Brought to you by Duct Tape and the letters F and U

Capricon 2004 has come and gone, and all that is left is the memories. Well, that, and hang-overs, empty bank accounts and probably a number of lawsuits.

Sci-fi/fantasy conventions are interesting things. Like salmon swimming upstream, geeks travel to conventions to be with our geekly brothers and sisters, breed, and die (or in some cases, wish we had). Capricon 24 was no exception. There was the vendor room, art show, Critter Crunch, Photo Scavenger Hunt, and this year, Klingon Karoake, which really had to be experienced to be believed.

One huge change, for us at least, is that this year Chicago Force was in charge of decorating and running the Con Suite. For those of you who are mundanes, the Con Suite is a dining-room/lounge where people can go to eat, read, relax and in at least 3 cases last week, sleep. Now, normally the Con Suite is a fairly generic set-up, with some food and tables to sit at. But Chicago Force doesn't do generic, do we?

Of course not. Silly question.

We had been invitied to decorate the Con Suite because of the work we did on our Jabba the Hutt party, so it's not like we could throw some pop and cheese & crackers on a table and call it good. After much discussion, we decided that we should do Bespin's Cloud City from The Empire Strikes Back. The pristine walls and elegant decorations lend itself well to the function of the Con Suite.

Words can literally not describe the end result, but before we jump into the pictures, it would be remiss not to recognize the hundreds of hours that people put into the making of this venture. This was a labor of love no matter what angle you look at it from. First and foremost thanks go to the core design team of Shauna, Heather, Carrie, Dinel, Dave and Caroline who spent more time packing things up and down Shauna's stairs than many people spent in total (Shauna, you really need to move to the ground floor. Really). Erica, Matt, Thom, Phil and myself also spent a considerable amount of time cutting, sanding, painting, and just doing gerneral constructive-type things. In fact, pretty much every regular CF member pitched in to make this event a success, from storage, shopping, construction to setup and tear-down. We thank you all.

Special thanks also needs to go out to Chris and Steven Bornhoeft from Quad City Jedi Order for the air of realism they added with their Han and Luke Bespin outfits. Seeing Han getting lowered into the carbon-freezing chamber and Luke battling Vader was the apex of Star Wars fandom for a long time to come. They also came through in a pinch by building a movie-quality Ice Cream Maker Guy prop in 10 minutes out of spare parts. Freeze-frame the movie and compare our picture to it; I dare you to find a difference.

Lastly, Chicago Force would like to thank Capricon for giving us this opportunity to spread our creative wings, and to all the great fans, both costumed and plain-clothed, who stopped by to experience and compliment our efforts. Hearing your kind words makes it all worth while.

OK, I am going to go cry now. Enjoy the pictures.

