Registration for CON.TXT 2012 will open July 1, 2011!

The con is scheduled for June 15-17, 2012, at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in Silver Spring, Maryland. You can check out the website (http://www.con-txt.net) for more details about the con and the hotel.

Pricing will be as follows:

* $90 until December 31, 2011
* $100 from January 1, 2012, through May 15, 2012
* $115 from May 16, 2012 to May 31, 2012

Dealer prices will be published at a later date.

Can't make it to the con? You can sign up for a Supporting Membership for $15.00. This will get you the registration package (program, etc.), as well as any other goodies that are handed out to attending members, and you'll be able to access the member area of the site in the same way as attending members.

Item: one pair of navy blue slippers
Location: room 1105
Found by: Nell, who was rooming with solarcat

If these are yours, and you'd like to reclaim them, please contact me at info@con-txt.net, and I'll get you in contact with Nell....

YOU MAY WANT TO BRING

- Directions to the hotel (and the hotel phone number, just in case)
- Fannish t-shirts, tote bags, and hats (this is a fashionable crowd!)
- Fannish stickers, buttons and pins -- there's a lot of real estate on our badges and badge holders
- Fun and outrageous outfits for the Disco Duck -- these don't have to be 70's themed, they can be anything you want
- Cos-play gear/costumes -- most of the con comm is playing dress-up on Friday, but the whole weekend is fair game
- Your laptop -- the hotel has free wireless internet throughout
- A bathing suit -- the hotel has an outdoor pool, and the (current) forecast is for mostly sunny skies and very warm temps
- A sweater -- the panel rooms and ConSweet are chilly, especially early in the day (We're not kidding about this -- if you get cold easily, BRING A SWEATER!)
- A refillable water bottle -- we will not be offering bottled water this year, but there will be pitchers of filtered water, ice and glasses available

YOU WON'T WANT TO BRING

- VCRs or DVD players -- we aren't allowed to hook them up to the televisions in our rooms. There will be a TV and DVD player at the pimping table in the ConSweet.
- Pets -- the only animals allowed in the hotel are service animals.

WHAT TO EXPECT

PARKING: If you arrive by car, you'll need to leave it somewhere. You can unload all your gear and extra passengers at the front of the hotel. Parking in the hotel garage costs $12 a day, with in and out privileges. The county lot (Lot 2) behind the hotel offers free parking Thursday and Friday after 7 pm and all day Saturday and Sunday. During the day, short-term (two- and three-hour) meters cost about 60 cents an hour. The county garage (Garage 2) behind the hotel has long-term meters (nine hours) at 45 cents an hour. You also can take your chances on the street -- but read the signs very carefully.

ATM: There is an ATM in the hotel lobby; the surcharge is $3.50. There are also several bank ATMs south of the hotel on Georgia Ave, including a Bank of America and a Suntrust on the same block.

REGISTRATION: Con registration will be open in (or near) the hotel’s River City Café Thursday evening from 8 pm to 10 pm; walk through the lobby and follow the signs to find the restaurant. We've warned the restaurant staff to expect a crowd, but please be advised wait times for drinks and food orders may be longer than normal -- please be patient!

Because a lot of fans want to arrive on Thursday right around check in time, the lobby may be crowded from 3 until 5 pm, and check-in will be slow. PLEASE BE PATIENT, and prepare to spend some time in the lobby or the bar/restaurant, chatting with other fen waiting to make their way to the Con. We have warned the hotel to expect a crowd at check-in Thursday night and Friday afternoon and asked them to staff the hotel registration desk accordingly. Still, the lobby may be crowded at those times, and check-in could be slow.

Registration will continue upstairs in the 4th floor corridor Friday from 8 am to 11 pm and Saturday from 8 am to 8 pm.

IDENTIFICATION: You'll receive a badge holder and name tag that is your pass to all CON.TXT events. It will be checked at all Con events, so please don't lose it or leave it in your room! It is not replaceable, and you must wear it at all times while in the con space. Please note that badges are not shareable or transferable.

Anyone attending the Disco Duck on Friday will be required to wear a wristband -- please note that wristbands are not shareable or transferable. There will be more info about the wristbands at the CON.TXT Context panel on Friday morning.

