recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Budgets

Eastercons have been publishing their final summary budgets after the convention. Satellite 4 has kindly given us permission to reproduce theirs (2014 £)

```
Income
        Membership	                        38562
	At con (Art show, dealer's room)	1240
	Pass along	                        15000
	Mechandising	                        595
	Advertising	                        275
	Total Income	                        55672

Outgoing
        Hotel	                                5000
	Guests (Travel, subsistence)	        5858
	Publications (printing, posting)	1638
	Promotion	                        1300
	Tech	                                5501
	Green Room	                        1368
	Gopher Hole	                        145
	Groats	                                1374
	Beer Bar	                        552
	Ops	                                165
	Registration	                        2155
	Evening Ents	                        2580
	Programme	                        512
	Creche (provider + room)	        2293
	Logistics	                        1872
	Misc (Stationery)	                230
	Bank charges and PayPal fees	        763
	Insurance	                        1175
	Charity	                                1190
	Pass along	                        11500
	Fan funds and bursaries	                2000
	Souvenir Book	                        6500

	Total Expenditure	                55672

```
Kaffeeklatsch

The dictionary says it's an informal social gathering for coffee and conversation ... and that's a pretty good definition!

At Eastercon, if there are kaffeeklatsches (or "klatches" for short) then they are a chance for around eight-to-ten people to sit down with a guest and have a cup of tea/coffee/whatever and just chat.

The usual structure is that a list of klatch sessions will be posted up somewhere with the name of the guest, the day/time of the klatch and eight to ten blank lines underneath. You fill in your name to say you want to attend a klatch (as long as there's a free line left!)

At the appointed day/time you show up at the location (often a room near the bar!) and, depending on the convention, you may have to buy your own tea/coffee. After that it's left between the group of you and the guest what you talk about for the duration of the klatch.

For particularly popular guests, it is common to have a much longer sign-up sheet and then to do a random selection of names from that sheet to select the eight or ten people to chat with the guest.
Trademark

"Eastercon" is a registered trademark and full details of the ownership, use etc. are shown at

http://www.menageri.demon.co.uk/Eastercon/Eastercon.html (IA)

Most of the rest of this article is based on that webpage.

### Does a convention or a bid need written permission?

In practice, getting permission tends to be a verbal conversation on the lines of: "May we?" "Yes". There's no official contract, and very few terms and conditions.

### What are the terms and conditions?

One of the convention's publications must state that:

**"Eastercon is a registered trade mark and is used with permission"**

Whoever's in charge of publications gets to pick which one. That's it, as far as the trademark holder is concerned.

### Do people writing about Eastercons, or thinking of running one, have to get permission to use the trademark?

No. That would be very officious and bureaucratic.
Membership

This page covers joining an Eastercon. If you are interested in what needs to be done from a convention running viewpoint, see Registration

## Why "Membership" and not "Ticket"?

When you go somewhere to be entertained, or just as a passive consumer, you buy a "Ticket" and then sit in the audience/train/whatever and wait for someone to do things for you.

A convention is different ... we have fun together, much more like a social club, and so we sell "Memberships" rather than tickets. So you "join" a convention rather than buying a ticket or a pass.

It's a language thing, but an important distinction. We want you to come along and join in and have fun!

## What do you get for being a member of the Eastercon?

A membership in an Eastercon gets you:

* The pre-convention publications, such as Progress Reports.
* A membership badge, which gives you access to the various events and social areas of the convention
* At-con publications, such as the ReadMe
* The right to vote on the committee for the Eastercon in two year's time
* The thanks of the convention committee :-)

## How much does it cost to join?

Currently (2009) an Eastercon full weekend membership costs around £50(GBP) ... slightly cheaper if you join two years ahead, more expensive if you just show up and join on the day (on the door).

There are usually discounts for unwaged (students, pensioners, disabled, unemployed, non-wage earners etc.), as well as cheaper rates for children. Each convention decides what age range they consider to be children.

Most Eastercons also offer the opportunity of joining for just one day, at a reduced price (though it is usually nearly as cheap to join for the whole weekend two years in advance as it is to join for one day on the door).

## Why does it cost so much/little?

In the normal run of things, the Eastercon for a particular year is selected two years before at the Eastercon that year. The people running the Eastercon don't know how many people will become members ("join the convention") so they can't accurately predict the total income ... but they have to guess and then hope enough people join to cover the costs. So to encourage people to join early, they set a low membership rate to start with, and then increase it every six months or so until joining the convention on the weekend is the most expensive.

See Budget if you are curious about where all the money goes :-)

But basically the main costs of a convention are:

* Site
* Tech (lighting, sound, video etc.)
* Guests (flights and accommodation)
* Publications
* Other running costs (stationery, postage, membership badges etc.)

No-one in the running organisation gets paid to do it, we are all volunteers, and pay for our own hotel rooms and our own memberships, just like you. So why do we do it? Because we enjoy doing it!

