan Chafin leading our game showMarc Okrand telling wonderful stories
The annual gathering for fans and creators of all genres of imaginative fiction – Science Fiction, Comics, Fantasy, Anime, Horror, SuperHeroes – in all types of creative media!
