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From the time our beloved dead forums first took shape, gaming conventions have gone from a sizeable niche weirdo thing to a colossal niche weirdo thing. 15 years ago we were still struggling to get a dozen posts in a thread for attending Gen-Con, but now we have a virtual Goon Army attending every year and spending the rest of the year making fun of each other in Discord. For historical consideration, the last iteration of this thread I remember was in 2013, though so many things have changed since then in terms of gaming convention proliferation and annihilation that I imagine the current crop of hot tickets looks totally different. The point is, for as much attention as Gen-Con or Dragon Con or even the various PAX conventions have garnered over the years, it is still fairly unusual for subnational gaming conventions to get any discussion outside of occasional mentions in the Traditional Games chat thread, and that is JUST SILLY! Especially since I know people are going to, and in some cases even helping organize, these cool-rear end events. I was on the fence for whether Origins counted for this thread until WerrWaaa mentioned looking forward to me making this thread for the very reason that he wanted to talk about it, so Origins is clearly the "biggest convention we are talking about here" cutoff point (I think they average 15,000 on a good year). Also incidentally my source for suddenly believing this thread was possible, FanCons, has a lot of dates at least a little wrong, so it is worth double-checking anything you discover there. Conventions I hear are cool and am attending myself to start us off: June 3-5: PopCon Indy June 8-12: Origins Game Fair (Columbus, Ohio) June 24-26: Planet Funk Con (Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois) July 7-10: Fan Expo Chicago October 20-23: GameHoleCon (Madison, Wisconsin, record holder for worst convention name) March 23-26: Gary Con (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin) May 18-21: Geekway to the West (St. Louis, Missouri) Summer is also a great time for conventions, so this thread is seeking to strike when the iron is hot and build up some throbbing, heaving passion for discussing either your favorite smaller gaming convention or for getting recommendations on conventions actually worth attending despite their small stature. What are people's preferred conventions that are not Gen-Con or Dragon Con? If they are in the Midwestish, I might even go to them! Any convention with enough tabletop gaming to warrant mention in a show description counts for inclusion here, even if from the name you might not guess it belonged.
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May 23, 2022 21:57
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I am going to respond to my own drat thread immediately for an example of posting about a convention you want to hype, since I want to do that very thing: I have only tried out about 15 conventions in my life so far, but for my part I must say Gary Con stands out for its perpetually astonishing juxtaposition of manageable size and BIG STAR POWER (if you are at all into 1970s/1980s gaming, anyway). You cannot walk 10 feet in the Grand Lodge at Lake Geneva without running into an ex-TSR (the real one) employee or Gygax family member, and there are things happening there every year that boggle the mind. For example, this year I played in a game of Braunstein run by the original author, the game that infamously in the late 1960s led to Dave Arneson wanting to run his own iteration of it, called Blackmoor, and eventually becoming Dungeons & Dragons. David Wesely wrapped up our session by telling a good 30 minutes of stories about the Minneapolis gaming crew that half-kickstarted the entire RPG world as we know it, and since a big part of why I love gaming conventions is collecting memorable experiences, Gary Con is always good for that.
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May 23, 2022 21:57
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Dr. Quarex posted:May 18-21: Geekway to the West (St. Louis, Missouri) Geekway is great. I'm on the board of directors. Been going for the past ~10 years. They created Play and Win, which is an event where they have a library of games you can check out, and at the end of the con those games are given away to people who played them. It's awesome. 
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May 23, 2022 23:24
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I’m going to enhance this series of OP posts by compiling a list of smaller cons that goons attend, roughly when, and where. If people want their username listed as a “willing to meet goons” let me know! PAX Unplugged - Late November/Early December - Philadelphia, PA - Fellis
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May 23, 2022 23:25
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There's a basically 0% chance I'll be able to go to any conventions beyond Geekway 2023 and Geekway Mini 2023 (which is sometime in January/February... i need to get the exact date so I can update the website  ). I'm really bummed I'm missing Origins and Gencon this year  Next year will hopefully be better
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May 23, 2022 23:30
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Omg I'm in the OP *freaks out* But for real I am going to Origins for the first time and need gaming / drinking buddies. I go to Gen Con every year but don't really hang with goons because I have so many off-forum friends there. That's my only frame of reference for a game con and I'm already confused by the events list. The only ticket I got was Pint & Play so sign up for that with me thanks. I live in TX now and could go to BGG Con if I had any idea what happened there.