If you figured out the number of hours worked before the convention, and the number of volunteers working many hours \*at\* the convention, and paid them minimum wage for that work, your membership rate would probably be at least double!
Contact details

Eastercon organisers will send and receive thousands of message during the convention planning, but still many important things will be missed and people will feel ignored, such is the nature of distributed, amateur, con planning. No convention has tried implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system yet, most just advertise a range of email addresses for public access, and a set of internal email discussion groups, and hope.

Mancunicon Contacts from their website.
Charter

The term "Eastercon Charter" has been used for the discussion about whether there should be written rules for running an Eastercon.

There is no Eastercon Charter.

There is an Eastercon trademark which is the only tool we have to restrict who calls their event an Eastercon.

And there's an expectation that an Eastercon will hold the bid session for the Eastercon two years later (and potentially the vote for the convention one year later if necessary because there were no bids the previous year).

After that an Eastercon is pretty much free to decide what they want to do, though of course there is an expectation that they will run a convention that celebrates the rich diversity of SF fandom (books, TV, films, comics etc.) and will probably include most of the "usual" features such as an Art Show, Dealers Room, Guests, a bar, Masquerade, panels, talks, science items, silly items and will be held over the Easter weekend somewhere in the UK.

But as there are no rules, if an Eastercon bid wanted to propose running the convention in Dublin, in May, and with no bar ... then they are free to do so (but would \*not\* win the bid!) ... and if an Eastercon committee decided to change things too much, then there would be a lot of unhappy people and possibly people would set up an alternative convention and the trademark holder might withdraw the right to use the name Eastercon.

Nevertheless, every few years people gather to decide whether to create an Eastercon Charter ... and every time it's voted down.

Note that there is currently a website and discussion on the future of Eastercons at http://eastercon.wordpress.com (IA)
Committee

The Committee (or Convention Committee) are the core group of organisers who have agreed to run this convention and who are financially liable if the convention makes a loss.

It's usually a core group of around 6 to 8 people, plus there will often be deputies, committee assistants etc. and department heads at the next level of management.

The committee usually consists of jobs such as:

* Chair - ultimately responsible for the convention, pulling a committee together and making sure everyone is getting their jobs done
* Treasurer/Finance - keeps an eye on expenditure, says "no", watches the budget and has the chequebook/online bank account access codes
* Membership/Registration - responsible for getting people to join the convention and keeping their details safe but available. Responsible for making sure everyone gets a membership badge, publications and can book a hotel room.
* Site/Hotel - responsible for talking to the venue and getting them to drop the bar prices and let us party all night!
* Programme - responsible for the activities that happen over the weekend
* Operations - responsible for making sure the con runs smoothly over the weekend

And then there are other jobs that can be committee or can report to one of the committee jobs above, such as:

* Guest Liaison
* Tech
* Disabled Access
* Convention support services (computers etc.)
* Publicity/Promotions/Press
* Merchandise
* Website

and a whole bunch more ... see Departments
Tech

Tech are responsible for, wait for it, the "tech" at conventions :-) .. this includes all the lighting, sound and pretty much anything with a plug on it aside from computers, and the art show lighting

## Sound

Tech are responsible for setting up PA (Public Address) systems in rooms that need it. And for making sure the microphones work, that the amp is switched on and connected to everything, and that there's someone at the sounddesk to twiddle knobs and slide sliders!

Tech may also be responsible for ensuring there is some sort of playback device, such as a CD player or iPod dock, for panels/items that need it.

In general, a room of up to 50 people probably doesn't need microphones and PA equipment, unless items are being recorded, or there's a particularly quiet speaker, or they need the PA for music or playback of audio (such as in a video room, or for video conferencing, or recorded presentations).

## Lighting

Very few rooms (usually just the main hall) get lighting. Again tech are responsible for setting it up, tearing it down, and lighting the various events in the main hall.

## Audio/Visual

Tech are also responsible for video projection, DVD players, TV screens, MP3 playing, hooking up laptops to video projectors etc.

## Disco/Band

And if there's a disco and it doesn't bring its own lighting/PA, then tech have to assist with that.

## Convention Radio System

Tech are responsible for ordering and setting up (and taking down and returning) the hand-held walkie-talkies used by the convention organisers, Ops, Gophers/Stewards and anyone else. These radios are also known as "wallyphones" (short for walkie-talkie-telephone, and also because you look foolish talking "to yourself" when you've got one) In the UK we usually hire them from http://www.mwc.co.uk (IA) because they give us a good price, and because they come with a licence to use them in the area of the con, their own battery chargers, headsets etc. and are sufficiently rugged and reliable. We've looked at other options and everytime we come back to hiring them in.
Doc Weir

The Doc Weir Award is voted on by attendees at the Eastercon and is presented to a fan who has worked hard "behind the scenes" at conventions or other fannish activity and deserves to be recognised and appreciated for the work they have done.

