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[bakerstreetnorth]

Sherlock Seattle - to be, or not to be?

It seems appropriate to write this post today of all days; January 6th, Sherlock Holmes’s birthday. The question in this case is whether Sherlock Seattle will continue to exist or if Sherlock Seattle 2016 will have been our last year.

The biggest challenge that we face is having enough staff to make the convention happen such that no one person is carrying too heavy a burden, and it is a challenge that we have yet to meet. As such, we’ve decided to put the fate of Sherlock Seattle in the hands of the Fandom. If we can find enough people to make the convention happen, then we will put on Sherlock Seattle 2017. If we cannot, then we will shelve the convention for a year, or possibly forever.

We already have a fantastic GOH lined up: Rachel Talalay, who directed The Six Thatchers from BBC Sherlock, Season 4, and we would love to find someone else in the same field - perhaps a writer or director from Elementary.

So here is our challenge to you all - if you have a passion for all the iterations of Sherlock Holmes, if you want there to be a Sherlock Seattle 2017, and you are willing to put in the time and effort to make it happen, then send us an email at sherlock.seattle@gmail.com and put CONCOM in the subject line.

We look forward to hearing from you and will keep you posted on whether we manage to get enough people who are willing and able to make Sherlock Seattle happen in 2017.

[bakerstreetnorth]

Back in 2012 @the-mamishka came up with this crazy idea to throw a convention that celebrates all things Sherlock Holmes so that artists and writers and fans could come together and share their love. Much to her surprise and delight, a lot of people thought this was a great idea too and Sherlock Seattle was born.

The Sherlock Seattle convention has been incredibly meaningful to a large number of people. We celebrate everything from the original ACD stories to the latest incarnations in film, television, and novels. One thing everyone who has ever been to a Sherlock Seattle convention can agree upon is that it is a wonderful experience. It’s been called “a love fest”, “a safe space”, “the best convention I’ve ever been to”, and many more lovely things since its inception in 2012.

This year Sherlock Seattle became Watson Washington in honor of celebrating Dr. Watson, a character who has gotten short shrift over the years and who we felt deserved a party for a change. And, like every year before, the convention was awesome. We had fabulous guests; fascinating, interesting, and hilarious panels; great games; entertaining events; super swag bags; and tons of fun. In every way it was a great success, save for one. Instead of getting the 400+ attendees that we’ve had every year since 2012, we only had 250.

We still don’t know what happened: if people didn’t like the theme, if people were no longer interested in the fandom, or something else entirely. But for some reason, we failed to reach out and excite the number of people that we have in the past and as such we are now paying for it, literally.

The convention has always managed to pay for itself, without having to do any kind of fundraiser, and we’ve always put every dollar received into the convention. But now we are $3,500 short and, unfortunately, the financial burden falls on the shoulders of just one person, the convention chair, and she is a woman of very small means who cannot afford such a huge loss.

So we’re asking you now - if you’ve ever been to a Sherlock Seattle convention, if it ever made you happy, inspired you, delighted you, helped you find new friends, enhanced your life, made your day, your week, your month, or your year, please consider donating something today to say “Thank you” and to help us recover from this loss. It wouldn’t take that much. If everyone who ever attended the convention donated just $5-10, we would make our goal.

Thank you very much for anything you can do to support Sherlock Seattle, even if it is only to reblog this post.

https://www.gofundme.com/help-sherlock-seattle

[bakerstreetnorth]

The last Sherlock Seattle Convention?

It is with a sad heart that I am announcing today that this year’s Watson Washington Convention may be the last Sherlock Seattle convention for some time, and most likely the last Sherlock Seattle convention ever.

Why? In short, not enough staff.

Each year since our inception we have always run the convention short-staffed, with entire departments having no one to coordinate them, the Convention Chair generally running no less than 5 departments, and all of the other convention staff working in multiple departments both before and during the convention. We lost four trustworthy and experienced people after last year’s convention and we are losing another two at least after this year’s convention.

Unless more people are willing and able to join the Convention Committee and have the time, skills, and energy to commitment to making this convention happen, we simply do not have enough people to create the wonderful experience that is Sherlock Seattle.

But not all hope is lost! During Watson Washington and afterward we will have information available for those who are interested in learning more about joining the Sherlock Seattle staff. If enough people are able to pitch in and make it happen, then hopefully Sherlock Seattle will return in 2017. If not, then Sherlock Seattle will have to bid our fair attendees farewell.

So if you ever wanted to take part in making something wonderful happen in Sherlock fandom, consider becoming a part of Sherlock Seattle.

[bakerstreetnorth]

Sherlock Vancouver May Meetup(s)

It’s time to plan some Sherlock Vancouver meetups. Pls fill out the Doodle with dates and times that work for you: http://doodle.com/poll/zm5hx6rdde5unf5d

[bakerstreetnorth]

Register now for Watson Washington!

The Watson Washington Convention (“Sherlock Seattle”) will take place in Seattle, WA at the Broadway Performance Hall on October 21-23, 2016. Buy your membership early to get the best price!

