NOTE: Please check the new www.erithan.net
for future updates on Mysterium in Toronto (in particular, the FAQ).
Updated Sunday, January 25, 2004
We've got it! Mysterium is in Toronto for Summer 2004. Exact dates
are yet to be determined. Many thanks to all who gave their support
during the vote, and we hope to see you here this summer.
NEW: FAQ
about Toronto, etc. (Please note the site it is on is not finished
yet, so pardon any problems. Please e-mail me any questions you have
and I will add them)
Update from Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Our supporters list has been updated with some wonderful additions!
Katie Postma (Kha'tie) of Ubisoft,
and Chris Brandkamp of Cyan
Worlds have asked to be put on the list of supporters!
All of our supporters are important to us! But it is wonderful to know
that people like Chris and Katie who work for Ubi and Cyan who create
the games that we want to get together and celebrate want do do it with
us!
Any other
comments, questions, or suggestions? Email
Erithan and let her know. Also, if you think you have something
you could add to the campaign committee please let me know and I will
tell you if there is a way you can help out. Otherwise, spread the word
about Toronto!
Erithan
Dusante
Timeposter
(Emotional Support Engineer)
Moiety
(Web Designage Guru)
Since
its inception, the North American Mysterium has always been held in
the United States. Toronto has many things to offer to Mysterium 2004
fans, including the following:
A mix
of multicultural communities all in the heart of the city like Chinatown,
Koreatown, Greektown, Kensington Market, Little Italy, etc. (makes
for great culture exposure & eating out)
Awesome
bookstores, new and used (Bakka,
Nicholas Hoare, Eliott's, Pages, Silver
Snail Comic Shop, The UofT Bookstore, etc..)
RAWAS
Fine China and Gifts can finally be visited by all! The store that
is RAWA's moonlighting business (his one childhood dream was apparently
to sell us Canadian fans fine china and gifts, well aside from the
one about moving
to Antarctica and living as a penguin for a year...)
There
are sevral urban Geocaches
and sub-urban Geocaches which those inclined and equipped (a good
pair of shoes, a sense of adventure, and someone with a GPS) can visit.
Erithan has her GPS and would be more than happy to do a couple urban
caches with people. [do an advanced postal code search for M5S 1A5
(this is the postal code for Robarts Library on U of T St. George
Campus, near where I am and pretty central in downtown)]
Elgin
and Winter Garden Theater: Beautiful historic double-decker theatre
in the heart of downtown Toronto, worth a tour for sure. There are
also plenty of broadway shows to go to if you feel like it.
There
is a 'fast
ferry' that goes from Charlotte NY (near Rochester) to Toronto.
Thanks to Odo'Ital for the heads up on this. [info
page]
Amtrak goes
into New York State (places like Buffalo and Rochester) and you can
then transfer to VIA
Rail from there and come right into Union Station in Toronto.
You can also get off in NY State and drive across the border. Thanks
again to Odo for this transportation suggestion.
There
is also an international airport in Rochester NY for Americans who
would rather fly there, then rent a car and drive up to Toronto if
they hated going through airport security and customs.
There
is currently only one 'toll' highway in Ontario, and it is not a 'mandatory'
road to drive on (as in if you wanna get somewhere you have to go
on it). It is Highway 407, and is generally used by people who don't
like waiting in traffic on the highways north of the city, or by large
corporations who deliver volume goods and product. Thus, all highways,
but the 407 ETR, are free to drive on.
Visitors flying in to Toronto would fly in to Pearson
International Airport, and would then either need to rent a car
to drive, or take a taxi in to the downtown core where all the good
stuff is (the airport is actually in Mississauga, in the suburbs).
A lot of the downtown attractions are within walking distance of
eachother. An added financial bonus which also means some extra on-the-way
sight-seeing and a health benefit.