The award consists of a silver cup (which must be returned the following year) and a certificate (if someone remembers to create one!)

The cup is engraved with the names of the previous winners, and in fine fannish tradition, it is up to each year's winner to have their own name engraved at their own cost!

More information can be found on the eFanzines Doc Weir Page
Grenadine

Grenadine is a suite of convention programming planning software often used for Eastercons. It is commercially developed by a fan, Henry Balen, but he kindly offers a free version or reduced price version to conventions. Accessed through a web interface it allows programme scheduling, mailshots, questionnaires, and can publish to paper, a website or a Android/IOS app.

More details from events.grenadine.co
Dead Dog Party

A "party" held on the last day of the convention after the convention has officially ended. There is rarely any programming or supplies from the convention provided for this "party", people are expected to bring along whatever left-over food/drink they've still got that they are not taking home, and otherwise to buy drink from the hotel bar and just unwind and relax.

There are various opinions on the reason for the name, but I'm sure you can use Google if you're interesed :-)

After the convention is "officially" over (the closing ceremony has happened, the metaphorical baton passed on to the next year's convention etc.) a number of fans are still around the convention hotel/site for the rest of the evening. It is traditional for the organising committee of that year's Eastercon to suggest a place for the remaining fans to meet up and socialise. Usually a function room or one of the hotel bars.

A lot of fans go home on the Monday afternoon/evening, but as many as 30% of the membership may stay the extra night (or at least later into the evening on the Monday). Some committees have provided snacks or drinks (usually if they are left over from the convention, though occasionally money will be spent on providing additional refreshments if the convention has cash left), others have provided some sort of video presentation (the masquerade, the play etc.) for those staff and committee that were too busy during the con to be able to attend those events.

The usual pattern for things is that the convention programme ends by around 5pm or so, then there is a quick clear up ("tear down") of all the tech equipment, posters, the various convention offices etc. and then many people go out to eat (including, usually, the committee for whom it will be the first, last and only time to sit down with the (remaining) guests). It is common to appoint a "Duty Committee Member" from the ranks of other convention committees or operations staff to handle the tear down and any crises that may occur while the committee is unwinding at the end of the convention they have worked so hard to provide. People drift back in from their meals at various times in the evening and meet up in the "Dead Dog Party" and sit and chat and relax. There is usually a bar nearby which, if possible, continues to sell drinks at the convention prices rather than the (usually higher) hotel prices.

## Auction

A lot of equipment and supplies are needed to run a convention. Some are hired in and returned, some are borrowed and returned. But some equipment and supplies are bought to use at the con and sometimes the leftovers are auctioned off at the end of the convention during the Dead Dog Party. This may include unused paper for the newsletter, coffee/tea supplies from Green Room, stationery from Ops, props for programme items etc.
Discussion

Individual Eastercon committees will have their own ways of providing discussion areas for convention members and potential members ... these usually include LiveJournal, Facebook, Twitter, perhaps a Yahoo or Google Group, maybe some bulletin board software etc. These will be listed on the website for each Eastercon.

There are various main online discussions going on regarding running Eastercons on Facebook (IA), LiveJournal (IA) and Yahoo Groups (IA)

(You don't have to be a Yahoo member to use the YahooGroup)
Reproducing old Eastercon publications

## Unjustified Worries

I (User:John) asked on the LJ eastercon community (IA) about the interest in putting old Eastercon publications (programme books, readmes, PRs) on this website. The results of the 2 threads (here (IA) and here (IA)) were:

* Not a great surge of interest. Those who would download them would be most interested in the programme, and searching would be useful.

* Concerns were raised about membership lists, both because they contained mistakes, but also exposed people to view beyond their fannish contract with the convention

* There are copyright issues with artwork and articles, for web publication might be beyond the original scope of consent.

* Souvenir book photos are owned by the photographer, not subject, but again people might be concerned about wider distribution

On a practical note, it would really need the original convention committee to provide updated PDFs which they would be happy to distribute. Its not practical for Eastercon.org to edit them and produce new files of publication quality, given all the software and font issues. Searching those PDFS might be hard unless you allowed Google to do it remotely, but that exposes the content rather too widely for some.

I have kept the Intersection (1995 Worldcon) science pages on my website, and perhaps twice have had requests for people to have their names changed or removed, either because they wanted a consistent online persona, or didn't want their students knowing they studied Klingon in their younger days. This kind of request would impose an ongoing burden of support on Eastercon.org and con committees which would be hard to satisfy.

As I was only prepared to do the work if it were trival, and it seems not to be, I don't plan to proceed.

## Major Progress

I came back to this working on Fancyclopedia (IA), and in practice committees are very happy to have their stuff there, so its full steam ahead, for PDFs at least. John Bray has scanned material for the Eastercons up to 1987, and put them on Fancyclopedia/Eastercon (IA). Thanks to Mark Plummer for lending the archives. Files from the last 10 years are also there.

