Arisia 2024 - September Progress Report #2

Arisia 2024 Special Guests and COVID Policy Announcements

Arisia 2024 is taking place January 12-15, 2024, at the Westin Boston Seaport District Hotel. In this PR issue, we are bringing you the news of our new featured guests, volunteer opportunities, updates, and the COVID policy that will be in effect for Arisia 2024.

Announcing Our Featured Guests

Featured Music Guest: Windborne Singers
"The most exciting vocal group in a generation," Windborne’s captivating show draws on the singers' deep roots in traditions of vocal harmony, while the absolute uniqueness of their artistic approach brings old songs into the present. With a 20-year background studying polyphonic music around the world, Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan share a vibrant energy onstage with a blending of voices that can only come from decades of friendship alongside dedicated practice. 

Featured Gamer Guest: Eugenio Vargas
Eugenio Vargas is a TTRPG designer, writer, and professional GM, as well as a streamer and podcaster. He's been featured as both a GM and player in various actual play shows, including The Last Refuge: A D&D Podcast, Into the Mother Lands, Idle Champions Presents: Hunger of the Far Realms, and Rivals of Waterdeep. As a writer and designer, Eugenio has design credits in books published by MCDM Productions (Flee, Mortals! and Where Evil Lives), Green Ronin (The Fifth Season Roleplaying Game), Wizards of the Coast (Fizban's Treasury of Dragons), and a few others coming soon. When he's not writing or GMing, Eugenio streams games on his Twitch channel as DMJazzyHands.

Arisia 2024 COVID Policy

All of us on the Con Chair team recognize the importance of communicating clearly, early and often about the COVID policy for Arisia 2024. To ensure we could do this, we have had our first meeting with a team of medical and public health experts to discuss COVID precautions for the January 2024 convention.

A major factor in all of Arisia’s decisions about COVID policy is how to make our events accessible for the largest number of people. We want to be clear both with our words and with our actions that we value the members of our community who are medically vulnerable, immunocompromised or elderly. To that end, we have decided that for Arisia 2024 we will require masks without an exhalation vent over the nose and mouth in convention spaces. A minimum of a surgical mask is required. We strongly encourage people to use N95, KN95, KF-94 or FFP2 masks whenever possible.

We understand that at this point in the pandemic, it is rare for events to require masks. Though this may pose an inconvenience for some of our attendees, it will enable more of Arisia’s convention-goers to attend. We know that there will probably be some people who are not safe in even a masked crowd and who still won’t be able to join us, but we believe this decision means a larger portion of our community will be able to be present. After the last few years, that’s what matters the most to us.

While we hope people will stay masked as much as they are able, there are some spaces where attendees can take breaks from having their masks on. We will once again have a con suite, which is a mask-optional space where snacks and drinks will be served and where people are welcome to bring in their own food. We are also planning to have a Green Room for staff and program/event participants where food will be served, and that space will be mask-optional as well. As with last year, we expect the hotel will not require masks in public spaces, such as the lobby and restaurants, although we hope attendees remain masked in more crowded and cramped public spaces, like the elevators. Private parties will also be able to set their own policies, and some performances will allow performers to be unmasked.

We are still discussing other aspects of our Arisia 2024 COVID policy – including vaccination requirements – with our advisory team. But we wanted to share our decision that Arisia 2024 will require attendees to mask in convention space, which we hope will keep our attendees safe from COVID, as well as the flu strain and RSV.

Get Your Arisia 2024 Membership

Registration is Open for Arisia 2024! 

Weekend Rates:

• $55* through 9/30/2023 for full memberships and FastTrack memberships (for children between 6 and 12 years)
• $30 for students (students age 13-25 with a valid student ID)
• Free with Card To Culture memberships for EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders and their families (must show card at badge pick up)
• Free for Kids-in-Tow (must be with a paying attendee at all times) 

Arisia is once again participating in the Massachusetts Card to Culture program. Card holders can register to attend Arisia 2024 at no cost to them. Email registration@arisia.org to find out how!

Call for Volunteers!

The reason we can put on Arisia is because of people like you! Come volunteer! It's a great way to keep Arisia going and meet your fellow Arisians. We have many job opportunities listed at our Help Wanted page. New jobs will be posted there regularly.

Some positions that we'd like to fill asap:

• Programming - Gaming Area Head (see details below)
• Events - Assistant Division Head
• At-Con Innkeepers
• Incident Response Team Area Head
• At-Con Hotel Liaisons
• Logistics Truck Drivers

Want to help out but not sure where you want to do that? Sign up at our Volunteer Signup page and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to match you with available jobs.

Have questions about volunteering? Email volunteers@arisia.org with any questions.

Programming Division Update

• Brainstorming to Close Soon: If you've got an idea for a panel, workshop, or other platform for discussion, submit it at arisia.org/Brainstorm before September 10, 2023.
• Seeking Volunteers: Programming needs volunteers from folks who are good at planning and organizing to those who can spend time in Program Nexus helping our panelists be at their best. If you're interested in assisting in one of Arisia's largest divisions, reach out to programming@arisia.org or fill out the form here.
• One Critical Role: We're looking for someone who's interested in stewarding Programming's gaming content—this is the part of the con that's talking about games, rather than playing them. We'd like to have this role filled by next week, so if this is in your wheelhouse, let us know.

Exhibits Division Update