FOGcon 8, March 9 – 11, 2018
WALNUT CREEK, CA
Theme: Performance in SF/F
Honored Guests: Andrea Hairston and Ada Palmer
Honored Ghost: Thomas M. Disch
Membership Rates
Registration is now open for FOGcon 8, and lunch tickets are available for purchase.
ADULTS:
$80 from January 8, 2018 to March 4, 2018, 2018
$90 "at door"
Youth (11-17):
Full weekend membership - $20
Children (10 and under): Free! (Must be attended by an adult)
FOGcon on the Web
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=266502209488
LiveJournal: http://community.livejournal.com/fogcon/
Dreamwidth: http://fogcon.dreamwidth.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/FOGconvention
FOGblog the FOGcon Blog: http://fogcon.org/fogblog/
Message from the Chair
It's hard to believe it's almost here, but it is!
I am very much looking forward to seeing you all -- as has been the case every year, I walked out of our scheduling meeting full of anticipation with all the exciting items on our program, and seeing what our Honored Guests have in store for us (you'll see soon!) has made it even better.
I have been honored to work on this con every year since it started, and to watch it grow, and watch traditions form and a community develop -- thank you all for coming, and see you soon!
Steven Schwartz, Con Chair
Volunteers
FOGcon Needs You!
FOGcon relies on volunteers for every aspect of the con, and we're looking for help of all sorts, and at all levels. We're particularly looking for:
Registration
We need folks to staff the Registration table and help people get checked in, get their badges and programs, and get started at the con. This is a great way to meet people, especially if starting a conversation isn't your best thing. Shifts are generally about two hours, and we try to synchronize them with the programming slots so that you don't miss too much of the con. Registration generally opens on Thursday evening, and is open Friday and Saturday and part of Sunday, so there are lots of shifts available. E-mail volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Hospitality
Whether you've dashed through the consuite to grab vital caffeine or stopped for a meal or hung out for a rambling conversation, you've probably appreciated the job of our Hospitality folks, who make sure the consuite stays open, staffed, and stocked. (And reasonably clean.) You may not have realized, though, that the consuite can only be open as long as we have volunteers to staff it! Whether you're an extravert or an introvert, a consuite shift can work out well – depending on the time of day, it can be quiet or packed with folks deep in conversation. People stop by for a place to sit down, grab a bite of food or something to drink, see who else is around, or continue a conversation that began in a panel and Just. Won't. Stop. We need folks who can keep track of the food supply, make newcomers welcome and help them find their feet, refill the bathtub with sodas, and so on – and we need night owls and early birds so we can have the consuite open whenever anybody wants to be there. Shifts are generally about two hours, and we try to synchronize them with the programming slots so that you don't miss too much of the con. We also need help with setup and tear-down. E-mail volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Programming
We have a couple of specific jobs that need filling in Programming, in addition to general gophering and room counting and so on:
Programming Minion
If programming sounds interesting and you'd like to get your feet wet before diving in, come and be a programming minion! There's no telling what you'll end up doing – running down to Logistics for a cable or up to the consuite for tea for someone who's tied up in a panel, doing room counts (so we can keep improving our estimates of the room size we need for the various panels), or helping keep track of materials used for a program and making sure everything gets where it needs to be. Shifts are generally about two hours, and we try to synchronize them with the programming slots so that you don't miss too much of the con. E-mail programming@fogcon.org and/or volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Game Room Minion
If you love games and want to help keep FOGcon's game room active, come be a game room minion! Help open and close the game room, help people get started with games they haven't tried before – or find an old familiar friend – and set up for (and help run!) game-room programming. E-mail programming@fogcon.org and/or volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Logistics
Have you ever wondered how the con actually works? Where blue tape comes from? How we got the errata printed? Who posts all those informative and/or entertaining signs? The answer is Logistics, and if you'd like to volunteer to help out we'd love to have you! We particularly need help around set-up and close-out, but there's almost always something that needs doing! E-mail volunteers@fogcon.org and let us know if you're interested!
Angel Memberships Available
Thanks to our generous donors, FOGcon has a few Angel memberships available for people who would love to participate, but can’t pull together the money for a membership. We do ask that recipients of Angel memberships put in at least a few volunteer hours if that’s feasible. If you'd like to be considered to receive an Angel Membership or know someone who might, please email angel@fogcon.org.
Programming
We're excited to announce that the schedule has been made, and all those who are on panels or who have readings have been notified.
You're also welcome to check on your schedule through the FOGcon website by logging on at db.fogcon.org and clicking on "My Account" in the lefthand menu bar. Towards the bottom of the page will be a box displaying your schedule with a link to "My Schedule"--click on that link to view your full schedule. Alternately, if you're logged in, just go to http://db.fogcon.org/program/schedule to check your schedule.
If you have any issues with your schedule (including but not limited to, "I didn't mean to sign up for this panel"), please email programming@fogcon.org to let us know ASAP.
Content Warnings
FOGcon is pleased to provide content warnings this year for our honored guests and ghost's books so that we can help members take care of themselves.
Please note, just because a potential trigger is not on this list does not mean it is not in the books. Put another way, if it is not in the list below, it might still be in the books, because it's very difficult (if not impossible) to cover every single potential trigger.
Along those lines, although a specific book may not be named on this list, that does not mean it does not merit a content warning.
When in doubt, or if you want further/more detailed information, we invite you to email content-warning@fogcon.org with your request and we will get back to you promptly to advise you further.
Ada Palmer's Terra Ignota series: mention of sexual violence, some physical violence, and what may be misgendering (we have an entire panel dedicated to the topic of gender in this series on the schedule). There are content warnings which are part of the novel's content at the start of each book and readers are encouraged to review them.
Andrea Hairston's Redwood and Wildfire: graphic sexual violence; graphic physical violence; period racism and language related to race (turn of the 20th C in the American South and in Chicago), including racially-motivated violence.
Thomas M. Disch's body of work in general: racism; sexism; emotional, physical, and sexual violence against women and children.
We hope that these warnings help our members. This is our first year providing them, and we're still figuring out the format and content--this hasn't been formally done by conventions or authors before (that we know of) so there's no clear roadmap. If you have comments or suggestions on how we can do it better, or if you'd like to help provide a warning for specific works by our Honored Guests and Ghost not listed here, please send an email to content-warning@fogcon.org.
Banquet
Don't forget to purchase your tickets to FOGcon's Annual Unaward Lunch Banquet on Saturday afternoon. This year's menu is largely the same as last year's successful buffet, featuring several salads (garden, pasta, potato and egg), hot entrees, freshly baked rolls, drinks, and even dessert. We will ensure there are vegetarian and gluten-free options. Join us for good food, good conversation, and good company!
Tickets are $15 for Adults, $8 for Children (10 and under)
John Kusters, Hotel Liaison
Childcare
We still have slots available for childcare at FOGcon, and we hope people will come to take advantage of it! Childcare will be available during daytime programming hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (if enough interest).
Please let us know if you're interested, so we can ensure proper staffing!
Safety
For those who are concerned, this year FOGcon will be providing a phone number to call (in your reg packets), specially-badged individuals capable of acting as first points of contact for any safety concerns, and staff in orange reflective safety vests. It is our aim to make our members feel as safe as possible -- please let us know if you have any specific concerns!
Contact Us
Mailing Address
FOGcon
PO Box 21027
Piedmont, CA 94620-1027
For more information, email us at fogcon@fogcon.org
To discuss access issues, email us at access@fogcon.org
To volunteer, email us at volunteers@fogcon.org or click the link in your account that says, "Would you like to volunteer?"
To inquire about being a dealer, email us at dealers@fogcon.org
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