## New Home for files

Scanning now up to 2018, files can be found at http://files.fancyclopedia.org/Eastercon (IA), not inside the wiki itself
PassAlong

Pass Along Funds

Budgeting for an Eastercon is a difficult thing, as many expenses happen over the course of the weekend, or in the short time before and after the convention, while money comes in over more than two years and is hard to predict accurately. And so a prudent Eastercon treasurer makes sure there's 5-10% of the budget that is available for last-minute emergencies ... so that could be in the region of £5,000.

If there are no emergencies, or more people join at the door/on the day, or some of the budgeted expenditure turns out to be cheaper than expected, then a surplus may be left in the accounts at the end of the convention, once all expenses have been paid, including any charity donations or other worthwhile projects that the committee decide to fund (like refurbishing the artshow display boards, or paying a sum towards the costs of running Eastercon.org and keeping the domain names registered (hint!).

One way of handling this surplus is to divide it up between the following two elected Eastercons, and so "pass it along". There is a custom that for an Eastercon to receive their share of that money, they have to promise to likewise pass along their surplus funds to future Eastercons.
Beyond Cyberdrome

Beyond Cyberdrome is an event created by SMS at Evolution, the 1996 Eastercon, and held annually ever since. It traditionally involves small robots made from scrap toys, Lego, and K'nex, competing to beat the crap out of each other over several rounds to win prizes like the Victor Cyberneticus and the Most Brilliantly Engineered.

Each year has a different theme, for example Pirates (Arrr!) or 2007, and the audience and participants will often be asked to dress appropriately. The aim is towards maximum participation and fun rather than technical excellence. It is not a rip-off of Robot Wars and participants aren't expected to spend lots of time and money building and perfecting their robots.

Since 1998, the Beyond Cyberdrome organisers have also run a workshop throughout the con loosely inspired by Chaos Costuming, where people can build robots under the guidance of experts to take part in the Beyond Cyberdrome event. The workshop has been variously known as the robotics workshop, BC workshop, chaos robotics, and the Susan Calvin Robotic Assembly Playroom (SCRAP for short).

Another spin-off from Beyond Cyberdrome are the Sprokettes, a team of gorgeous women (and the odd ugly bloke who manages to bribe his way past the selection committee), who act as Beyond Cyberdrome cheerleaders, or stage assistants, or something like that.

The official Beyond Cyberdrome web site with details of past events and how you can take part next year is at http://www.beyondcyberdrome.org.uk (IA)
8SquaredThoughts

Some quick notes taken during the Future of Eastercons panel at 8SquaredCon, plus some notes scribbled down during the con closedown.

See if any of the previous ConComCon or SmofCons have any useful publications available. Dig out the Eagle book of conrunning, the Mad Three Party, the Nessie stuff from 1995 etc. to see what can be gleaned from there.

Interview people to get articles for the Wiki ... don't just ask someone in, say, publications to write a guide to PRs ... sit down with someone, interview them, and write it up.

If you are taking on a job for a future convention, ind a current specialist, buy them a beer, get them to tell you what they learned.

Develop feedback channels from one Eastercon to the next, to pass on warnings, comments, good ideas etc. (most of those should be captured, hopefully here, but there may be some private things that need to be communicated that shouldn't be made public ... such as allegations of impropriety or inappropriate behaviour by an attendee)

Discuss online payments and capture the problems people have had, and seek better solutions.

Tech briefing/tech training.

Any solution that we write down here will be true for one convention, at one venue, in one year ... so try to write open articles that ask the correct questions and give advice, and not tell people "you must do it \*this\* way".

The big issues with convention organisation include: Communication, Continuity, Resilience, Money

There's been investigation into the financial set up of Eastercons ... the pros and cons of limited companies, charities etc.

A good model for producing future conrunners is to think about guilds and apprenticeships.

We need lists of things for what happens in the closing ceremony etc.

Convention close down thoughts: what happens to stuff bought for use at con but not needed afterwards (furniture, extension leads, spare printer cartridges, gaffer tape etc.), what time do groats end? How do dealers cash in groats? Clearing down posters etc. (and who is responsible for any wall damage caused by the wrong fixing method), what to do with leftover beer or other party supplies, unclaimed art, where does the lost property go and who looks after it?

Need to think more about maps and signage.

Need to think more about electronic schedules etc.

