I want to personally update you on the status of this year’s 52 Plus Joker convention.

With all this uncertainty caused by the pandemic, your Board of Directors’ first obligation must always be the safety of club members. It’s with a heavy heart that we must cancel the Niagara Falls convention.

We planned for the October convention with optimism and hope, but the Delta variant threw us a curveball. It’s with great sorrow that we must send you this message. We feel terrible about this and offer our sincerest apologies. Everyone’s safety must come first; canceling was the only responsible choice. We will start issuing refunds to anyone who pre-registered and paid; if you don’t see your refund in your account in the next two weeks, please contact us so we can help fix it.

That was the bad news – now for some good news! We’ve planned some special events that should help to offset the disappointment and make you feel a lot better about the cancellation.

1. We are still launching the 2021 club deck by Lorenzo Gaggiotti/Stockholm17 on Thursday, October 21st in a virtual event. We expect this to be part of a larger deck-release event with other artists, just like we do at the convention.
2. We are delaying the October auction until Saturday, November 20th, to give the auction team enough time to get everything loaded into our auction system.
3. The Diamond Awards Ceremony will be postponed until April of next year, as part of a larger event; we really want to give you something to look forward to in the spring!

More information (including specific times) about all of these great events will be forthcoming. We will contact all the members by email, the club magazines, and the website as plans are formalized.

Our Board was in a difficult position, and while the decision was a sad and hard one to make, we stand firm in the belief that canceling is the right thing to do. We thank you for your understanding and regret any inconveniences this may cause you personally.

Respectfully,
Lee Asher

P.S. If you have any questions, concerns, or just want to speak what’s on your mind, contact me. I’m here to listen and to discuss your thoughts.

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President
52 Plus Joker