FAQ & Contact

Q: HEY! Didn't Seattle host a Convergence before?
A: Yes, as did Chicago and New Orleans. Seattle had the honor of hosting Convergence VI in 2000.

Q: Will Peter Murphy return for C15?
A: C6 will forever go down in history as “that Convergence that had PFM”. It was a truly magical night, a memory that we do not wish to ruin by trying to recreate. We will not shoot ourselves in the foot and promise him or any other performer of his caliber for our event.

Q: What are the dates?
A: If we have the honor of hosting Convergence 15 we propose Memorial Day Weekend, May 22-24, 2009. This weekend has already been proven to Convergence goers since C6 and C13 were also held over this holiday weekend. With great weather, low hotel rates and favorable airfares it is the perfect weekend to visit our city.

Q: What about the theme?
A: Dystopia is our Theme. It comes from different origins, and a person can come from almost any style and fit in with what we hope to be hosting. The future is always changing and we may not currently be in a dystopian society, but we could be soon.

Q: What hotel will we be using?
A: With the possibility of hosting Convergence for a second time; the Seattle bid committee is in a comfortable position where we have a multiple hotels that are aggressively pursuing our event. For more information on these hotels that we are negotiating with please review our accommodations page. Accomodations

Q: Are there other options beyond the host hotel?
A: As any other major city; there are accommodations to be found for any budget. From Hostels to AAA five diamond hotels you will be able to find a place to rest your head that is right for you.

Q: And that C6 Hotel, there was nothing open after the sidewalks rolled up…..
A: Lets face it, for C6 we did not tell you where to go. Regardless, this is not the City that you visited 9 Years ago. While all of our proposed hotels are still in the Downtown Core, the City as a whole has embraced life after hours. Please look at all the options for late night and 24 hours dining and bars here: Spirits & Late Night Eats

Q Is this going to conflict with ‘Treffen or any other Festivals?
A: WGT 2009 29th May - 1st June WGW 2009 April weekend TBD We have purposefully chosen a weekend where C15 would not conflict with any scheduled local or national events or conventions.

Q: Is it too soon for us to go back to the Northwest?
A: Was it too soon to go back south to Tampa? Soon after C6 our scene went through a period of growth and evolution. Today in Seattle we enjoy solid, active, yet laid-back and approachable community. With superior shopping, and gothic or industrial club nights 7 nights a week it is unlike anything you will find the United States. We feel it is time again to share all that is the Seattle Gothic Scene with Convergence attendees.

Q: Who the hell do you think you are that you feel that you can put on OUR party? What happened to those C6 Organizers? Are they helping with this Bid?
A: This committee has a few RESIDENT Seattle members that have given more then a few pints of blood volunteering during past Convergences. Robert Tritthardt was active with the first time Convergence visited New Orleans, C5. Erica Jantos (Vomvamuse) was a Co-Chair of the C6 committee; from the start creating the bid to PFM commenting on his hat.

Q: So, I hear it rains A LOT in Seattle?
A: Yes, we have more then a few days of measurable rain; however at 37 inches per year, it's less than Miami (56 inches), New York (42), Atlanta (51) Boston (41), and Portland (38) to mention only a few. Not that we're defensive ...

Q: Where will the nighttime events be held?
A: Further proof that the music scene has grown in Seattle, in 2000 we had one venue that held 800+, now we have THREE unique renovated venues available for Convergence 15 if Seattle is chosen. Again, with Convergence a proven and successful event in Seattle these venues are eager to work with us again.

Q: How much will a ticket be?
A: We have created a budget based on selling tickets at 45$ per person.

Q: I’m not 21 yet, what about me?
A: We plan to have all main evening events open to attendees 18+.

Q: Can I smoke?
A: As in many other major cities, Seattle has recently passed an initiative barring smoking in places such as bars, restaurants, and clubs. With that said, we do have one private goth club that allows smoking. We will invite you as out guest only if we like you (aka: we have not worked that out yet). Right now, if you smoke plan on smoking outside where you will truly enjoy our May weather.