Some of this stuff is Eastercon specific, but much of it is generally useful to conrunners, so do we want to duplicate stuff that's already out there on other sites? For example the The ConRunner's Wiki
Departments

The structure of an Eastercon can vary from year to year, but here is a common way of dividing up the work

* Chair
* Hotel/Site
* Programme
	+ Green Room
	+ Masquerade
	+ Video Programme
	+ Childrens Programme
	+ Filk
* Guests
* Ops
	+ Tech
	+ Logistics
	+ Gophers / Stewards / Security
* Art Show
	+ Art Auction
* Dealers Room
* Gaming
* Finance
* Membership
	+ Registration
	+ Member communications including Website, Yahoo Groups, LiveJournal etc.
* Publications
	+ Progress Reports
	+ Newsletter
* Publicity
	+ Press
Eastercon2014

Satellite4 won the bid for the 2014 Eastercon unopposed, and held it in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow

Guests were: John Meaney, Juliet E McKenna, Jim Burns, Alice and Steve Lawson, Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and Special Guest Sir Terry Pratchett (limited appearance, subject to health).

Fancyclopedia entry
Chair

The person who, ultimately, is responsible for causing the convention to happen.

Probably could do with some more text here ... luckily it's a Wiki, so someone should be along shortly to expand this article

In recent years it has become very common to have co-chairs, each of whom are responsible for areas of the convention.
Mancunicon Contacts

Mancunicon set up a range of methods for contacting the convention, from their web page (X=mancunicon.org.uk)

## E-mail

You can contact the Mancunicon team by e-mail:

```
Access:        access@X
Art Show:      artshow@X
Chair:         chair@X
Childcare:     childcare@X
Dealers:       dealers@X
Hotel liaison: hotel@X
Membership:    membership@X
Newsletter:    newsletter@X
Programme:     programme@X
Publications and communications: communications@X
Treasurer:     treasurer@X
Volunteering:  volunteers@X
Web site:      webmaster@X

```

If you’re not sure who to contact, or none of the above fits what you need, contact us at enquiries@X, and we’ll make sure that your message reaches the right person.

## Social media

You can also contact us on Facebook and Twitter:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mancunicon

Twitter: @mancunicon

And don’t forget to follow us, too.

## Post

If you need to contact Mancunicon by post, our address is:

Removed
Eastercon2018

Follycon won the bid in 2016 for Eastercon 2018, unopposed, and was held at the Majestic Hotel, Harrogate. The name was a homage to a previous Eastercon, Follycon, also held with April Fool's Day on the Sunday, 30 years before in 1988.  GoH were Kieron Gillen, Christina Lake, Nnedi Okorafor, and Kim Stanley Robinson.

Committee: Michael Abbott, Liz Batty, Steve Davies, Kari, Alice Lawson, Caroline Mullan, Phil Nanson, Alison Scott, and Paul Taylor

Fancyclopedia page
WorkInProgress

# Stuff to Do / Work in Progress

## Articles that need to be written

* How to tech an Eastercon
* Negotiating a hotel contract
* Gender parity
* Appropriate behaviour policy
* etc.

## Articles that need to be expanded

* most articles

* Art Show ... particularly the financials, software, organising the auction, shipping, display costs, print sales, international artists etc.

## Anything else

We need a good discussion forum, either directly here, or linked to/from here. I believe Juliet McKenna may have volunteered to get one running ...
Alex McLintock has offered to search for something appropriate this weekend.

 Ideas brought up at 8SquaredCon
Mancunicon Dealers Room

This is what Mancunicon put on their Dealers Room web page

## Dealers’ Room

This year the dealers will be located in two rooms on the first floor of the hotel: Deansgate, and the combined Meeting Room 2-4. Fan tables will be outside the meeting room.

Opening times will be:

```
Friday: 14:00 – 18:00
Saturday: 10:00 – 18:00
Sunday: 10:00 – 18:00
Monday: 10:00 – 15:00

```

All capacity for both the Dealers’ Room and Fan Table area has been allotted. If you have any queries please contact: X

The dealers appearing at Mancunicon are:

removed
ReadMe

The ReadMe is also known as the **Pocket Programme**. Some conventions divide the ReadMe into the **ReadMe Inside** and the **ReadMe Outside**.

For example here is the Mancunicon Readme (with some details removed)

## Contents (ReadMe Inside)

### A Welcome From The Chair

Saying "Hello, welcome, enjoy yourselves, don't break the hotel" or something similar

### Schedule

The ReadMe usually includes the Programme Schedule Grids, showing what is on and where. It often also includes short descriptions of the programme items.

### Policies

The smoking policy, the weapons policy, the photography and recording policies and other "rules" of the convention

### Bar and Food Times/Prices

A list of the opening hours for the hotel bars and restaurant

### Advertisements

For other cons, or from companies helping to pay for the ReadMe

## Contents (ReadMe Outside)

If there is only one ReadMe then it combines the Inside and Outside pages into a single guide.

### Address of Hotel/Site

It is useful to have the hotel's address and phone number in the ReadMe outside in case you are at a restaurant late in the evening and you need to tell the taxi driver where to take you.

### Map of local area

A map, preferably with a legend and markers showing where important things are nearby. Things like restaurants, shops, cashpoints/ATMs, churches, hospitals, railway stations and parking.

