And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for:

Our old friends at Play by Play cannot accommodate us because of the friggin’ Rangers. I would like to take this opportunity to remind the past TARcon attendees that booking a space in December in NYC is a bitch and a half, so we take what we can get. The space is more limited this time around, and they are requiring more money and less flexibility on our part, so it makes things a little different. And big big thanks go to Meggin, Miri, Tribefan, PepeNY and Konakini for their behind-the-scenes pre-TARcon work.

TARcon 8 will be held from on 12/13 at Planet Hollywood in Times Square (Broadway at 45th Street in NYC). Our party will be held in the Skyboxes on the 4th Floor.

Again, we’re offering a couple of different options:

Charges are as follows:
$90 per Person, Dinner including TARcon Admission
Dinner will be from 6:00-8:00 and will include:
Choice seats inside the Skyboxes
Fruit & Cheeses, Saga Blue, Cheddar, Jarlsberg, Provolone and Jalapeno Jack served with assorted crackers and a Seasonal Selection of Fresh Melons, Berries, and other Seasonal Fruits served with a Honey Lime Yogurt dipping sauce, Classic Caesar Salad, Fajita Station, Choice of Marinated Char grilled Chicken, Beef or Combination , Sautéed with Onions and Peppers. Served with Flour Tortillas, Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, Salsa, Cheddar & Jack Cheeses and Sour Cream, Accompanied by Spanish Rice
Open (Beer/Wine/Soda) Bar (6:00PM - 10:00PM)
Check time is TBD.
Maximum: 100 people

Or

$50 Standard TARcon Admission
Open (Beer/Wine/Soda) Bar 8:00PM to 10:00PM and a la carte menu. If we do not reach maximum capacity, a purchase from the a la carte menu will be required. If we do reach maximum capacity, it will be optional. Check in will start at 7:30 PM
Maximum: 150 people (may be able to be increased if I can get a suitable seating layout)

Checking In:. Bring your Paypal receipt (email or printout from Paypal) for admission. Poptart will not hesitate to throw you to the back of the line for not bringing your Paypal receipt.

Again, we’re requiring shipping addresses with your Paypal payment. But remember, No ticket of any kind will be issued. None will be mailed to you and none will be handed out to you.

When the total count reaches 200, or on November 29 (whichever comes first) regular admission will rise to from $50 to $65 per person due to increased room charges and other stuff, dinner will remain at $90 until it is filled. So pay early if you want to do this on the cheap.

Deadlines for all are 12/1, but please pay early. We have to give a pretty big deposit ASAP.

Gratuity for your prepaid drinks/(dinner for the 6:00PM people) is included; please tip appropriately after 10:00 PM and for any a la carte food or drinks. The bar will stay open until 1:00 AM on a cash basis. The kitchen will close around midnight.

There will be a coat check.

Under 21s can be admitted.

There will be no goodie bags.

If you plan to drink to the point of puking, don’t forget to bring someone to get you home safely and it’s BYOB (Bring Your Own Bucket).

Comps: Because of budget, comps can only be admitted after 10. If any comp would like to come before 10, they will have to pay the cover charge (email me for more specific details). If you are a comp or know a comp and will be coming after 10, please email me directly. I need the names for the count.

Wheelchairs: The venue is fully accessible, and wheelchair entry information is to follow.

Donations for overhead are welcome.

Information about DimSumCon, our traditional post-TARcon luch can be found here.

If Sephora is available for Sephoracon, I’ll post the information next week.

Post here, contact Meggin20, Poptart or me with any specific questions. Meggin, Poptart and I all have obligations that will keep us offline during the day. It might be a while before we can respond to your questions. And, speaking for myself, I’m deleting your email if your question has already been answered here and/or contains the word “tickets.”

Times are subject to change if an 8:00PM show time is announced.

Out-of-towners (or in-towners) who are looking for a great hangout spot, please check out Stitch (37th St between 7th & 8th Aves). It’s a supercute place with a great staff, and they were the first runner up for hosting TARcon.

Tarcon in Times Square + Planet Hollywood = Pure Gold!


Missdona and Poptart? You're the greatest!

Planet Hollywood? Sweet. Accessable to mass transit, and a site for an Apprentice episode back when the show was killer. All we need is a poster to pretend to be famous and sign autographs outside.

That's right. I totally forgot about that.

Miss Dona and Poptart can take turns when they want a break from being incredibly marvelous hostesses.

Thanks bunches, ladies. You're fantastic!

Having learned the hard and scary way last time I have already paid for 2 VIP's. I swore I would never be so stupid again and I meant it. (Well, at least this time I meant it anyway!)

I loves me some Missdona, Meggin, Miri, Tribefan and PepeNY !!!

Oh, yeah.... almost forgot! Think we can get Gabe a job at Planet Hollywood?

