Dr. Jane Robinson:

Consonance once again lived up to its reputation as a high-energy relaxacon! Tom, Dave, Steve and Franklin were wonderful, very accessible guests. There was much cameraderie and schmoozing in the common areas, and there were (mostly) well-behaved children *everywhere*. The concerts were exceptional, and the open filking was well-attended; we saw many new faces and heard lots of new songs. In all, 165 folks attended Consonance in 2004, and we extend our thanks to all of you! We also extend our thanks to the members of the largest Filk ConCom in the world -- Lynn, Alan, Seanan, Jo & Karl, Colleen, Maya, Mud & Trob, Chris, John, Jane, Chaoswolf, and Devon. We couldna dunnit widoutcha!

Lynn Gold:

Wow, what a time we had! Tom and Dave were amazing. Those two could "give good GOH" in their sleep. Steve was smooth and witty as Toastmaster, and Franklin brought spice to the mix as Interfilk guest. The con was a nice mix of old faces and new ones. *I* even got to some of the open filking this year!

Again, I thank the most incredible concom in the world. It continually amazes me that we still *like* each other after working together and we keep doing this again...and again...and again.

Bring On 2005!!!

Now it's time for next year's Co-Chairs (Lynn and Jane) to start planning Consonance 2005, and for our Finance Guy (Alan) to begin worrying about how we're going to pay for it! (Seanan's already obsessing over the incompressibility of time, but that's another story.)

Hotel...

The first piece of good news is that we have booked the same hotel -- the beautiful, comfortable, music-friendly Crowne Plaza in Milpitas -- and the room rates will remain the same ($79/night for a standard room).

Guests...

In addition to our previously announced guests (Terence Chua as GOH, Blake Hodgetts as Toastmaster and Adam Selzer as Interfilk Guest), we are delighted to announce that the incomparable Juanita Coulson has accepted our invitation to be *Extra Special Guest* in 2005! Juanita began filking half a century ago and is still going strong -- although she reports she hasn't tried to out-sing a steam whistle in quite a while. (The steam whistle, it should be noted, lost the contest...) She writes, she sings, she composes, and she's great fun to have around. Welcome to the Grand Dame of Filk!

Par-TAY!!!

Consonance (not just a Con, but a Con-Cept!) will be having its "Sweet 16" Birthday Party in 2005! Our Shenanigans Coordinator promises cake, public embarrassment -- er, *acknowledgment* -- of our founders (Bob Laurent and Colleen Savitzky), and all manner of mischief & merriment...so come help us celebrate sixteen sweet years of "harmony" in Northern California!

It's not too early to pre-register for the con, and it's not even too early to make your hotel reservation! Click on Hotel on the sidebar or right here for more information.