### Restaurant List

Name, location, price, review for a number of restaurants and cafes near the convention site.

### Shops List

Important local shops, such as supermarkets, chemists, sewing supplies, bookshops etc.

### Anything Else of Interest

Monuments, churches, Science Fiction related locations etc.
Eastercon2011

Illustrious 2011 was held at the Birmingham NEC Hilton Metropole, site of the 1987 Eastercon, Beccon '87, and the 2008 and 2008 DiscWorld Conventions

Illustrious, the 62nd Eastercon: 22nd - 25th April 2011
The Hilton Metropole, NEC, Birmingham, UK

Guests of Honour:

* David Weber
* Peter F. Hamilton
* David A. Hardy
* Roz Kaveney
* Vince Docherty

Committee

* Nik Whitehead - Chair
* Fran & John Dowd - Finance & Membership team
* John Harold - Services
* Richard Cranshaw - Hotel Liaison
* Liam Proven - Programme

Fancyclopedia entry
Moderating

Panel items on the programme tend to have moderators assigned to control their structure. The should be send a summary of their duties in advance, something like this

## Before the panel

Feel free to start a discussion of the panel by email before the con to make sure you are all on the same page. The email addresses for your fellow panellists are in your schedule.

Please ensure all panellists know why they are on the panel.

If any issues arise before the con, please contact programme@mancunicon.org.uk

Prepare some questions and talking points you can use to keep the panel going if discussion flags.

Come to the Green Room 15 minutes before your panel to meet your fellow panellists, check everything is going well, and collect your free drink.

## During the panel

There are reserved seats at the front of the room for those with hearing difficulties; please leave these free for a few minutes at the start of the panel so they are available to latecomers.

Introduce your panellists at the start, or ask them to introduce themselves briefly.

Ensure that all the panellists have a chance to speak – you may need to encourage shy panellists, or make sure that more confident panellists don’t leap in at every opportunity.

Remind your panellists to use any microphones provided, and to make sure their mouths are uncovered when talking so lipreaders can see them. If there are questions from audience members without microphones, please repeat them into the microphone so everyone can hear.

You can take audience questions from the start, or wait until partway through the panel, but make it clear at the start when you will be taking questions.

Keep an eye on the clock and make sure there is time to wrap up the panel. Allow 10 minute before the next item starts for the room to clear and refill

## Further reading for moderators

http://www.smofbabe.net/moderatortips.html (IA)

http://kith.org/logos/things/moderatortips.html (IA)

http://kate-nepveu.dreamwidth.org/902675.html (IA)
Thursday Meal

Eastercons typically run programme from the Friday through to the Monday.

However some people will be on-site from the Thursday to help set up, others will just show up the night before so they don't have to travel on Good Friday and so that they can socialise with friends and be ready for the start of the convention.

So a Thursday evening meal is often organised, where those who have been setting up the convention, and those who have arrived early can socialise. Often this is served buffet-style and each person is responsible for paying for their own meal and drinks.

It is also a good opportunity to grab people to help stuff Membership packs or help laminate Badges.
Logistics

Logistics has to do with the movement of equipment.

## Art Show Boards

The Art Show usually uses the Eastercon Art Show display boards, which are large sheets of pegboard/hardboard supported on frames of metal tubing and with clip on lighting systems. These are very heavy and awkward to move and require a large van or small truck to move them. Someone volunteers to look after them between Eastercons (and occasionally some or all are loaned to other conventions) so part of Logistics job is finding who has them and then arranging them to be transported to the convention, unloaded, assembled, dismantled with any damage recorded, replacement equipment ordered, loaded and transported to the storage location(s), checked for missing or damaged items and then it all starts for the next convention.

NOTE: consider using contractors to load, transport and assemble the artshow as the volunteers who have been doing this for years are now in their late 60s, if not 70s, while contractors will cost money they will be quicker and complain less and the convention will have a duty of care towards volunteers for their health and safety.

## Ops Equipment

Ops usually brings a few boxes of stationery and other supplies, plus computers, printers, laminators and other essential material. These need to be moved to and from the convention

## Registration Equipment and Publications

The ReadMe, Programme/Souvenir Book, other items for con packs, badges, lanyards, computers, printers, laminators or badge machines etc. have to be collected and taken to the convention, and that which is not distributed must be returned afterwards

## Tech Equipment

Usually the majority of the tech equipment is hired and delivered directly to the hotel/site. But some may be borrowed from fans and need to be collected, taken to the convention and returned afterwards.

## Furniture

Depending on the site, there may be a necessity to bring along extra soft furnishings and other furniture.

If sourcing furniture to then dispose of at the end of con ensure that you collect 'fire tags' and have plan B if you cant dispose of the items e.g. give away!

## Other Stuff

Anything from Chaos Costuming's sewing machines and tailor's dummies, to an exhibition of early convention t-shirts, or even a supply of real ale for the bar ...