Ladies, you are the best! Thanks for all your hard work!

(and let me know if there is anything I can do to help)

EEEEEEEEE! Can't wait to see everyone again!

I knew I shouldn't have been worried about getting an Amazing (sorry, couldn't resist) location with PBP unavailable. Missdona, Meggin, Miri, Tribefan and PepeNY you all are awesome!
Let's see...my 2nd TARCON, it's the week I had the hotel reservation I wanted to use, it's followed by my first Embraer 190 flight, I remembered my Paypal password .... I think I'll play the lottery this week.

I am soooo excited right now!!! Thanks to all you lovely ladies for your hard work:) One VIP admission coming up.

Is anyone going to the TARcon that is going by themselves? b/c I might be going and I want to know some people before I go there.

IMO, musicman, I find it the easiest to travel to Tarcon solo. Last time (rather pretty much everytime), I looked into going with people, but unfortunately, last minute things came up and were unable to accomodate me. Other cases include someone leaving at a difficult time, or having something else to do. However, speculating this, I had a backup plan to go solo (where there's no interference but getting there is completely my responsibility) and therefore go to and from Tarcon safely and without any flaws.

In other words, it's not unusual to travel solo. Several people (who may back me up on this) have gone solo, not knowing anyone, and left with a fleet of new friendships. So, IMO, if you have to go without knowing anyone, go for it. It's the best experience that I felt when I was in the same boat.

If Miss Alli doesn't mind (and if so, I'll delete this), I actually searched for and found the "Basic Info and Common Concerns Thread" from last year, in case anyone new needs to know the answers to frequently asked questions/everything you need to know (i.e. What to do if you're too shy to be there, what happens, at the event, the guarantees of meeting celebrities (no guarantee), whether we can be disrespective to or get into a confrontation with the Weavers or any unpopular Racers (p.s. - A Definite No) whether you'll receive anything after payment (very important to bring the receipt) and other things).


Once again, don't be afraid to meet and talk to people. It's a lot better than not doing so and regretting it after it's all over.

Hey SeaBreeze, it was fun staying with you last time:) I can speak from experience too about going solo and it working out. TARcon is awesome (this will be number four) and it is worth going even if you know no one. Just look for me I will talk to anybody:)

I'm buying my ticket now. Looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Are you going VIP, frenchteacher?

Argh. I was planning on not coming. Because none of the racers appeal. But now that you all are talking I realize I don't really want to miss seeing all of YOU. However, there will be another TAR early in 2006. Ohhh, do I just come for the evening? Miss Sephora (if held) miss Dim Sum (horrors!). I wonder how many appts I can make around the various cons so I don't have to use vacation time........

VIP ticket bought -- I can't wait to see everybody again!

Pointe3579, we'll have to make sure we sit together for dinner if you do VIP, too -- it's been too long since we followed each other around the threads here, time to catch up!

Oh rats. I was looking forward to attending my second TARcon but this years one just so happens to fall during the two week period my college holds their final exams. That won't stop me from attending though (here's hoping that my schedule will permit me to attend). Even though my dad (Lastminutemark) and I aren't too hot about this seasons contestants, he still might end up attending. He was shocked when I told him that details were up on the site today. Apparently he was looking forward to pulling another last minute stunt to get his tickets.

YAAY!!! Mama Tiger is coming. I have not seen you since TARcon 5. I will definitely look for you. Is it just going to be you or is the whole Tiger family coming? And where are you staying that night? I definitely want to stay over and was browsing hotels in the Times Square area. Let me know.

ETA: I do already have my VIP ticket. I reserved as soon as I saw the thread open:)

Bought my VIP admission for my 3rd TARCon. Looking forward to seeing a bunch of you again and meeting new people. Thanks to all the amazing organizers for all your hard work!

I hope this is the right thread for this... Does anyone know if there will be a west coast TARCon/finale party like there was in May and where I can get information about it? I am still kicking myself for missing the May one.

For information on a west coast Tarcon, I would try searching for the info in the TWoPcon section right here, mnms. That's the best bet to find a finale party in LA, San Diego, or other places on the West Coast. Other than that, I'm not sure.



Maybe you could try to ask the professor to allow you to take the final earlier, or if you did well, you could test out of it. Chances are that you'll end up taking the final and show up at the last minute anyway. :)

These contestants on TAR8 aren't really that outstanding. That I agree with everyone. But neither were the ones on TAR6, but there's no way I'd let racers determine whether to show up or not, since they themselves might not come.

Thanks SeaBreeze. I will keep an eye on that forum. And darn, because I learned that I missed a SoCal TAR 8 preimiere party.

Exactly what I was thinking a possiblity for me could be. One of the plans I was talking to my dad about was having him pick me up or me catching public transportation up from University of Delaware to Wilmington, DE where he works that day, then going to the Hamilton Train Station in NJ and catching an afternoon train to NYC. Oh well. Im sure if anything my last minute heroics would be me arriving minutes before my exam the day after.