Early-Bird Pre-registration (thru April 30th)

Basic Membership = $40

VIP Membership = $60

Already purchased a Basic Membership but want to upgrade to the VIP membership? No problem! Just check out this link! http://www.sherlock-seattle.org/#!upgrade/c3j7

[bakerstreetnorth]

4 Days left to pre-register for the Sherlock Seattle Mini-Convention!

This “Relax-a-con” will take place on January 23rd & 24th at the Broadway Performance Hall in Seattle, WA.

Buy your membership now and save $10!

Pre-registered memberships are only $20 and available through January 21st. At-the-Door memberships will be $30.

What can you expect?

The Diogenes Club for conversation and gaming!

A dedicated theater for screenings of your favorite episodes and movies plus video shows!

Performances by Mystery Science Theater 1895 and SCHEME - Shirtless CHaps Engaged in Manly Enterprises!

Special Events like our Cosplay Contest, Live Livestreaming, Sherlock Show & Tell, and a collaborative mural!

Roundtable discussions that you propose and vote on!

Dealers Row where you can buy cool stuff from your favorite artists and vendors!

We look forward to seeing you there!

[bakerstreetnorth]

Check out our Vendors and Artists!

Anonymous Song (Tony) specializes in jewelry with hidden Morse Code messages and quotes from various fandoms such as Sherlock, Mad Max, Stars Wars, and many more. He is joined by Rinyrinri who makes figurines, ornaments, and accessories out of polymer clay that are inspired by Pokemon, Minecraft, Neko Atsume, and more!

Clockwork and Cthulhu has been a devoted and loyal fangirl since the early 1980s. While open for custom orders, Clockwork and Cthulhu specialises in her personal obsessions of Sherlock, the Hobbit and Doctor Who, and offers you fandom inspired teddy bears and jewelry.

Fox Estacado specializes in fine fan art and geeky products featuring multiple fandoms, including Sherlock, Harry Potter, and The X-Files. Her high quality art-printed specialty items include limited edition prints, dog tags, pouches, tote bags, and more. Her “Ask Me About My Ship” shirts are the ultimate gifts for Johnlock, Destiel, and Thorki shippers! And if you forgot your underpants, don’t worry, Fox Estacado has you covered, with cheeky, hand-printed, Sherlock-themed undies!

Inchells is a fanartist and a student looking to improve her art along with hearts through art. She is famous on tumblr for her art depicting Sherlock, The Hobbit, The Avengers, and much more!

Optimystical Studios specializes in hand-crafted geek & fandom jewelry that incorporates everything from Doctor Who to comics to ladies of the scientific world. Not limited to our geeky creations, we also design beautiful stone jewelry for our Gaia’s line, as well as jewelry with a social conscience for our Representation line.

Otherworlds was started up  in 2012 by two geeky booksellers, Brynn Watson and Ahren Paulson, as a place to enthuse about and promote local artists, game makers, authors, and everything else we’re gleeful about!  

​Reapersun is infamous on tumblr and in Sherlock fandom circles for her amazing artwork and generosity of spirit. She is the co-founder of Let’s Draw Sherlock and the creator of the “red pants” fanon meme. This year she will only be with us in spirit - that is to say, she won’t be attending the convention, but her artwork will! We’ll be selling her books for her in the Dealers Row.

Unicorn Empire makes art prints, hand-printed t-shirts, jewelry, games, books, and gifts inspired by Doctor Who, Teen Wolf, Supernatural, Hannibal, Pacific Rim, The Avengers, Firefly, Mad Max, Sherlock and more!

Amy Zen is a self trained artist from Southern California. Focusing on digital work, she has a penchant for bold colors and portraiture, and as a result of being in limbo between high school and college, she has quite a lot of time to focus on her craft. She got seriously into art partially because of the Sherlock fandom, and is still active in it today.

[bakerstreetnorth]

 Memberships for the Sherlock Seattle Mini-Con are now available for purchase on our website!

January 23rd & 24th at the Broadway Performance Hall!

Buy your membership early and save $10! 

Pre-registered memberships are only $20 and available through January 21st. At-the-Door memberships will be $30.

What can you expect?

The Diogenes Club for conversation and gaming!

A dedicated theater for screenings of your favorite episodes and movies plus video shows!

Performances by Mystery Science Theater 1895 and SCHEME - Shirtless CHaps Engaged in Manly Enterprises!

Special Events like our Cosplay Contest, Live Livestreaming, Sherlock Show & Tell, and a collaborative mural!

Roundtable discussions that you propose and vote on!

Dealers Row where you can buy cool stuff from your favorite artists and vendors!

We look forward to seeing you there!

[bakerstreetnorth]

Final Sherlock Vancouver Meetup

Due to request, we will have one more casual meet-up before heading back to Toronto for the winter. We will meet at Coffee Monster (by Lougheed Skytrain Station) tomorrow, January 8th, from 1:30pm to 3pm. From 1:30pm to 2:15pm, conversation will be spoiler free. Hope to see you there!