## Waster Disposal

Consider having a recycling agreement with the hotel or convention centre.

Check with the hotel when planning the convention the hotel are content for the skips/waste disposal routes to be used. Confirm the can live with printers, metals and other items to be disposed of by them. Its not a given they will!
Art Auction

At the Eastercon there is an Art Show, which is a place for artists (amateur and professional) to display artwork, some of which may be for sale.

The usual method of selling art from the art show is by auction.

## Two phases of the auction

### Written bids in the art show

Next to each piece of art in the art show is a bid sheet, which lists the title, the artist and usually the medium (e.g. oils, computer print, clay model, stained glass etc.). If the bidsheet has "NFS" written on it, it means the item is **N**ot **F**or **S**ale. Otherwise there's usually a start price, and perhaps a "Buy it now" price.

Write your name, your badge number, and your bid amount on the first empty line. If someone wants to bid more they write their name, number and amount below you ... if the form fills up, then the artwork goes to the Art Auction Voice Auction. This can continue until the form is full, or until the Art Show closes, usually around midday Sunday (just after the Bid Session).

When the Art Show closes on Sunday, if the bid sheet hasn't filled up, then it is at the discretion of the Art Show organiser whether it automatically sells to the last written (highest written) bid, or whether it should go to the voice auction anyway.

### Voice Auction

Each piece of art is displayed and the highest written bid is announced ... if no one bids any higher, then the item sells to that last bidder at their written bid price. If someone in the room wants to bid higher then the auctioneer will continue to coax out bids until the highest possible price is found, and then it sells to the winning bidder.
The winning bidder is usually asked their name and their badge number, and those, along with the bid amount, are recorded by the Auction administrator/assistant for settling up afterwards.
If there are no bids on the bid sheet, and no-one bids in the room, then the item does not sell and is returned to the artist.

## Paying for your auction wins

Money is not collected during the auction but instead a time is announced (usually at least 30 minutes after the end of the Art Auction) for people to return to the Art Show room (or similar). If you have won the auction for one or more items, then when you arrive at that time/place you'll be told the total of your winning purchases, your money to be taken and you can collect your newly purchased artwork. Sometimes the convention provides bubblewrap and tape, sometimes it is entirely down to you to find packing material.

## Unsold Art Show Items

If you are interested in buying an item that didn't sell in the auction, contact the artist directly and make them an offer.

## Notes to Artists

The convention will usually charge you either a hanging fee or a percentage of your sales (e.g. 10%) towards convention expenses. Once all payments have been received at the end of the Art Auction, the organiser (or their bookkeeper) will usually issue you with a cheque or cash for the amount of your sales minus any percentage towards the con. You are also responsible for collecting and removing any unsold artwork.
Red's Pages

## Student

```
__NOTOC__
__Noeditsection__
{{Backdrop
}}
<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">NAME</font></center><br /><br />
TOP GIF/BORDER<br /><br />
<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">This character is owned by [[User:The Highland Lady|<font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC" color="Text Colour">Thistle</font>]]</font></center><br /><br />
{{LittleRedCrazyHood/Student Infobox
}}
==<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">Personality</font></center>==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="View" data-collapsetext="Close" style="width:100%">
PERSONALITY
</div>
==<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">History</font></center>==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="View" data-collapsetext="Close" style="width:100%">
HISTORY
</div>
==<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">Appearance</font></center>==
APPEARANCE
==<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">Relationships</font></center>==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="View" data-collapsetext="Close" style="width:100%">
<tabber>

</tabber>
</div>
==<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">Trivia</font></center>==
TRIVIA
END GIF/BORDER

```

## Adults

```
__NOTOC__
__Noeditsection__
{{Backdrop
}}
<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">NAME</font></center><br /><br />
TOP GIF/BORDER<br /><br />
<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">This character is owned by [[User:The Highland Lady|<font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC" color="Text Colour">Thistle</font>]]</font></center><br /><br />
{{LittleRedCrazyHood/Student Infobox
}}
==<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">Personality</font></center>==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="View" data-collapsetext="Close" style="width:100%">
PERSONALITY
</div>
==<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">History</font></center>==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="View" data-collapsetext="Close" style="width:100%">
HISTORY
</div>
==<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">Appearance</font></center>==
APPEARANCE
==<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">Relationships</font></center>==
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="View" data-collapsetext="Close" style="width:100%">
<tabber>

</tabber>
</div>
==<center><font size="6" face="Edwardian Script ITC">Trivia</font></center>==
TRIVIA
END GIF/BORDER

```
Publications

The Eastercon produces a number of "publications"; things that are sent out to all or some of the members but are indentical in content (like a newsletter) rather than individual letters.

## Progress Reports

An Eastercon typically produces five Progress Reports, see the Timeline for more details of when each comes out.

### Progress Report Zero

This is distributed as soon as the convention wins the bid. It contains details of the membership rates, the name of the hotel/site, the names of the Guests, contact information for the convention and any other information that the Committee want to publicise at this point.