No excuse. We don't do this because of the actual race, you know. If that were the case, I would have canceled that Freddy/Kendra year, for sure.

I'm just figuring out which of my vendors will need to meet with me after lunch Tuesday (and maybe one of my vendors who talks TAR with me every week will FINALLY come to the CON). And then one of them will just have to meet with me Wednesday afternoon. The Flyers aren't playing, so there's nothing really important blocking my way.

Too bad I can't wear some No Excuse jeans. (Do they still exist?)

TARcon is more fun when there are ultimimate complaint opportunities. And boy can I roll out some complaints about this season!

And poor Rangers. They win, and get no love from missdona.

I've always wanted to go to TARCON but never had the gumption to do it! I think I'm ready and figure TARCON8 is the time to get my feet wet! I'm gonna go all out and do the VIP.

I'm coming from Connecticut on Metro North out of New Haven (end of the line). Anyone else up this way and would you recommend taking a room or just taking the train back - I'm not a big drinker anymore so I'm not worried about getting rolled while passed out!

I think that the worse the race is the need for TARCon is almost higher. It's like the biggest support group you'll ever see.

Plus, Bad race + Open Bar = Better Race

There is nothing like drowning your sorrow with 250 other TARFlies.

Anybody else see a t-shirt there? Wise man, that Piperdown.

Speaking of wise, I have to chime in with a "Well done!" to the Amazing Organizers. I was wondering what the fickle finger of NYC-at-Christmastime fate would offer them for TARCon8, and I am MUCHO impressed at their skill and resoursefulness in coming up with Planet Hollywood. SERIOUSLY good job, ladies!

Plus, Bad race + Open Bar = Better Race

I'm thinking Piperdown is onto something here. Now there's even a very small part of me that is hoping the Weaver's ARE in the finale just so I can play my favorite game of taking a drink EACH and EVERY time they reference God, the Lord, the sweet baby Jesus in the manger, etc. I've been getting trashed on Tuesday nights all season long.... thanks Weavers!

Mom Weaver: "Lord, please let Rolly swim across the shark infested lake to get the clue"
Travel Queen: "DRINK!"

Female Weaver Brat: "God I hate Waffle House, please save me!"
Travel Queen: "DRINK! And what the hell is wrong with you? Nobody hates Waffle House!"

Dear Heavenly Father above, please scatter, smother, and cover the Weavers. In Your Son's holy name, we pray. Amen.

I'll be seeing you all at TARcon 8 (which also happens to be two days before I turn 30)!

OK This will be my first tarcon. I'm totally psyched. Just one question is VIP the whole shebang dinner etc, or something different?

The VIP is the price/designation for admission, dinner and the extra hours of open bar during dinner.

Like regular admission would be from 8-10 with open bar for that length of time and a la carte menu ordering, VIP means you can be admitted at 6, and have open bar from 6-10, and you get dinner.

I'm in. Looking forward to seeing all you crazy kids....dysfunctional racers (if any show, and I know as always there is not guarantee any will) not so much, but you have to take the bitter with the sweet. Oh well if Miss Alli can live through being mauled by Jonathan and not succumb to emotional scarring, then I can take whatever comes.

None of my coworkers understand my need to take off the day after TARCon because why the heck would you be partying into the wee hours of the morning in Manhattan on a week day over a "dumb" reality show? Everytime I think of my first TARcon I smile at how I niavely thought I'd be going to work the next day. Got home about 3 hours before I would have had to go in, called in sick and I don't even drink.

I had a similar experience at TARcon 6, MDKNIGHT. Went solo, didn't drink, got back to the apartment of my mom's cousin (who graciously permitted me to crash there) at about 5:00 the next morning after hanging out with you ridiculous people. As I have said in the past, anybody who is afraid that a) being a TARcon virgin, b) going alone and c) not planning on drinking are good excuses not to attend is happily mistaken. You will be taken care of. I made friends at 6 and 7 before I even showed my PayPal receipt at the door. So if you think you might have fun at this thing, you should definitely ignore whatever reservations you might have (and that includes the possibility of meeting Racers you don't like, who are as easy to avoid as they are to meet) and come. You will kick yourself if you don't. People have.

My reservations are made! VIP section here I come! My sister is coming with me, she's a reader here not a poster. But if she bags on me (damn H.S. financial aid meetings, didn't they check the TV Guide?), I'll be coming solo. For the record, my husband thinks I'm insane. But I'm psyched.

Schtooopid question - do we get name tags or anything or do I just walk up to all of you and say Hi! I'm Jaktwin! and depending if we routinely agree or disagee you hug me or spit at me?

Yikes! Maybe I'd better make hotel reservations instead of taking the train back home right away!