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May 24, 2022 00:39
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I tend to go tona good number of conventions and am willing to meet goons at any of them as long as I can fit it in. Conventions I have attended and would attend again are: Dexcon Historicon Fall In Unpub Gamehole Con Too Many Games Gen Con Origins Double exposure Metatopia Pax unplugged Spiel (though no idea when ill go back) Philcon Decided not to attend origins this year after going for the last 7 or so years. Kind of bummed about that, but hopefully I'll make it back next year.
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May 24, 2022 01:38
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Oh dang did you do HMGS cons regularly nesbit? I went with my dad and a family friend a ton when both lived in PA, but minis was always their hobby more than mine. I just find the rules of 90% of minis games so tedious and the 10% of systems that interest me are usually not as popular. I haven’t been since like 2017
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May 25, 2022 03:07
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I moved to PA in 2009 and have attended off and on since then. I don't go every year but attend when I can. Usually when they are at the valley forge convention center since then I can attend while driving to and from the con from my home.
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May 25, 2022 03:52
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I miss gaming conventions so much. When I'm comfortable traveling again I'm going to so many of them. I'm in Socal and we have surprising lack of good tabletop game conventions. LA specifically has Strategicon which is a smallish convention that takes place three times a year (it used to be three separate conventions) at a hotel near LAX the next one is this weekend but I'm not attending. Strategicon - Gamex May 27-30 2022 Strategicon - Gateway September 2-5 2022 Strategicon - Orccon Feb 2023
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May 25, 2022 14:37
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Speaking of HMGS cons, Little Wars is another good one I wish I could do. Its too far away for me though as its near Chicago. I think it takes place in the spring? Duke Siefried used to attend which was probably neat to see. https://www.amazon.com/Development-Miniature-Wargaming-Including-Napoleonique/dp/0244373183/
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May 25, 2022 16:59
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WerrWaaa posted:I live in TX now and could go to BGG Con if I had any idea what happened there. I'm pretty sure its mostly just people playing board games. I haven't been, but from what I have heard it reminds me of the experience I had attending Dice Tower Con in Florida in the before times. Essentially there was a 24 hour play room and game library and people just played games there the whole time. There was a dealer hall but it was tiny, spent maybe 30 minutes max there all weekend. The rest of the time was just playing board games in that giant room. If people got bored of playing games they were told to just go to Disney World for the day. I don't know if BGG con is exactly like that or not, and obviously there is no Disney World near by, but it has seemed like that from what I have heard.
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May 25, 2022 19:23
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If anyone wants to see what some of these cons are like I suggest you check out TheOneTar on youtube. They do video series on some of these, including: Kublacon Spiel Gen Con Origins PAX Prime BGG Con PAX South https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOneTAR/playlists
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May 25, 2022 19:25
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If anyone is going to Origins this week DM me so I have someone to play games with!
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Jun 6, 2022 15:14
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Fellis posted:I’m going to enhance this series of OP posts by compiling a list of smaller cons that goons attend, roughly when, and where. If people want their username listed as a “willing to meet goons” let me know! I am always willing to Meet Goon(tm) and am going so far (I need to check the convention calendar post-Gen-/Dragon Con one of these days) to Origins Game Fair - June 8-12 - Columbus, OH - DOKTA Q-REX Planet Funk Con - June 24-26 - Quad Cities, IL/IA - Hello Fan Expo Chicago - July 8-10 - Chicago, IL - But I will have my 5-year-old with me so my willingness may not be hugely useful nesbit37 posted:Dexcon I am also bummed you are not going to Origins, given last time we both went I think I somehow did not know you were there and otherwise I am only now finally all-in on Origins due to the VIG program and me being dumb WerrWaaa posted:Omg I'm in the OP *freaks out* Bucnasti posted:LA specifically has Strategicon which is a smallish convention that takes place three times a year (it used to be three separate conventions) at a hotel near LAX the next one is this weekend but I'm not attending. It really is weird that gaming conventions on the West Coast in general are not bigger. This must have something to do with wargaming falling into the category of "winter activity" nesbit37 posted:If anyone wants to see what some of these cons are like I suggest you check out TheOneTar on youtube. They do video series on some of these, including:
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Jun 6, 2022 22:30
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Dr. Quarex posted:
I think it's more that the last event was only a week ago so they've only started getting things rolling for the next one. Strateticon might not be that small actually, I don't have a great point of reference, The only tabletop exclusive cons I've been to in the last 20 years were Gencon and Origins. It's smaller than the regional sci-fi conventions I attended in the Pacific NW and Arizona, but those were general shows for a lot more than games. I've heard a few times the theory that tabletop gaming is most popular in the midwest because they have snowy winters when indoor activities are a necessity.