### Progress Report One

Basically this comes out over a year before the convention, and usually contains some biographical information on the Guests, perhaps some more thoughts about the convention's Theme or philosophy and perhaps some information about competitions and such. It's main purpose is to let you know that the committee is still there and the convention is still going ahead.

### Progress Report Two

Comes out a year before the convention and starts to have information about specific programme items and streams. It also usually includes the hotel booking forms and volunteer forms.

### Progress Report Three

Comes out a few months before the convention and is now looking for people to help with specific areas and includes articles on any major events at the con you may want to prepare for (writers workshops, robotics, Masquerade etc.)

### Progress Report Four

A small publication, maybe six weeks before the convention, that tells you how to find the hotel, anything you need to bring with you and sometimes includes information on the label of the envelope (such as which nights you're booked for, and your membership number) which will be useful to have with you when you arrive at the convention.

## At-Con Publications

This may include a ReadMe, a Programme or Souvenir Book, a Newsletter plus various things like Doc Weir voting forms, hall costume tokens and other general publications.

## Post-Con Publications

In recent years it has become more common for conventions to print their Souvenir Book after the convention, and fill it with photographs and conreports of the convention.
Gaming

Eastercons usually have a games room, where board games, card games, role-playing games and other games are played througout the day and late into the night.

## What sort of games are played?

Could be anything from card games like Munchkin and Werewolf, through to standard role-playing games. And usually you are very welcome to bring your own games (commercial or home-made) with you as well.

## What is the structure of the games room?

Typically there's a room with a number of tables with chairs, and a big stack of boxed games in the corner. There's a whiteboard/flipchart with the names and times of games that people are planning to run and a chance to signup for them ... but there's also people starting short games or looking for additional/replacement players, so just drop in when you can and you'll often find a game to join.
Signage

The various signs, produced by the convention, put up around the convention. Not any other posters or silliness perpetrated by the membership!

Usually this is a sub-division under Ops, quite often down to one person to create the style and basic stack of signs. There will always be requirements for new signs/signage \*at\* the convention, especially for Programme.

## What sort of signs?

* Directional ("This way to Ops")
* Locational ("This is the Main Hall")
* Information ("Registration opens at 10am")
* Instuctional ("Please turn off your mobile phones")
* Silly ("You are here" without any attached map! Or "Beware of the grue")
* Programme ("what is on in this room today", "this item has been rescheduled", "no under 18s allowed", "Room Full" etc.)
* Others (can't think of others off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are some!)

## What is important in signs?

* Clear
* Unambiguous
* Obvious that they are "official" (so convention logo/branding, consistent design etc.)
* Big enough
* Not so many it is confusing!
Con Suite

There is no Con Suite at the Eastercon

At many US conventions, included in your membership price, is access to a room with free soft drinks and crisps/pretzels/munchies (and depending on the convention it may include beer and "proper food" such as cold cuts of meat, cheese, soup, pizza etc.

This does not happen at UK conventions for several reasons, among which are:
- price
- hotel "corkage" rates (the amount that a hotel will charge us for bringing in our own food and drink)
- the existence of the bar
- and the fear of stampede, grin!

Price is the main reason (and since it has never been a UK tradition people don't miss it). In the US food can be bought in catering sizes for very low prices, similarly soft drinks etc. In the UK prices are at least double if not more, and then once a hotel has loaded on their corkage surcharge it becomes economically unfeasible.
George Hay Memorial Lecture

The *George Hay Memorial Lecture* is provided to an Eastercon by the Science Fiction Foundation who provide a speaker and pay for her/his expenses in coming to the con. It's a serious scientific talk about some area of science that may be of interest to the Eastercon membership.

See their website for more information
Kipling

## Background

I was born in a litter which was unremarkable in every sense. My mother was a domestic servant. She cleaned floors, bedpans, and cooked meals. My father liked to kill things...mice, birds and especially squirrels. I believe it was mostly out of boredom. I have a rapier that I don't know how to use like any proper warrior. It was jeweled, ornate, and made from the finest steel money can buy. I stole it from a squire who is the son of a respected noble lord. He insulted a shoemaker for not bowing to him as he passed. At that point, I felt like taking something from him. He was a careless, spoiled brat. A toddler could have taken that rapier from him. Hopefully his father beat him for losing it...I removed the jewels to prevent others from being tempted from stealing it from me. I used the proceeds to pay off one of my many gambling debts. A couple years ago, I stole some navigational charts from a well-renowned sea captain. Capture of his maps earned me a small fortune. Two weeks after the captain set sail and his ship capsized. All hands were lost. I gambled and lost all the winnings on a game I had not even played before. Now I owe money to more people that I even know. I do what I do because it's the only thing I'm good at.

## Quests

Arrest and Arraignment

Harran's Tower *(Pt. 2)*