Q: Am I going to need a car to get around?
A: No, not if you are planning to stay downtown. While there are wonderful places to outside of the city, Seattle’s public transportation is frequent and convenient. We still have the free ride zone in downtown, once outside of the zone your ride will only be 1.25-1.75. Public transportation from the Seattle Tacoma Airport within 3 blocks or any of the hotels under consideration is 1.75 each way. Direct shuttle services run from 9.50-15.00 each way. A taxi runs 35.00 plus gratuity each way.

Q: Is Seattle dangerous?
A: While Seattle is the 4th largest city on the west coast, it surely does not feel like it. Seattle is a safe city with a low crime rate. It is common to see Seattle Police Department officers on car, foot, bicycle and even horseback around town and in the downtown area. Above being Seattle, they are very freak friendly.

Q: When will you be taking dj and band submissions?
A: Now, don’t you think that it is just a bit early to ask that question?

Q: How can I help support Convergence XV?
A: Please feel free to contact the Committee at convergence15seattle@gmail.com or to link to us by the banners found here:

Q: What is up with your ticket price?
A: We budgeted for 50$ per person. We budgeted in the “worst case scenario” sense. Could the ticket price come down if we win the bid and once we finalize negotiations with the hotels? Absolutely!

Q: Why don’t you have the hotel rates worked out? Don’t you have a clue?
A: Erica who has spearheaded the negotiations for our bid has 18 years experience in hotels. She has done it all; from operations, to front desk to where she currently works now as a Director of a Catering Sales Team. She may be the most qualified or any C* committee to negotiate hotel rates and meeting space rental.
Yes, we are fully aware nothing is set in stone until we sign on the dotted line. And yes, we have a clue.

Q: I am getting nothing for the 50$ ticket cost!
A: All of the traditional C* events will be included in our projected ticket cost. 3 night “club/band/ball” events, trade show, meet and greet, any meeting/panel events (though we have no planned for any beyond getting space for them.

Your extras are too high! :

We are planning two new NON traditional events specifically for our attendees that will include a meal.
1) “Tea” Fashion show. This will be a very heavy snack/lunch, at a lovely venue.
2) Sushi/Karaoke. This will be an all you can eat lunch/dinner.
Considering that everyone needs to eat sometime over the weekend we thought these events that fed you at 25-30$ was more then appropriate.
No street teams, no ads in magazines, no ads in local free papers. We have budgeted and are planning for 400 attendees. With that said, our local Goths maybe the net’est Goths in the country. We will be communicating to our local community re: events since C* will be impacting our local scene and venues. This will be done primarily via LJ and Facebook. Will they want to attend? Maybe. Will we stop them? No.

You stole the banquet idea from Long Beach!
While that is the business that Erica is in, we are not doing any organized banquets in the traditional sense.


You are trying to take over the non official events!
Erica admits that she made a rather large error in trying to schedule in the Corp Goth Dinner into our bid. She was not thinking about “who” was doing it, she was only concerned/stressing that all of the events that are important to attendees were not conflicting and was budgeted for. IE: no hidden costs. That got carried over to the bid text and it should not of.

The last thing we want is to micro manage all that is Convergence. Trust me we have a full plate as it is. Alas, it was a grievous error that probably will sink us in the end. On a side note, Trid? Erica owes you and your fellows a few drink for taking our foul so graciously.
You have people waiting in the wings to jump on the committee if you win: If you find them let us know. We do not plan to add anyone to our core team.

Adding a disclaimer at the bottom of your bid saying that it is subject to change scares the hell out of me! Understood. Putting together a bid without that disclaimer scares the hell out of us too.
Things can and will change. Hella, we saw Katrina hit after we voted for Nola. Those are the bases we are covering. We did not add that line so we have the out to morph this into a crazy party for thousands.

Q: How do I contact the Seattle Bid Committee?
A: Please direct emails to: convergence15seattle@gmail.com