Muskrat Jamboree

Muskrat Jamboree was a fan-run multi-fandom slash convention in the Boston area. The first Muskrat Jamboree was put together in just three short months, originally described as a "semi-con" - perhaps because founder brooklinegirl was trying to keep things simple, or keep expectations low. It quickly grew into a popular East Coast slash con, although its membership was limited to 150 people. Fans had to be at least 18 years old in order to attend.
As many of the organizers were in due South fandom in 2007, the con was named after a small-town festival in Inuvik: "Every year Inuvik hosts the Muskrat Jamboree. It's a variation on any of the thousands of community festivals held across Canada each year."Caribou, the Jamboree, and Fire. Inuvik Journal (blog). Posted 15 April 2007. accessed October 25, 2008 This name was initially offered to prospective con-goers as a joke, but it was overwhelmingly the most popular option, so the organizers took it and ran with it. 
==MJ 2007==
The first MJ took place in March of 2007. It featured two days of panels. Posted to muskratjamboree by misspamela, 17 February 2007; reference link., a party, and a vidshow. Posted to muskratjamboree by Maya Tawi, 2 April 2007; reference link. While the con was going on, those who weren't able to attend were invited to participate in Rat Jam, an online discussion forum at livejournal. .
Among MJ 1's unexpected highlights were the goody bags that were given to everyone at the con, which featured all kinds of Canada paraphernalia, maps of the Northwest Territories, temporary tattoos of rainbows and hearts and the Canadian flag, and individualized dogtags printed with each con-goer's name. There was also a game of Canadian Jeopardy (see image) organized by helleboredoll.
The MJ 2007 vidshow premiered the wildly popular Pretty Boy vid by strangecobwebs -- focusing on the many faces of Paul Gross; described as "Paul Gross Is His Own Damn Fandom, Thank You Very Much"., accessed March 1, 2013; reference link. That vidshow was temporarily delayed by technical issues, but the attendees happily amused themselves singing "Barrett's Privateers," a song well-known to many due South fans because Paul Gross sings part of it in a pivotal episode of the show.
The concom shared a hotel suite, which also served as the con suite the first year. On Saturday night of the con, the party in the con suite got so loud that hotel security showed up.
===2007 Con Reports===
*The first ever Muskrat Jamboree dated April 1, 2007 WebCite for The first ever Muskrat Jamboree.
* by slodwick, dated April 2, 2007WebCite for My MJ report.
*Muskrat Jamboree 2007 dated April 3, 2007WebCite for Muskrat Jamboree 2007.
* by Shoshanna (April 2, 2007)
* 
==MJ 2009==
The second biennial MJ took place April 3-4 2009. (In alternating years, the concom encourages congoers to attend Con.txt in the Baltimore area instead.) 
2009 panels included fandom-specific options, such as:
* "Tinhatting McShep" (Stargate Atlantis)
* "Mutual of Omaha!: The Middlepanel" (The Middleman)
* "Making it New and Making it Last (aka: Hello, it's been fifteen years since they aired the Due South pilot! And Fraser? Still delicious!)" (Due South) 
These were mixed with meta panels including:
* "Little Black Dresses and Why We Love Them" 
* "The Linguistics of Fandom" 
* "It's Alive!: What Keeps Closed Canons Open to Fandom?". Posted to muskratjamboree by misspamela, 3 March 2009; reference link. 
There was also a panel called "Weird Sex and Snowshoes" (C6D -- see image.)
In a retrospective post about MJ, Brooklinegirl wrote:
The 2009 con featured a vidshow . Posted to muskratjamboree by mrsronweasley, 6 April 2009., a dance party, and an outing to Jacque's, a local drag bar.
===2009: Con Reports===
* by Shoshanna (August 6, 2009)
* , con report by bironic
* con report by visionshadows.
* by soupytwist
* collected at the Muskrat Jamboree livejournal comm
==MJ 2011==
The third biennial MJ took place on April 1-2, 2011. Registration for MJ 2011 took place on October 23rd, 2010 and was limited to 150 people. The registration fee was $93 via Paypal, $90 by check.
The 2011 panels, announced on February 18, 2011, were suggested and then chosen by con attendees. They included (among others): . Posted to muskratjamboree by misspamela, 27 February 2011.
* "Is That A Muskrat You're Jamboreeing With, or Are You Just Happy to See Me? (Due South Diaspora)" 
* "We need a cool panel name. Like Strike Force. Or Hawaii Five-0" 
* "Rodneysaur, Dolphin!John, MerPatrick, WereRay, Hugh Dillon's Wings, Gerard's a Girl, and Pete Wentz as a Paisley Lamp: Fandom and the Transformation Trope" 
The 2011 con featured a vidshow; reference link. Posted to muskratjamboree by mrsronweasley, 2 April 2011., a dance party, and a return outing to Jacque's.
===2011 Con Reports===
Some con reports are linked from the muskratjamboree livejournal community .WebCite for 2011 Con reports. Including:
* by thedeadparrot on Dreamwidth
* by grey-bard on livejournal
* by Kass on Dreamwidth
* See more at the livejournal community link above
==MJ 2013==
The 2013 convention was held March 22 and 23 in Cambridge, MA, at a new hotel -- which was substantially classier than where the con had been in previous years.
Panels included:Panel Schedule, posted February 23, 2013; reference link.
* Slash Pictionary, 
* "COME HERE WATSON I NEED YOU" (Sherlock Holmes)
* "Tumblr: Best Thing Ever or the Death Of Fandom As We Know It??" 
* "Avenge ALL the things!" (Avengers)
* "The takeover the motherfucking break’s over: the end of the Fall Out Boy hiatus" (Fall Out Boy / bandom)
* "Fourth Wall Not Found: Fandom in a Social Media World," (meta)
* "I’m Obsessed With Knotting :("
* "For Reasons That DO Need Exploring In This Juncture: (Nearly) 20 Years of due South" (due South).
Other events included a raffle (to support Doctors Without Borders), a vid show (see ),WebCite. and a dance party. 
Coincidentally, My Chemical Romance broke up on the Friday night of this year's con, leading the con's substantial contingent of bandom fans to do a lot of hugging and crying.
===2013 Con Reports===
Fan reaction to the 2013 con was overall positive. giddygeek wrote:
And Kass wrote:
More Con Reports:
* on Dreamwdith
* 
* , con report by ladyfoxxx
* 
==MJ 2015==
MJ 2015 was held March 20-21, 2015, in Cambridge, MA. Brooklinegirl announced on livejournal in January that it would be the last MJ:
There was a scholarship to help attendees with registration costs. . Six winners were selected in two rounds of applications. 
===2015 Con Reports===
* , by aethel December 20, 2015
* by hannah
* by the-shoshanna, con report on the first day of the con
==References==
Category:6 Degrees of Canada
Category:Slash Conventions
Category:2007 Conventions
Category:2008 Conventions
Category:2013 Conventions
Category:2015 Conventions
Category:2022 Featured ArticlesCategory:Conventions in United States