VOLUNTEERS: At registration, attendees who indicated availability will receive their volunteer schedule. You should double-check the shifts indicated; if there is a problem, please let meri_oddities know as soon as possible, so that we can straighten out any issues. If you find you have time while at the con, and wish to volunteer, please let us know.

PROGRAMMING: At registration, you'll also receive a CON.TXT program describing all of the panels, special events, workshops and services. We suggest you take some time to read through the program as soon as possible after your arrival; in addition to con programming, there will also be information on local restaurants and shopping on a handout in the packet.

GETTING AROUND: The hotel operates a free shuttle within a 3-mile radius of the hotel. You can use the shuttle to get to or from the Metro station, for example, or to get to the movie theater, restaurants, grocery store, etc.

If you need to be picked up from the Metro or elsewhere within the area the shuttle serves, call the main hotel number: 301-589-0800. They will connect you to the shuttle. If you have some idea when you'll need to be picked up (e.g., if you're coming from the airport), it's a good idea to call in advance to reserve the shuttle.

The Silver Spring Metro station is about 1/4 south of the hotel on Georgia Ave, if you're in the mood for a short walk.

THE FORECAST

Wednesday: partly cloudy, with a high of 87° and a low of 73°

Thursday: partly cloudy, with a high of 88° and a low of 73°

Friday: partly cloudy, with a high of 88° and a low of 74°

Saturday: scattered thunderstorms, with a high of 92° and a low of 74°

Sunday: sunny, with a high of 91° and a low of 76°

Monday: sunny, with a high of 90° and a low of 75°

~!@#@!~

Ducks Deluxe Arts & Crafts Show and Auction
Rideshare
Roommates -- there are a couple of people looking for last minute roomies for Thursday!
Orphan Sales

(When tweeting about CON.TXT, be sure to use #contxt, and spread the word!)

The CON.TXT 2010 Schedule is live! Go, see what we're offering, and start planning!

Moderators, if you have handouts, pre-reading, or other pre-con "homework" for participants, you may post links here.

~!@#@!~

You may be asking yourself what a Pop-Tart or Pizza party is.... Well, Pop-Tart and Pizza parties are a way for a group of from a single fandom (Trek, SGA, Star Wars, etc.) to get together informally. Pop-Tart Parties happen in the morning, and Pizza Parties can be either lunch or supper.

We have a limited number of spots for this type of party; in order to reserve a room/time (you can see what's available on the schedule), please email panels@con-txt.net.

~!@#@!~

We are pleased to announce that this year's con charity is the Southern Poverty Law Center. From the SPLC website:

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society.

Founded by civil rights lawyers Morris Dees and Joseph Levin Jr. in 1971, the SPLC is internationally known for tracking and exposing the activities of hate groups. Our innovative Teaching Tolerance program produces and distributes – free of charge – documentary films, books, lesson plans and other materials that promote tolerance and respect in our nation’s schools.

~!@#@!~

Ducks Deluxe Arts & Crafts Show and Auction
Rideshare
Roommates
Orphan Sales

(When tweeting about CON.TXT, be sure to use #contxt, and spread the word!)

**We are a bit late with this -- we apologize!**

If you are not coming to the con but would like to sell your zines or other fannish items (with the exception of art and art resales, which must be submitted to Ducks Deluxe), or if you have only a small number of items and don't want to have your own table, we can host your things for you on the Orphan Sales Table. The con will take 15% of the proceeds of sales of items off the Orphan table.

What kinds of items can be sold on the Orphan Sales table?

* New and used zines
* Song vid collections
* DVDs / tapes of movies and TV series
* Licensed t-shirts and memorabilia
* Autographed items, including photos & posters
* Calendars and stationery items
* Comic books, graphic novels and manga
* Gay-themed novels & published slash

(If you have something not on this list, email us and we'll help you classify it!)

To Get Your Items on the Orphan Sales Table

* First, set your prices (in increments of $.25) and label your items. You must set the price for each item you want to sell on the Orphan Sales Table. Every item must have a post-it note or other attached label with the item name, your display name, and the price. We will verify this against the information from your Orphan Sales Form.