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Jun 7, 2022 00:07
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My favorite small regional con is coming up in a couple of weeks. Play On Con is a four-day gaming con and summer camp in Columbiana, Alabama. It has a massive boardgaming and RPG space, plus it's at an actual 4H summer camp, so you get outdoor events like archery and canoeing. There are also nightly music concerts, parties, and an actual-rear end movie theater on-site for game shows and screenings. I've been going to this for almost 15 years now, and it's still my favorite annual con. The on-site hotel rooms are way nicer than they have any right to be, and all of the indoor gaming spaces are air-conditioned. If you're within a few hours' drive of Birmingham, I unreservedly recommend checking it out. Last I checked, a few rooms are still available. Disclaimer: I volunteer for this con but am not monetarily invested in any way; I just want to share it with more folks who would enjoy it.
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Jun 23, 2022 15:39
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I should put in a plug for Adepticon, although it's very much a minis and war game con, with very little RPG or board game presence. https://www.adepticon.org/ There are also world-class hobby painters giving classes every year if that's more your thing (it's the main reason I go now.) It's the same weekend as Gary Con again next year, which may make it a non-starter for some people, but they aim at pretty different groups.
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Jun 23, 2022 17:02
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Almost forgot, I wanted to second the recommendation for GameHole Con. It's a great local con that has a solid board game presence, and hits way above its weight for D&D Adventure League events. They usually have a long list of industry special guests too
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Jun 23, 2022 17:10
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Funzo posted:I should put in a plug for Adepticon, although it's very much a minis and war game con, with very little RPG or board game presence. I really want to go to Adepticon some day but my commitment to mini games really waxes and wanes. Hard to justify if I'm not deep in a game. :/
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Jun 23, 2022 17:44
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I would love to attend adepticon again. First and only time I went was either 2008 or 2009 when I placed 2nd in the lotr sbg tournament. Stolen glory!!! Sadly it being always either same weekend as gary con or weekend after kills it for me. I only have so much PTO and Gary Con is always going to trump adepticon for me. That said, I am in the middle of 3d printing a bunch of 10mm lotr terrain...
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Jun 23, 2022 18:21
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Washingcon is a small DC area tabletop con that is fairly new. MAGfest is the gorilla in the DC area; though its focus is more on video than tabletop it has a healthy tabletop scene.
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Jun 25, 2022 21:53
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Hey Fingoons, who's hype for Ropecon? It doesn't get more regional than this!  They got Avery Alder and Vlaada Chvátil!
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Jul 3, 2022 09:11
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I see all of the recommended conventions trom the last few posts have already passed for the year; tragic. Well except Play On Con, which totally sounds awesome.Funzo posted:Almost forgot, I wanted to second the recommendation for GameHole Con. It's a great local con that has a solid board game presence, and hits way above its weight for D&D Adventure League events. They usually have a long list of industry special guests too WerrWaaa posted:I really want to go to Adepticon some day but my commitment to mini games really waxes and wanes. Hard to justify if I'm not deep in a game. :/ Midjack posted:Washingcon is a small DC area tabletop con that is fairly new. MAGfest is the gorilla in the DC area; though its focus is more on video than tabletop it has a healthy tabletop scene. Siivola posted:Hey Fingoons, who's hype for Ropecon? It doesn't get more regional than this! I definitely have visions of spending my first year of retirement going to gaming conventions on every continent. Every continent, Antarctigoons.
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Jul 3, 2022 20:08
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Dr. Quarex posted:
Does anyone know if there is an east coast at least somewhat equivalent to Adepticon? I've been slowly printing terrain and building miniatures for a 10mm LotR game of the siege of gondor and would love to take it to a con. It's got be in driving distance of Philly though, no way I am flying with this much stuff.
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Jul 4, 2022 00:11
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nesbit37 posted:Does anyone know if there is an east coast at least somewhat equivalent to Adepticon? I've been slowly printing terrain and building miniatures for a 10mm LotR game of the siege of gondor and would love to take it to a con. It's got be in driving distance of Philly though, no way I am flying with this much stuff. PAX Unplugged is probably your best bet.
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Jul 4, 2022 00:41
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NOVA is another east coast option.
