bookmark_borderMaker Market Award Winners

Penguicon chose four maker market vendors to reward for great art, great displays and great service.

Best in Show – Darkside Designs: original paintings, custom shoes, airbrushed tattoos and body painting

1st Place – Steampunked: unique steampunk polymer clay art

2nd Place – Studio 42 Designs: leather book covers and other accessories for today’s nerd

3rd Place – Earthenwood Studios: quirky, hand-painted kiln-fired ceramic pottery

Best in Show receives 2 badges and unjuried for entrance into the Maker Market for the upcoming year.

Congratulations to all the winners!

man holding Best in Show certificate with airbrushed artman holding first place certificate with steampunk accessoriesman holding 2nd place certificate surrounded by leather journals, holding a thumbs upwoman accepting 3rd place certificate from blue haired man with pottery

bookmark_borderOps Volunteers Wanted

IMG_20160429_135941Penguicon attendees… we need you!

If you are looking to earn volunteer hours and at times like being in a fast paced position that kind of makes you the boss of everything for a little bit at Penguicon, consider giving your time to the OPS department.

In this position you can find easy things to do, such as: help a fellow attendee find a room, do room counts for panels, check out supplies, help out with registration when it’s after hours, socialize with your fellow volunteers, socialize to some degree with non volunteers while working, help people get in contact with those they may have lost, lost and found tracking, pitching in where pitching in needs to happen, the list goes on! 

Help is needed from 3 pm Friday until 3 pm Sunday.

bookmark_borderLast Minute Info

  • contv_background_screenshotChanges to the printed schedule
  • Weekend rate is $60;
  • Friday-only memberships are $30 (expires at midnight). Saturday, it is reduced to $40.
    Sunday, it is reduced to $20.
  • Directions via Google – you may park in the parking lot or in the parking structure – the ramp is to the right of the main doors.
  • 2016 Schedule of Events (including PDF versions of the Schedule Book, Souvenir Book, Pocket Program schedule sheet and calendar imports). Also see our listing of Limited Attendance Events.
  • ** The Map **
  • The WiFi password is penguicon or Penguicon2016.
  • There may be last minute rooms available. Email [email protected].
  • If you have ANY concerns, go to the Ops desk or speak to a ConCom member (with the red lanyard). You can also call them at 724-4-CON-OPS.  If it’s not an emergency, you can also contact them at @penguiproblems on Twitter.
  • Please see our policies – Code of Conduct | Accessibility | Photo and Video | Restrooms
  • ConTV – We are streaming our schedule on Channel 3 throughout the hotel. If you’d like to participate, use #Penguicon or @Penguicon on Twitter.  Please be considerate of the rest of the watching community.
  • If you’d like to volunteer, please stop by the Volunteers Desk near Operations.  Volunteers get tons of swag, an after-con party, a room to crash in with others (depending on hours worked) and the chance to get their badge refunded! Ops, Hospitality, and Registration, in particular, need you! If you have any questions, you can also email [email protected].
  • Please give us feedback, good or bad, on how we’re doing this year.  (Please contact Ops for problems you need resolved during the weekend) | feedback.penguicon.org .

bookmark_borderCharity Raffle and Auction

2016-04-20This year, the charity Penguicon is sponsoring is All Hands Active – a non-profit hackerspace in Ann Arbor that you probably recognize – they create the Penguicon LED badge kits you can solder together in our weekend hackerspace!

AHA gives back to the community each year through Citizen Science – with trained scientists teaching summer-long hands-on courses to local students about how to investigate a scientific question, build testing apparatus at the hackerspace, and publish in scientific peer-reviewed journals.

For more details on All Hands Active, see our Charity page!

We’ve got some amazing prizes this year, thanks to attendees and sponsors! Please join our raffle to win prizes at Closing Ceremonies, or participate in our silent auction by stopping at our Charity table. All proceeds go to All Hands Active.

For instance, in our silent auction you can win a lovely quilted blanket with nerdy shirts (some from Penguicon!) created by Amy Castner.

You could also win an auction for a VIP badge to Motor City Steam Con, thanks to Sal and her crew!

Along with that we have dozens of great tech manuals, RPG books, bioware trickets and more to offer for the raffle – $1 for 1 ticket, or $5 for 6!

 

bookmark_borderPhotos and Videos during Penguicon

IMG_9363Everyone loves to make memories during Penguicon, and to take pictures to show off to those who can’t be there.  We have volunteers taking photos for use on the web site and in Penguicon promotional material for future years, and those are one great way that we have to get the word out!

Please remember, though, no matter who you are, some people do not want to be filmed or photographed.

We ask that you check with everyone who will be in your photo, whether they are the focal point of the photo or in the background.

Regardless, if you take a photo or video in which a person is identifiable (like if a person walks past your camera in the hallway) and they ask you to delete it, please respect their wishes.  There are many reasons why someone might not want their photo taken, and they aren’t required to give any of them to ask not to be recorded.

This includes panelists – if you’d like to record a panel you are attending, please ask before the panel.  If you forget and record without asking, ask them after the panel is over, and respect their wishes.

We want to make sure that everyone has a good time during the event, and that includes the right to dictate how and where their likeness is used.

bookmark_borderHelp Wanted in the Hospitality Department

BB9Q4896WANTED: The Hospitality Department needs you. Consuite has moved into the Salon on the 2nd floor and the surrounding board rooms for 2016! It’s exciting! It’s a bigger Space!

Consuite Staff is looking forward to serving you, but we have had some sudden openings in our staffing needs. Can you, no will you help us? Please?