Unlabeled items will not be placed on the table until you arrive at the con and label them yourself; if you are not attending, any unlabeled items will be left off the table and returned!

* Next, go to the Orphan Sales page and click the button to fill out the Orphan Sales Form. After you submit the form, a page with the form information will appear. Print out the form page after you have submitted it and be sure to include it with your items. The form information will automatically be emailed to us, and a copy will be emailed to you for your records.

This is very important! This is how the information about you and your items gets into the database. The form is checked against the items you send. And this is how we'll ensure you are paid for the items that are sold, and that the items that are not are returned to you.

* Then you must decide how to get your items to the con.

You may mail items in advance. The address will appear on the form page after you submit the Orphan Sales Form, or you can contact us. MAILED ITEMS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, JUNE 11th, 2010, IN ORDER TO BE OFFERED ON THE ORPHAN SALES TABLE. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy, so be certain to mail your things with plenty of time for them to arrive by this date.

You may also deliver items directly to the hotel yourself, from Friday morning to Saturday evening.

After the con, we will mail a check (minus the con's percentage and postage) and any unsold items to the return address you specify (via US Priority Mail with Insurance); alternatively you may pick up your check and unsold items on Sunday.

Please contact us with questions or if you need more information.

~!@#@!~

If you don't want to deal with selling items, we will again have a Swap Table (proceeds to benefit the CON.TXT 2010 charity, which will be announced later this week.)

How it works: Bring any fannish goodies you are willing to part with, and put them on the table. Peruse the goodies others have left, and if you find something you'd like, please leave an appropriate donation for the con charity.

Any fannish memorabilia, including stickers, action figures, notebooks, DVDs, cassettes, books, magnets, zines, (and pretty much anything else you can think of) will be welcome. If you think someone else would love it, this is the spot!

The small print: If for some reason the stuff you bring is not snapped up by someone else, and you'd like it back, please retrieve it before the end of the Dead Duck panel on Sunday. Anything left at that point will either be tossed, hoarded by Con Comm members, or donated to a local charity.

~!@#@!~

QUACKS! (aka CON.TXT personals)
Ducks Deluxe Arts & Crafts Show and Auction
Rideshare
Roommates
Orphan Sales

(When tweeting about CON.TXT, be sure to use #contxt, and spread the word!)

One last reminder -- the hotel room block closes tomorrow! If you have not reserved a room, and you want to, please do so ASAP.

Would you lead a discussion on any of these topics?

We have three panels which still have no moderators at all:

• Multifandom, "They Fight Crime! (More or less)"


• Multifandom, "We <3 the BBC"


• Torchwood, "Torchwood in the US"

The following panels have a moderator who would like to be joined by a co-moderator:

• Fanworks, "Building an Active Community", synecdochic


• Fanworks, "Finding Fan Activity", Queue


• Fanworks, "Wuzzles wuzzles everywhere: Tagging on the Archive of Our Own", Cesy

• Meta, "Fandom Suddenly Loves the Ladies!", Qurinas


• Meta, "Kinked for kink memes", Vikki


• Meta, "Procrastinators' Party", melannen


• Multifandom, "Femslash: This is Not the Recruiting Panel", zvi


• Multifandom, "Please Get Out of my Van Halen T-shirt! Bandom in the New Decade", Eleanor Lavish


• Multifandom, "Sinister Ducks", melannen


• Multifandom, "Those Daring Young Men: Slash and the Victorian Age", missmollyetc

• Doctor Who, "The Eleventh Doctor", Ellen Fremedon


• Star Trek, "Star Trek beyond the shows", Starlady


• White Collar, "White Collar: WTF?", LightGetsIn

You can reach the programming committee at panels@con-txt.net to volunteer, make suggestions, or ask any questions!

~!@#@!~

Registration (deadline is May 31st)
Hotel Info & Reservations (deadline is May 28th)
QUACKS! (aka CON.TXT personals)
Ducks Deluxe Arts & Crafts Show and Auction
Lunches (deadline to order is May 31st, log into your account to order)

(When tweeting about CON.TXT, be sure to use #contxt, and spread the word!)