This week is the start of the big tour. And the big tour begins with:

LibertyCon

The Thirtieth LibertyCon starts Friday and goes through Sunday in Chattanooga, TN. For those of us in the SciFi community, it will be a star-studded weekend with some true stars, not just those of the PC-elect.

Master of Ceremonies:  Toni Weisskopf

30th Anniversary Literary Guest of Honor:  John Ringo

John Ringo is not only a world class writer, but is also a very familiar face at LibertyCon.  Every year you can find him sitting and chatting with friends and fans, and now he’s even stepped up his game to take on Todd McCaffrey in the ConSuite with his “Nearly Home-Made Spaghetti” that he brought in for the attendees at LC29!  (I would say all of this is the reason for us having him in as LC30th Anniv. LGoH but really it’s just a ploy so we can hang out with his lovely wife, Miriam)  

You can find out more about John at his website, JohnRingo.net

Literary Guest of Honor:  Kevin Hearne

Kevin Hearne is a favorite author of quite a few of the LibertyCon family, and we’re sure that once you check out his work you’ll understand why! We’re really looking forward to meeting him when he comes in as our LC30 Literary Guest of Honor!

You can find out more about Mr. Hearne (And his dogs for that matter!) at his website, KevinHearne.com

Artist Guest of Honor:  Dan dos Santos

Dan dos Santos is an incredible artist who covers the field with his work. Although primarily known for his incredible book cover art, he has also worked in comics and film for companies like DC Comics and Disney. You just never know where this guy is going to pop up, but we’re happy that he’s popping up in Chattanooga as our 2017 Artist Guest!

You can learn more about Dan by checking out his website at DandosSantos.com

Science Guest of Honor:  Dr. Elisa Quintana

Dr. Elisa Quintana is an award winning scientist that works with both the SETI Institute and the NASA Ames Research Center on the Kepler Mission.  She not only has several advanced degrees in addition to her Ph.D. in Physics, but was also a team lead of the astronomers who confirmed Kepler-186f.  This might not mean much to you said that way, but it was the first  Earth-sized planet found orbiting in another star’s habitable “Goldilocks Zone”!

One thing about it, I can’t wait to see the Mad Scientists’ Panel with her on board!

Special Guest of Honor:  Todd McCaffrey

Over the past several years, Todd McCaffrey has been a well known face around LibertyCon.  He’s not only a talented author, but also genuinely one of the nicest people around.  (Also we’ve come to look forward to his crepes, which he makes for staff and fans for Saturday morning breakfast.  Really!  We’re not joking, Todd McCaffrey makes our breakfast…  and they’re great!)  We’re looking forward to having him at LibertyCon 30 as our Staff Chef Special Guest of Honor!

You can learn more about Todd by checking out his page at PERNHome.com

30th Anniversary Guest:  Faith Hunter

Another new face on the list of LibertyCon 30 “headliners”, Faith Hunter is the New York Times bestselling author of the Jane Yellowrock Series, the Rogue Mage Series and the Soulwood Series.  We haven’t had the chance to meet Ms. Hunter yet, but by all accounts she should fit right into our little LibertyCon Family!  We can’t wait to see her in 2017!

You can find out more about Faith at her website, FaithHunter.net

World’s of Fun

The second item on look ahead is World’s of Fun. Several items here.

• This weekend is the big Patriotic Celebration.  Worlds of Fun celebrates the 4th for 4 nights in July with fireworks at 10pm each night, Saturday thru Tuesday. _{(Please note, the Worlds of Fun Avenue and main parking entrance will be closed from approximately 7:30 pm – 11:00 pm each night. Traffic entering the park will be directed to the Oceans of Fun parking lot.)}
• Family Reunion Days July 1-4, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30 $42.99/person Admission and Meal for Groups of 15 or More. Celebrate your Family Reunion in July at Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. Enjoy access to both parks, an all-you-can-eat picnic buffet from 2PM – 3PM at one of our picnic pavilions, including Fried Chicken, Sliced Brisket, Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Potato Chips, Assorted Cookies, and drinks from Coca-Cola. All at a reasonable price! With all the rides, slides, shows, and attractions, including the all-new Falcon’s Flight and Mustang Runner there’s no better place to have fun with the entire family. And no simpler way to plan it. Just work with one of our experienced Account Executives, and they’ll take care of everything. You and the family enjoy the day!
• Military Days –– Worlds of Fun wants to thank the men and women who have served and who are currently serving in our country’s military. Veterans of the American Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard will receive complimentary admission to Worlds of Fun on July 4. Complimentary tickets available for active duty, reserve, or retired military with honorable or medical discharge and government issued ID.  Veterans or active military members only will receive complimentary admission to Worlds of Fun and can bring up to six (6) members of their immediate family on admission at $36.00 + tax each. Please present valid government issued ID at any ticket sales window located at the Worlds of Fun or Oceans of Fun main entrance in order to receive your admission and purchase your immediate family admissions

And of course there is our update on the Season Dining Plan Usage:

Starlight Theatre — Jersey Boys

I did a late tease on this one Tuesday, but the show goes on through Sunday, July 2.

The strong adult language aside, the show itself was a very good show. The writing was well done. As a musical person, but not one locked into the music of the Jersey Boys’  era, I surprised myself with how much of it was familiar and enjoyable. My wife used her earplugs through the entire thing, and I was tempted to join her, but even with such volume levels it didn’t disturb unduly my ability to follow the weaving of the true-life story and the music that seamlessly told the story with it. This was much more that a musical collage or celebration.

As to the rest of the Starlight experience, I give Starlight a momentary reprise from our growing unease and displeasure at the quality of the experience we have been getting. We arrived earlier to this show than the last, and came in through the 63rd street gate, and were thus parked in grass parking on the correct side of the theatre to be able to get to our dinner reservations without undue circumnavigation of the entire grounds. Of course, we figured that out ourselves, where to come in to park — no one at the theatre suggested it to dining patrons, nor responded to my comments about the same from the previous survey.

The person checking tickets at the gate was having trouble with her reader, but handled the delay in a way that didn’t make us feel disgruntled by the wait. And when we got to the buffet line, there were plates — unlike last time — with a subtle design to remind us of records (thus themed to the evening’s show). Overall there were no glitches to the evening, for once.

All of that is said without being influenced by the other main event of the evening for us.

We won the door prize.

When they handed us our programs at the gate, each of us looked to see who was sponsoring the show, and then turned to the page with the sponsor’s ad. They always announce that whoever on that page sees the gold Starlight sticker will be the winner of that night’s giveaway.  I turned to that page, saw the star, was subtly startled, closed, opened, gave my wife a peak and then closed the book again, with surreptitious glances.

We guarded the booklet all through dinner, posed for a surreptitious picture in the our seats, and then went to redeem it at intermission for the $200 in Starlight gift certificates that was our prize.

And now we still need to decide: will we apply them toward season tickets next year, or just buy individual shows. Will they present us with a good enough season to make season tickets worthwhile next year?