bookmark_borderRibbon Orders end March 1st

pcon2013 bb9q5137Ribbons (intended to be attached to your membership badge) are one of the best things about SF/F conventions – sometimes they’re used to highlight roles (like Guests of Honor). They’re used to express your fandom (like Browncoat).  They’re used to help someone understand your interests (like the relationship ribbons).  They’re used to denote how you’d like to be referred to (like the pronoun preference ribbons). And they’re used as rewards for picking up some art at the Maker Market, participating in contests, and getting to know our Guests of Honor.

If you’re interested in picking up some ribbons for Penguicon, your time is running out!  Please submit your ribbon order by March 1st if you’d like to be a part of our (inexpensive!) bulk purchase.  Click on the button “Add a ribbon” to get started.

After March 1st, you’re on your own!

bookmark_borderCon or Bust!

2b-Green-dino-only-smaller-whiteIf you are a fan of color and you’re interested in coming to Penguicon, please feel free to check out Con or Bust.

Con or Bust is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to “increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction.”

img_7082“Con or Bust isn’t a scholarship and isn’t limited by geography, type of con-goer, or con; its goal is simply to help fans of color go to SFF cons and be their own awesome selves.

“It is funded through donations and an online auction held annually. One hundred percent of all donations to Con or Bust are provided directly to fans of color to help then go to SFF cons; all administrative expenses are donated by Kate Nepveu or the Carl Brandon Society, and everyone working on Con or Bust volunteers their time.”

We are pleased to donate three memberships for 2016.

bookmark_borderOur Sponsored Charity for 2016

And Penguicon’s 2016 Charity is …

All Hands Active!

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You may know them as the folks who have created the wonderful Penguicon LED badge kits that you can solder together during Penguicon – they will be coming back with the badges and much more!

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Growing from a series of make-and-takes in 2009, AHA is a burgeoning hackerspace in downtown Ann Arbor.  The offer a dash of electronics, a pinch of art, a scoop of biology and a monster amount of awesome!

AHA’s proximity to the University of Michigan provides them opportunity to recruit active members from STEM fields, and they use their skills to give back to the community in an interesting and unique way, through Citizen Science.

For the past 3 years, they have been providing summer-long hands-on science courses taught by trained scientists who are members of the AHA community.

The students (some high school, some college) investigate a scientific question, and use the hackerspace to build the specialized apparatus used to test their hypotheses.

AHA’s goal is to help the students publish in scientific peer-reviewed journals – some continue to work on their projects after the summer courses to do just that.

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AHA looks forward to showing off their work as Penguicon’s official 2016 charity. AHA’s members and former students will prepare exciting hands-on demonstrations of citizen science in action in the Penguicon Hacker Lab.

All of the scientific inventions AHA will demo were made at All Hands Active in Ann Arbor – not to just provide scientific knowledge, but also to inspire others to participate.

Please help your local community by building a badge, participating in our raffle, or donating directly.

We are geeked!

bookmark_borderSpecial Event Spotlight: Geeks With Guns

pcon2013 bb9q4803Geeks with Guns is an off-site event held early on Friday afternoon, just prior to the official opening of the con. It involves going to a nearby range, and consuming copious quantities of ammunition while noisily punching holes in various paper targets for a couple of hours.

It is a painless and fun way for newbies to learn the fundamentals of firearms safety, and for them (and experienced shooters) to have an opportunity to handle and shoot a variety of guns in the company of other Penguicon attendees. The cost is as low as we can make it, and the fellowship is excellent. We usually have Eric S. Raymond in attendance (who is the inventor of the event). There are also several other experienced firearms instructors present, and the unwavering emphasis is on safety.

Please join us for 2016! Email [email protected] to express your interest by February 29th, and to get the latest planning info.

bookmark_borderTrack Spotlight: Eco Track!

powerflowers-27Are you interested in alternative energy sources like solar and wind power? Have you figured out how to hyper-mile your electric car? Whether you’re into beekeeping, urban space planning, or vermicomposting, our Eco track is the place for you.

We would love for you to submit a proposal for an event in the Eco track that you intend to present!

If you have an idea for a Eco track event you’d like to see at Penguicon but don’t want to present yourself, please suggest an idea for our track head to look into!