If you’re interested, please email our Head of Hospitality, Lithie Dubois, at [email protected]

PS: There are some pretty cool perks for staff this year, plus your badge will only cost $25.00 and you can help the Penguicon you love!

bookmark_borderHelp Wanted in the Hospitality Department

BB9Q4896WANTED: The Hospitality Department needs you.
Consuite has moved into the Salon on the 2nd floor and the surrounding board rooms for 2016! It’s exciting! It’s a bigger Space!
Consuite Staff is looking forward to serving you, but we have had some sudden openings in our staffing needs. Can you, no will you help us? Please?  If you’re interested, please email our Head of Hospitality, Lithie Dubois, at [email protected]
PS: There are some pretty cool perks for staff this year, plus your badge will only cost $25.00 and you can help the Penguicon you love!
Thank you,
Lithie

bookmark_borderLimited Attendance Events

IMG_9388Some of our events have limited room due to the room size, donated supplies, game restrictions, or other factors.

The sign-up sheets for those events will be available at our Ops booth (next to Registration).

We recommend you sign up for them early, as they fill up fast!

Some events, like Midwest Mash, may be limited for those who want to taste, but still have room for a larger audience.[clear]

Event Track # of attendees Presenter DAY/TIME Room
RPG: Roleplay Podcast Game Gaming 4 (and waitlist of 4) Jody Raiford Saturday 5:00-6:50 PM 943 (Podcast Suite)
Print and Play D&D 5th Ed. Gaming 6:00pm – 7:30pm: 7 players
7:30pm – 9:00pm: 7 players
9:00pm – 10:30pm: 7 players
Liquid Web Saturday 6:00-10:50 PM Lobby/Gaming
Love Hacked? 36 Questions That May Change Your Life After Dark 18 (specific rules apply) Edward Fleece Saturday 7:00-8:50 PM Charlevoix A
Make a Cute Penguin Plushie! DIY 15 Janet Gocay Saturday 3:00-4:50 PM EMC V
Learn to Cross-Stitch DIY 15 Janet Gocay Saturday 7:00-8:50 PM EMC V
Knitting 101 DIY 15 Kelly Vanderwell Saturday 11:00-11:50 AM EMC V
Intro to Needle Felting DIY 15 Bagel Garrison Saturday 10:00-10:50 AM Hamlin
Midwest Mash FOOD 25 Greg Williams Friday 10:00-11:50 PM 517
Taste the Tastes FOOD 30 Eric and Cathy Raymond Saturday 4:00-4:50 PM 517
Pirate Rum History Tasting FOOD 25 Emily Tuesday Saturday 8:00-8:50 PM 517
Taste My Pickles FOOD 30 Emily Tuesday Saturday 9:00-9:50 PM 517
Frankenstuffies DIY 15 RainbowRavenX Saturday 12:00-12:50 PM EMC V
Basic Sewing: Make a pillow DIY 15 RainbowRavenX Friday 6:00-6:50 PM EMC V
Make a Set of Earrings DIY 15 RainbowRavenX Saturday 9:00-9:50 PM Baldwin
Catherynne Valente kaffeklatsch Penguicon 10 Catherynne Valente Saturday 9:00-10:00 AM Restaurant Back Room

bookmark_borderContribute to Penguicon – Be a Volunteer

pcon2013 bb9q4766How would you like to be invited to an exclusive after con party?

I know you would because it is going to be amazing!  The only thing you need to do is to volunteer a little of your time at Penguicon.

Even better? If you sign up before Friday at 4pm there will be ribbons and swag waiting for you when you get there!

So, a party just for volunteers and limited edition swag just for helping us run the greatest convention ever;  sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

There are lots of ways you can help, even if you’re not comfortable standing, lifting or carrying things. We will find the right volunteer position for you!

The convention is entirely volunteer-run – your time makes a real difference. Jessica is ready to answer all of your questions – write her at [email protected] and she’ll help you sign up.

Only 4 more days until the best weekend of the year!

bookmark_borderAll-Gender Restrooms Available

allgender_webPenguicon has attendees, guests, and staff of all kinds of gender presentations. It has long been our ConCom’s goal to help everyone feel safe and comfortable.

We have worked with the hotel to have clearly marked all-gender restrooms available on the second floor, as well as typically designated men’s and women’s restrooms on the first.

There are gender neutral designated restrooms at the White House, GDC (Game Development Conference), Emerald City Comic Con, and many other conventions and universities – their purpose is to make sure no one can be accosted for being in “the wrong place” when they simply need to go to the bathroom.

Additionally, we will have “I’ll go with you” ribbons available for those who don’t mind keeping someone company who is feeling anxious about stepping into the restroom they feel most comfortable in. Many of the ConCom will be wearing one, including the Chair.

In other great news, the Westin Southfield has been very helpful in seeing all gender bathrooms happen this year and has trained their staff to better meet our needs.

Please remember that when it comes to deciding which bathroom is “most appropriate”, it’s the person who has to pee who knows, and it’s up to us to give anyone the benefit of doubt, as fellow human beings with bodily functions.

No matter which bathroom you go into or who is in there with you, it is not appropriate to interrogate someone about their body – you wouldn’t want someone doing it to you.

If you’re not comfortable with a person’s presence, simply step out for a minute, find another bathroom, or ask someone to wait in the bathroom with you. If someone harasses you, please speak with someone at our Operations desk or find a ConCom member.

We must thank our Penguicon attendees for telling us that this is important to them, and for caring about everyone in the Penguicon family.

(Thanks to Sam Killermann for the original “universal bathroom” graphic!)