We have nametags, and you can put your real name and your username so everyone can identify you -- or you can call yourself something completely different if you want!

I am so psyched to see people again -- and I'm so pleased that our organizers found a kid-friendly location, so that if any of the teams with kids do want to come, they'll be welcome. For this TAR especially, that's so important, so thanks to miss dona et al. for doing a great job!

I know there is no guarantees about teams showing up, but
I hope they all come. Part of the fun of the TARcon experience is meeting the teams. Ane of course I hope as many of the past seasons racers come too as humanly possible.

ChristmasTAR in New York? Sign me up!

After much debate, mr pseudo & I decided we will be non-VIPpers this time around. Last time we didn't eat or drink much (well, I didn't drink much, anyway), and we ended up losing our seats a couple of times because we spent a lot of time moseying from table to table.

I will confirm with Jing Fong (the DimSumCon restaurant) soon - if nothing bizarre happens, DimSumCon should be held at the usual time and place. Watch this thread!

In the meantime, enjoy my traditional top 10 tips for a fun TARcon!

Great list there pseudostudent. Number 1 DEFINITELY applies to my dad, who, if he is going (and hopefully with me), had better look into booking a hotel room soon because finding a hotel room cheap at last minute in NYC is darn near impossible for that time of year. However, it will be very fun in NYC at Christmastime. A trip to NYC that time of year is incomplete without a stop by the tree in Rockefeller Plaza. As nice of a city NYC is normally, it is 10 times better during Christmas. Even if you aren't psyched about the teams, make the trip if you can just to experience Christmas in the city and watch TAR with hundreds of fellow fans.

Edit-spelling of Rockefeller

Right now, Hotwire has a 2* in Chelsea for $126 and this link has the Comfort Inn on W 36th for $179.

Sure, they don't sound great, but they're pretty good considering the season.

Total word. These people know how to plan a spectacular event. They've got it down to a science - everything is so easy, and well planned. I've been bummed ever since my last Tarcon because I knew I would be missing this one, since vacations aren't really something I can do between Nov - March. But I've been to two Tarcons, both times I traveled alone, stayed a hotel alone, stayed less than 24 hours due to other restrictions, and I absolutely had a blast both times.

It's just not possible to not make new friends at these things. People are so friendly, and so willing to talk to strangers, and..well...alcohol is involved. Or not! It's just a fantastic experience. Quite frankly, meeting the actual teams is an afterthought. Although, yeah, meeting the brothers, Brian & Greg, last time, and chatting with them, and having my picture taken with them? Yeah. Good times.

But what you're going to remember is hanging out with fellow Twopers. My second time around, I actively sought out people I met the first time (Medusa and Corimati, I'm looking at you), and after somewhat unsuccessfully stealing a table, we made friends with others (piewarmer & her friend, among others). I defy you - yes, defy! I say - to have a bad time, and meet no one at these things.

Sigh. Tarcon 9. Definitely Tarcon 9.

Alas. I'm at the same University as sonoflastminutemark, but I'm, y'know, a teacher-type with all that that entails. And while our unpredictably scheduled final exam week might have worked out so that 12/13 was a totally free day for me... it didn't. I have to give a 2-hour exam that day. At 7:00. In the evening. No possibility of rescheduling. No way to get to NYC on time unless they solve that teleporting thing between now and December.

So I am really, truly going to be unable to attend this TARcon. This isn't one of those "Aw, I can't goooo, twist my arrrrmmmm..." deals (which I admit I have done in the past). It's just not going to happen for me. So, have fun, everybody! (And son, let me know if your schedule turns out to be equally impossible; we'll have our own Newark DE mini-con. Maybe Lingo can join us, he being also in town. Not to mention the close proximity of TAR1 Brenda....)

I have to roll out a project before code freeze for the year, which is December 15. We are pushing the schedule as it is (because one of my IT partners is the slowest slow that ever slowed in making actual commitments of resources), so the likelihood we'd be done by December 12 is pretty much nonexistent. I'll see you all at TARcon 9. Promise!

I'm not going to be able to make this this year either. We're going to be uber busy at work through the end of December, and I can't spare the time. I'm with BoDiva - TARcon 9!

Rats! I'm sorry to see who's saying they can't come -- I was looking forward to seeing you guys! Oh well, I know I'll make new friends, probably in line all over again. And see other friends, of course.

And has been said, bad TAR? More need for TARcon, to have a giant pity party!

Now I dont feel as lonely. I also can not go because of a final. I shall just weep in the corner.

Awww, shoot! This was finally going to be the TARCon that I attended. But I can't attend for education-related reasons, too. I'm not a student or instructor -- I'm one of those administrator types, and for me, finals week means tons of paperwork. Hopefully, I'll be able to get there next time.

As usual, I'm in. Save me a seat at your table, Pointe3579.