Other Benefits:
A good
exchange rate for American visitors, and Canadian visitors don't have
the penalty of exchanging to the American dollar - This means
an inexpensive trip for American Myst fans, and a convention that
Canadian Myst fans can attend without the hindrance of exchanging
Canadian funds to US funds.
A safe
tourist-friendly environment.
An
energetic, accessible city that truly has something for everyone.
And
much more!
Travelling to Toronto:
Please see the Transportation section for more details.
Two pages with important information for Americans travelling to
Canada:
Essentially I believe US Citizens require proof of residence (in
the form of a birth certificate, driver's liscence, or passport),
and Other countries have other requirements. Please see the above
pages for more detailed information.
US Citizens: Be aware of how much you are allowed to buy within
the 48 hour period duty-free ($400 I believe), and also be aware that
you can apply to get a refund on the tax (GST and PST which total
15%) you spend while in Toronto.
Be sure to follow the rules as to what is allowed into the country
in terms of goods (in other words, no AK47 or marijuahna for lonleyto25,
no tropical fruits in large amounts, elephant ivory, etc... common
sense applies here).
For the
current exchange rate between various currencies and the Canadian dollar,
check here.
Also,
there are many more things to do and see in Toronto, I can't recall
them all off the top of my head. I do however hope that the Mysterium
committee and Mysterium goers do consider Toronto as a possible location
for the 2004 convention location. We were planning on submitting it
as a candidate city for 2003, but then the location of Spokane was announced.
Got a question about Toronto?Send
it to Eri and she will try to answer and add it to the FAQ
for this page. For a rather humourous FAQ on Canada which Salar came
across, clicky here.
We
strongly recommend that the hotel that is selected as the official
convention hotel be in the downtown core and within walking distance
to the TTC subway line. Selecting a hotel by the airport (the airport
is NOT in Toronto actually, but in the suburbs) or outside the
Jarvis - King - Bloor - Spadina boundaries will mean way more travel
time and cost to get to attractions. Toronto.com
has places to look for accomodations. Some ones that immediately come
to mind off the top of my head are:
If you
are interested in or wish to support Toronto as the Mysterium host city
for 2004, feel free to email Erithan
and let her know and have your name added to the list of supporters
of the campaign on the website here.
The
following people have an interest in having Mysterium 2004 in Toronto:
01.
Erithan
11.
Dusante
21.
To'mahnee
02.
The MYSTerious 1!
12.
JoSmiley
22.
Anthony G.
03.
pebble5
13.
Necros
23.
Chucker
04.
QuantaFille (Kel)
14.
Kirsehn
24.
Kerahna
05.
Free Bird
15.
Torahn'kyo
25.
Odo'Ital
06.
Saphira
16.
FahrmBoy
26.
Moiety
07.
BobC
17.
Zion
27. Rishahnu
08.
Anna Catherine
18.
Ganondorf
28. CAGrayWolf
09.
Mathew
19.
Timeposter
29. Deg
10.
LaReh
20.
NaRyan
30. Gehn III
31.
HealthCoach
41. MystRivenExile
32.
Beppe
42. Lisandra
33.
Pake
43. Cat'ja
34.
MrM3FaN
44. Maxsilver
35.
Jerle
45. Serzi
36.
Katie Postma
46. Medbh
37.
Chris Brandkamp
47. Warin
38.
Telanis
48. Brian Fioca
39.
Sne'vir
49. Johnny Polo
40.
Dan'ni
50. John Rockefeller
VISUALISE with the MAP, MAP, MAP! ;)
Do you
support the Mysterium in Toronto 2004 Campaign? If so, here is a button
you can add to your website and/or forum signature to show your support
to link to us here at www.erithan.net/tormyst:
This campaign
is in not endorsed by the Official Mysterium Committee or Cyan.
Copyright
2003, Sarah "Erithan" Clements. All Rights Reserved. Duplication
in whole or in part without written permission from the author in is
prohibited. Web Design concept and creation by Moiety.
~ courtesy of
Deg