Matthew "Hazmatt" Callison
Chicago Force Webmaster/Historian

What goes into making a great con suite?
Rather than jump straight to the party pictures, we thought we would show some of the preparation that went into making this party. Most of the planning was done 6-7 months before Capricon, and the prop building started about 3 months before the party. This is what it looked like.
Starting the carbon-freeze chamber	The floor pieces add up	The intricate floor design
Phil reigns triumphant over the plywood	Man, it's frickin' cold!	"That Obi-Wan starfighter must have been this long!"
Measure twice, cut once	One down, seven to go!	Holy cow, it actually fits!
Overflow storage (i.e., Hazmatt's truck)	Dinel puts the finshing touches on a floor piece	This place is a mess!
Whee! We're frozen!	Multi-tasking is the order for the day	Please don't let us use enamel paint ever again
Caroline reacts to Hazmatt's latest fart joke. Or was it a penis joke?
Setting up
The day before the con starts find CF blocking Halsted Street for hours with a moving van. It would be one of those days that lasts until tomorrow.
Dave is all smiles.	Shauna's apartment takes the brunt of the work	The tip of the iceberg
The unsuspecting conference room	Unloading all the stuff	Our plan starts to come together
How do you feed all those geeks for 4 days?	Oh man, this is gonna be sweet!	Outside view of Cloud City
Cloud City by day	Cloud City by day	Guests start to enjoy the Con Suite
Han & Han	Nice haircut, Luke	An impromptu Buffy panel
The important (i.e., food) side of the Con Suite	The Dining Room	"You wouldn't want me to leave a garrison here, would you?"
We love us!	More Buffy fans	Con Suite hosts the musical episode of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
"After he takes the picture, run!"	Chicago Force: The Next Generation	Not everyone put the same amount of effort into their costume
Come to the Con Suite for the pizza, stay for the company	Devon makes a good Spike (go rent Cowboy Bebob now!)	Lobot makes sure every thing is neat and tidy
Elf Quest chick, but no tiny bicycle this year	Even Klingons appreciate Cloud City	Cow-siesta
The Good, The Boba and The Ugly	Putting the finishing touches on the Carbon Chamber	Shauna spins some Sithly tunes
C4Q (Cloud City Cotton Candy Queen)	A 1:1 beer/soda ratio	Cloud City by night
Got 'er by the tail	One Biker Scout short of a Full House	Get ready, Marines!
Matt gets a sweet lei	Guess the Mystery Soda	Lobot gets jiggy
Thom makes a threatening gesure (yeah, right)	Captain Jack Sparrow approves of Cloud City	Only at a con...
Han gets sweet on Cotton Candy	Bring it on!	This guy swore he was not in costume
Two by two, hands of blue...	The Amazing Lifter (What is a lifter?)	Aw, they're so cute together
Some things don't need to be explained	Some things don't need to be seen	For Destiny Froste's butt-picture gallery
Yeah! We're drunk!	Hey, didn't we just...?	Alcohol was not involved in the making of this picture
The Con-faithful chill in Cloud City	Two great tastes that taste great together	Oh, they've encased him in carbonite
Even troopers want to grow up to be a princess	We're only as cool as our guests	I...he's...I have no idea
Early risers enjoy breakfast	I'm told this is supposed to be a food vampire	An Officer and a Marine
Costume dry-run for the Ren Faire	The QCJO guys pitch in to help Ice Cream Maker Guy	Precision tape work
Beautiful work	Evacuate the city!	We're so cheesy
Admiral Ackbar Surprise	Did the Fett bring in this bounty?	Steve, Shauna, and their creepy creation
The Carbon Freezing Chamber in all it's glory	The Human Spider	Lobot, ICMG (Ice Cream Maker Guy), Luke, Han
The stage is set	The cast is ready	Lobot cleans the windows
"We'd be honored if you'd join us."	Luke faces Vader	The Money Shot
ICMG gives Luke a 'hand'.	She can kill you in 57 different ways with that fan	Sometimes a con is for the whole family
Sometimes it's not	The Amazing Spider-man does Gopher duty	Even the cloned Emperor stopped by
The only Starfleet uniform I saw the entire weekend. Seriously.	The Wild Things (watch out for gnomes!)	Han makes his way into the center
For Destiny Froste's butt-picture gallery	Preparing to be frozen	"Um, hey, can we talk about this?"
"I love you." "I know."	Vader gets steamed	You're not a Jedi, yet
Most impressive	"Han just needs to chill."	A swing and a miss
ICMG lets Vader know he's #1	Is that Black 3 or Black 4?	Another guy claiming not to be in costume
God worked overtime putting her together	Less-protective armor	Same costume, lower neckline
Horny guy	They call him Wolfman	The doctor with the beer
Steven gives the ladies a treat	Destiny's gets a mental picture for her butt-gallery	It's possible that the pole is not entirely stable
Caroline gets up close and personal with Steve's groove-thang	A final night in Cloud City	Sunday morning cartoons
Hawk-Bat on ice	CF is first in line for everything, including the Closing Ceremony	I %$^@#@% love us!
Will the Real Slim Shady please stand up?
Shut them down! Shut them all down!
We'll just go ahead and start breaking 'er down	"Has anyone seen Matt's pants?"	"I am a sexy beast, baby!"
Apocolypse Now	Are we done yet?	Ducky oversees the kitchen area
Detritus	We needed a bigger truck	I hope this all fits in Dave's garage
	We're done! OK, what are we doing next year?