Uh oh.
Oh no.
Oh yes. We haven’t had one of these for a while, have we? The AD Meetups in 2016, 2017 and 2019 were fun, and now that the pandemic feels properly over for most people in Europe, let’s see if there’s interest in a bunch of nerds embracing their sweaty nerves to meet up face to face again.
Thread updated on 3th July
Date: 20th - 21st July 2024
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Time: 13:00-23:00 on Saturday, 12:00-15:00ish on Sunday
Minimum age to participate: 18 years
Program
Saturday
On Saturday 20th, the plan is to visit the annual roleplay convention Ropecon in Pasila, one train stop away from the Helsinki Central Train Station. The name “Ropecon” comes from the Finnish language word “roolipeli”, meaning role-playing game. A day ticket to the convention costs €33. There’ll be an opportunity for people to go to the convention together from the Helsinki Central Train Station. We’ll spend a few hours checking out the various con activities, booths and stalls. This year’s theme is monsters if you feel like dressing up a bit!
Here’s the schedule for the Saturday 20th: https://ropecon.fi/en/guide/#date:2024-07-20/display:list
In timeline format: https://ropecon.fi/en/guide/#date:2024-07-20/display:timeline
If there’s something in the convention program that interests you earlier on the day or later in the evening, you’re welcome to head there earlier and leave later than the main group (I expect us to be there 14:00 - 17:30). I recommend to double check which activities are provided in English / Finnish.
By 17:30, we’ll head back to the city centre for drinks, food and board/card games at a pub. It’s entirely fine to skip the convention and join only for the pub; just let the host know of your plans.
Sunday
Considering some people might travel a long distance to the event, we’ve traditionally had an optional farewell lunch at noon on Sunday in the city centre. It’s usually followed by a spot of shopping such as visiting Fantasiapelit. The Sunday activities usually last from 12:00 until around 15:00-16:00 depending on the weather, as we’ve sometimes taken a walk to one of the well-known parks by the coastline. If the weather is nice, we could consider having a picnic instead of cafe lunch this year.
Who is this for?
People who play, or used to play, on Argent Dawn. The previous meetups had attendees from many countries, and the primary language of the meetup will be English. We’re more than happy to see people from abroad join the fun!
Why Finland of all places?
Because of the polar bears. Because of salmiakki. Because yours truly is more comfortable organizing something on their home turf than somewhere else. At present Finland is a safe travel destination, and our summer is short but sweet.
I’m interested! How do I sign up for this?
If you’d like to join, please reach out to me on Discord (eepox), so that I’m able to contact you closer to confirm whether you’re attending. If you haven’t reached out on Discord, you won’t be registered to the event. Please include your main character on AD in the direct message, and which activities you’d like to join (Saturday convention, Saturday evening, Sunday noon).
A couple of weeks before the event, a temporary Discord server is made for the people confirming their attendance. Joining the server is mandatory to a) make sure everyone agrees on the event’s code of behaviour, b) exchange real time information, c) to help the event go smoothly for everyone during the weekend. People who have to cancel, or don’t show up at the meetup, will be removed from the server.
For people thinking about coming from abroad:
Compared to many other capitals, Helsinki is a rather compact and easily navigable city. With the train connection from the Helsinki airport to the Central Train Station, it’s convenient to get to the heart of the city in just half an hour. The Central Train Station is the last stop for trains going to Helsinki from the airport. More information on public transport: https://www.hsl.fi/en/travelling/visitors/airport-train
Please use the blue ticket vending machines for the metropolitan public transport tickets, instead of the green VR ones (railway company).
FYI, the underground metro stop will be out of commission at Helsinki Train Station due to a renovation, but this shouldn’t impact the meetup as we’ll be using only the regular train once to Pasila and back to city centre on Saturday. The other activities will be within walking distance in the city centre.
People in Helsinki are usually pretty good at understanding English at shops and service points. There’s a lot of hotels, restaurants, bars and cultural attractions within walking distance from the Central Train Station.
If you have any questions about the meetup, please don’t hesitate to ask! The concept may sound intimidating if you’ve never attended something like this, but as someone who has attended many of them in the distant past, and also hosted some of my own, they’re largely very chill. There’s often a difference between how we may view a person’s online persona and their real self, and you might make some new friends, perhaps meet folk you’ve known online for a long time. Personally, I met one of my best real life friends at these events, despite us never playing (and to this date, never roleplaying) with each other prior!
Write-ups of past Argent Dawn Meetups:
2007 Birmingham
2008 Copenhagen
2011 London
2016 Helsinki (summer)
2016 Helsinki (winter)
2017 London
2017 Helsinki
2019 Helsinki
