Dear Necon Campers,
I’m sure you’re as tired of receiving these type of announcements as we are of making them. That said, I also recognize this is the only smart, safe, and reasonable course of action before us and I doubt this news will come as much of a surprise. Plus, I promise the second half of this announcement will be more fun!
We had a Zoom call with our liaisons at UMass-Lowell, and they delivered the sad news we suspected was coming — due to the ongoing health and safety concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the University will not be allowing overnight guests this summer. Frankly, I think most (if not all) of us could see the handwriting on the wall and had come to the realization that it’s simply not safe, nor logistically feasible, to hold a regular Necon this summer, and I honestly find it reassuring that our partners at UMass-Lowell feel the same way. As such, the University happily rolled our deposit forward and we’ve secured our dates for next year. Necon 40 will now be held July 21st – July 24th, 2022, and we are in the process of reconfirming our Dais of Guests for those dates.
So, stop me if you’ve heard this one before — as the University will be holding our deposit, we need to ask that you all stick with us. While we will honor refund requests, please only do so if you know for certain that you won’t be able to join us for those dates next July.
And now for the fun part I promised! To show our appreciation, and because we’re sure we’re not the only ones jonesing for a Necon fix, we’re planning something special for this summer —
That’s right, we’re planning to hold a blockbuster virtual convention online this July, participation at which will be 100% free for all registered Necon 40 Campers. In fact, we’re putting together something extra special for Sunday the 18th, that has NEVER been done at Necon before, that will be offered exclusively to Necon 40 attendees. Please stay tuned for more announcements regarding V-Con over the next month, ‘cuz I promise we’re gonna knock everyone’s virtual socks off!
As always, thank you all for being a part of the Necon Family. Please stay healthy, well, and safe; I look forward to seeing you all online this July and in person as absolutely soon as the world allows.
– Matt Bechtel
Chairperson, Camp Necon 40