Check out the event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1712819472266304/

[bakerstreetnorth]

Staff Jobs!

We very much need more staff to make this event a reality. General Staff positions with the convention involve joining us for discussions online to hash out fine details, planning mini-events and researching information for the convention. The time commitment can vary from 2 hours a month to 2 hours a week, and you choose your commitment level and can change it at any time. We also have some specific tasks we’re looking to fill, below. If you think you might be interested in being a part of this, please let us know, and spread the word.

Tweeters: Just what it says on the box. Do you like using twitter? Do you know how to tag and grab photos? This job can also include general social media, such as Facebook and Tumblr

Event Hosts: Do you want to see more fan events in your area? Do you like hosting parties? This position involves finding good locations for get-togethers, putting together the invitations (posts for social media) and managing the RSVPs. We'd love to have a few more people in more cities. The best part of this job? You get to meet all your local fans

Coordinators: Definitely a job for a people-person (no sneeple), this job can range from heading small in-staff groups to complete event planning tasks to managing groups of volunteers at the convention itself and leading up to it. Some examples would be convention games, artist's area and panel review.

[bakerstreetnorth]

Looking for Artists!

Sherlock Seattle is looking for artists who want to show and sell their work or do commissions on site at the Sherlock Seattle Mini-Convention, on the weekend of January 23-24. All kinds of art and geeky works are encouraged. You don’t have to exclusively offer Sherlock artwork, but it’s best if you have at least a few things to offer that are Sherlockian. 

If you, or someone you know, are interested in learning more, please contact us at sherlock.seattle@gmail.com!

[bakerstreetnorth]

Ottawa Special Event!

Just a reminder that we're meeting at the Royal Oak Canal (221 Echo Dr) today at 4pm for board games and prizes. If you're able to come, please send an RSVP to @frederbee by 3pm as space may be limited. Join us for fun, discuss theories, and scoop up some loot. This is a spoiler free event- if you’ve seen the special before the rest of the party, please do not discuss it yet! (Unless, of course, everyone saw it already)

If you want to join us to see the special and don’t have a ticket yet, you can check out the Cineplex website to buy your ticket.

[bakerstreetnorth]

Memberships are now available for purchase on our website!

Buy your membership early and save $10! Pre-registered memberships are only $20 and available through January 21st.

At-the-Door memberships will be $30.

What will be happening?

The Diogenes Club for conversation and gaming!

A dedicated theater for screenings and video shows!

Performances by Mystery Science Theater 1895 and SCHEME - Shirtless CHaps Engaged in Manly Enterprises!

Sherlock Show & Tell - bring and share your favorite art and memorabilia!

Live Livestreaming with live artists!

Roundtable discussions that you propose and vote on!

Artist & Dealers Row where you can buy cool stuff!

We look forward to seeing you there!

[bakerstreetnorth]

Reminder: Sherlock Vancouver Special Events!

Have a fun, wonderful, and safe New Years Eve!

A reminder that we are having a screening of the Sherlock special at our house in Coquitlam tomorrow, January 1st. There will be light snacks. Stop by between 8pm and 11pm (the show starts at 9pm). Send a message if you plan on coming, and we will provide you with the address.

Also, don’t forget about the gift exchange and cinema screening on January 4th. Check out the event page here:https://www.facebook.com/events/1655259851424244/ If you plan on participating in the gift exchange, RSVP at:https://www.facebook.com/events/1048716685190713/

Thanks and happy 2016!

[bakerstreetnorth]

Memberships are now available for purchase on our website!

Buy your membership early and save $10! Pre-registered memberships are only $20 and available through January 21st.

At-the-Door memberships will be $30.

What will be happening?

The Diogenes Club for conversation and gaming!

A dedicated theater for screenings and video shows!

Performances by Mystery Science Theater 1895 and SCHEME - Shirtless CHaps Engaged in Manly Enterprises!

Sherlock Show & Tell - bring and share your favorite art and memorabilia!

Live Livestreaming with live artists!

Roundtable discussions that you propose and vote on!

Artist & Dealers Row where you can buy cool stuff!

We look forward to seeing you there!

[bakerstreetnorth]

The Festival of Soonish presents…

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride January 1st Watchalongs

Want to talk about the brand new Sherlock episode with your fellow fans as it premieres on January 1, 2016? Join a watchalong timed to match the BBC or PBS airing of your choice.

Five special chat rooms have been created for live discussion of the Sherlock special across several time zones. Find a link to the chat room for your time zone and complete details at http://finalproblem.tumblr.com/tab-watchalongs. (You may need to open the link in your browser instead of the Tumblr app.)

IMPORTANT: You’ll need to tune into the episode on TV or online on your own to take part in the watchalong. I’m not hosting video, I’m only providing text-based chat rooms for discussion.

[bakerstreetnorth]

Sherlock Special Ticket Available

There is a ticket available for the January 4th screening of the Sherlock Special at Silvercity Richmond. If anyone is interested in this ticket, please send us a message.