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Jul 4, 2022 01:16
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Dr. Quarex posted:I see all of the recommended conventions trom the last few posts have already passed for the year; tragic. Well except Play On Con, which totally sounds awesome. Another fun con series I haven't seen mentioned is Atlanta Game Fest. They hold three events per year, and it's literally just a four-day weekend of open board gaming. No scheduled events, no shows, no vendors' room (though there is a flea market event open to all attendees). They don't even have a con-owned library; everyone brings their own collection, and somehow the place ends up with hundreds of games to play, including brand-new stuff. I've been going to these for over a decade now. If you want a weekend marathon of board games with fun, chill people, I can't recommend it highly enough. There's normally a Game Fest event in the fall, but their most recent hotel got sold and the new management is awful, so they're scrambling to find a new venue in the next few months.
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Jul 6, 2022 15:19
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Dr. Quarex posted:
I was at Adepticon this year. I barely touched any games and spent my time in hobby classes and walking around the dealer hall. You can absolutely have a good time without being into the gaming side, although if you don't enjoy the game side and also don't enjoy the hobby side there might not be much for you to really do.
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Jul 6, 2022 15:31
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they should sell passes that just allow access to the dealer area
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Jul 7, 2022 20:20
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Some cons do that.
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Jul 7, 2022 23:25
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WerrWaaa posted:I live in TX now https://www.millenniumcon.info/ in Austin in November. I attended for the first time last year and had a blast. Played a ton of wargames, and not just historicals, though I played those as well; 6 player OGRE on a huge table, Et Sans Resultat (10mm napoleonics), Wiley Games Starfighter with 8 players, 4 player Battlefleet gothic, some weird western skirmish game I forget the exact name of, a microarmor homebrew that was mostly just Flames of War without infantry and in 6mm and was pretty meh but I hammed it up and extracted fun nonetheless. I missed a ton more games going on that looked cool, like a scratchbuilt war of the worlds table, a WWI naval game, a huge 12 person game of Circus Maximus on a 12 foot long board, and some really awesome looking AWI table I kept seeing. I'll be there this year as well, though I'm not sure I'll be running a game yet and if not this year, drat it, next year for sure.
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Jul 14, 2022 22:31
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Fellis are you going to do the thing you claimed you are doing you monster, I could do it in the first post instead if you like Just found out about a convention that is in a place I never would have guessed could support a convention: La Crosse, Wisconsin! Coulee Con!. It is not like next door but it is definitely close enough that I feel it is in the spirit of this thread for me to check it out and see what the hell its deal is, though I am not sure if I can actually go without bringing a young child with me which would kind of limit my options. Maybe there will be a really good McDonald's next door to the convention center I can bribe him with John Romero posted:they should sell passes that just allow access to the dealer area
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Jul 29, 2022 19:38
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I've always heard about people lobby conning Gen Con but I've never actually seen it happen. Maybe I've interacted with them in the past and just didn't realize they were badgeless and just hanging out in a hotel lobby or whatever. I don't get the concept personally, even if you are a local. Just go to the convention already. I don't know what they get out of it, but then again I am a big old introvert and don't get joy out of just talking to random people.
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Jul 29, 2022 20:21
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nesbit37 posted:I've always heard about people lobby conning Gen Con but I've never actually seen it happen. Maybe I've interacted with them in the past and just didn't realize they were badgeless and just hanging out in a hotel lobby or whatever. I don't get the concept personally, even if you are a local. Just go to the convention already. I don't know what they get out of it, but then again I am a big old introvert and don't get joy out of just talking to random people. Then again, if you can pull it off, I guess in some sense it is perfectly logical to hang out for free in the hallways and play games with strangers? I mean, that is at least technically part of what we are paying for, even if that is like 0.04% of why I personally attend
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Jul 30, 2022 02:53
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Some people have groups of friends that do enough stuff outside the con space that they can have a decent time playing in hotel rooms and doing stuff around town. Groups can also pass badges off between their members so when someone is out to lunch the badge doesn't lie fallow.
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Jul 30, 2022 03:54
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It's very common for cosplay. Lots of people do it at Holiday Matsuri. It's an anime convention technically, but in practice it's a huge cosplay get together and lots of people never buy a pass. The Marriott they host it at has a lot of good spots for photos, and you can go anywhere on property except the actual convention halls without a pass (or even hotel reservation.) Katsucon's got some of that going on too.
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Aug 3, 2022 14:15
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Geekway Mini 2023 tickets went on sale today. It's a ~400 person convention in early January in St. Louis and it's a great time. https://tabletop.events/conventions/geekway-mini-20231
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Oct 7, 2022 14:56
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Decided last minute to go to pax unplugged. Any other goons around this weekend?
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Dec 1, 2022 23:59
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I'll be there at least Friday and Saturday. Probably not on sunday.
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Dec 2, 2022 03:40
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