Valley

Mass Signing. Presenters: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Michelle Sonnier, Margaret L Carter, Les Carter, Ef Deal (50 minutes)

Salon A

Presentation: What’s New in the Prehistoric Past? Fossils may be ancient, but we are discovering new things about them all the time. Find out about the latest news of the fossil record from paleontologist Dr. Thomas Holtz, University of Maryland and the National Museum of Natural History. (50 minutes)

Salon E

Presentation: Breathing Magic into Fiction Respectfully. This panel teaches prospective authors how to be inclusive of magical systems without stepping on the toes of the communities and cultures they come from. Also covered will be how to properly research and credit the communities from where you source elements of your magical systems. Track: Mythic, Presenter: Jessica Morán (50 minutes)

Salon C

Panel: Bug-Eyed Monsters and Other Alien Menaces. S/FF literature is rife with all sorts of threats to humanity. From literal Bug-Eyed monsters that want to harvest your organs to Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Thing, to benign-seeming aliens that want to control your mind. How might actual extraterrestrial threats manifest themselves? Presenters: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Tom Holtz, Margaret L Carter, Les Carter (50 minutes)

Salon F

Kaffeeklatsch: Ef Deal. Have a morning beverage and chat with Ef Deal. Limited attendance. Signup at registration.

Salon A

Presentation: Medieval Music Show and Tell. A brief overview of music from around 1100 – 1600 CE. Blibbering Humdingers will showcase various instruments, and styles of music from Western Europe. No, they are not going to bore you with a lot of music theory. They are going to play some songs and give you some interesting facts. Track: Music (50 minutes)

Salon C

Panel: The Collusion of Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction. We like to think of stories as falling into separate genres, but often a story will end up crossing genres. This panel examines, and will point out concepts and that might fit into any or all of the referenced genres. It should also include some examples of stories that illustrate these concepts, and how they do so, and what the purpose of cross-genre stories might be. Presenters: Scott Edelman, Michelle Sonnier, Margaret Carter, Ef Deal (50 minutes)

Salon E

Presentation: Tossing the Bones and Stones. A workshop on different types of casting methods for divination and how to educate yourself about them and utilize them properly. Track: Mythic, Presenter: John Weller (50 minutes)

Salon A

Concert: Chuck Parker. Track: Music (50 minutes)

Salon E

Remembrance: An Open Memorial, An open (non-denominational) gathering to honor those who have passed recently, and for the living to share memories, thoughts and prayers related to them and our community. Track: Mythic, Facilitators: John Weller and Jessica Morán (1 hour 20 minutes)

Salon C

(*) Panel: Concepts in Non-Human Reproduction. In horror fiction, vampires & zombies are usually portrayed as reproducing by biting. In the ever-so famous Star Trek episode “The Trouble of Tribbles,” the tribbles reproduced by fission, similar to cell division. There have been stories including aliens who have three sexes, and the participation of all of them is necessary for their species reproduction. A look at how these concepts present themselves in S/FF. Presenters: Tom Holtz, Michelle Sonnier, Margaret L Carter, Ef Deal (50 minutes)

Salon A

Concert: TJ & Mitchell Burnside Clapp. Track: Music (50 minutes)

Foyer

Meet for Computer Museum Field Trip. Must be preregistered for the tour. See Field Trip page to register.

Salon C

Panel: Alien Cultures vs Human Cultures
Aliens have often been portrayed as humanoid-sorts of beings, particularly in visual media. But what sort of cultural differences might come about if an alien weren’t at all humanoid? Presenters: Danielle A-M, Margaret L Carter, Ef Deal (50 minutes)

Salon E

Presentation: Decolonizing your Practice. This panel is meant to help in the process of building your personal craft/path without falling into the appropriation tropes of Western occultism as well as how to research folk magic respectfully across the globe. Track: Mythic, Presenter: Jessica Morán (1 hour 20 minutes)

Salon A

Concert: Kathy Sands. Track: Music (50 minutes)

Salon D

Workshop: Short SF/F vs Novels. So, you’ve written a story. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. But have you actually completed a story? Or, have you written more words than there is story to tell?  A look at how to fine-tune your writing for the story you have. Presenters: Scott Edelman, Michelle Sonnier, Ef Deal, D H Aire (50 minutes)

Lounge

eSpec Book Launch. We take over the Con Suite for a few hours for author readings, goodie bags, and a raffle. The authors of the books will be at the launch. (2 hours)

Valley

GoH Concert: Blibbering Humdingers. Goofy nerd rock for wizards, witches, gamers, jedi, hobbits, time lords, LARPers, browncoats, SCAdians, and all manner of hoopy froods. You’ll be positively gruntled by our non-sequitur nonsense and musical mayhem. (1 hour 30 minutes)

Valley

Turkey Awards Presentation. Cold reading of the nominees by our Guest of Honor followed by the results of the judging and awarding of dubious prizes. Presenters: Aleksandr Poryshkin, Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Valley

Hallelujah Chorus. Join in the a capella singing of Handel’s “Hallelujah” Chorus and other songs. Leader: Crystal Paul

Salon A

Filking. Join in the singing or just listen. Track: Music (2 hours)

Salon F

Caroling. Track: Music , Presenter: Erwin Strauss.(1h 30 minutes)