The Bay Area Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention
May 28-31, 2010
The Hyatt Regency, Santa Clara, CA

Programming

Programming for BayCon 2010 has been a real roller coaster so far- but buckle up, and hold on tight- because we're prepared to take you on a ride you'd never expect! It's an Adventure!

• Programming Schedule
• Special Opportunites with the GoHs
• Highlights
• Masquerade Info
• Nightly Themes
• Special Focus: Klingon Slave Auction
• Confirmed Guests
• A Special Treat from Our Friends at BBC America
• Writers Workshop
• Iron Editors

Programming Schedule

The 5/15 draft of the schedule is now available. Please note that this schedule will change up to and even during the convention

[back to top]

Special Opportunities with this year's Guests of Honor

Manuscript Editing Master Class with Author Guest of Honor Peter S. Beagle
Out of the many manuscripts submitted to be a part of our Writer's Workshop this year, a random selection will be given the opportunity to have a special edit and critique session with Author Guest of Honor Peter Beagle himself! This is a rare and special opportunity to have your fledgling work looked over by a master of the craft. Look for more details on the Writer's Workshop page of the BayCon website soon. All entrants into the Writer's Workshop will be considered, if interested, and you must submit to Writer's Workshop to be entered in the drawing for this master class.

Portfolio Critique with Artist Guest of Honor Lee Moyer
Lee Moyer has been in the industry of making and selling his art for over 20 years. With a strong background in Illustration, game design, corporate packaging, and comics, Lee is offering an opportunity for a small number of BayCon members to bring their portfolios to the convention, and he will personally critique and give advice to the artist. Sign-ups for this event will be prior to the event, so make sure to have your portfolio in order and with you at the convention, and e-mail Programming10@baycon.org to put your name on the list!
First come, first served, with a waiting list to be specified before the convention starts.

Late-Night Story Time with Aunt Misty and Uncle Larry
Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon will be hosting a late-night session of storytelling and sharing, so get your comfy PJs on, bring down your slippers and a pillow to sit on, and enjoy getting to share a casual, intimate setting with this year's Special Guests of Honor!

[back to top]

Highlights

Some of the various highlights and things to look forward to in this year's "Adventures":

How to Make a Movie, part Three!
This fabulously popular series of panels, in which participants brainstorm, script, cast and film a movie during the course of the weekend is back for it's third consecutive year! Be part of the process of creating your own piece of fannish cinema! Workshops start on Friday, and happen every day of the convention, and don't be surprised if you see folks with cameras, filming scripted scenes!

Birds of Prey - Bigger and Better!
Last year's introduction to the live falcon and kestrel was a standing-room-only hit. This year, we've moved them up to the Grand Ballroom, and brought many, many more raptors for you to see, and learn about! Members of West Coast Falconry will be on site with their companion birds, giving you an inside view to what it's really like to have such a majestic and enigmatic creature in your life.

The Wonders of Wonderflex!
Ever seen some of the amazing constructed costume pieces wandering around the convention, and thought to yourself "how DID they get their hands on that exact style of helmet?" Two of our most inventive and detail-oriented costumers, Mette Hedin and Bryan Little, will be giving a demonstration on that little-known material that helps to make the wonders happen- Wonderflex!

GeekFight!SF
Ever wondered why Pub Quizzes all focus on topics like sports and celebrities? What about the vast amounts of geek trivia to be mined? Never fear- GeekFight!SF is here! Our content is all drawn from geek culture, with a focus on television, movies, gaming, etc from such places as Battlestar Galactica, WOW and Dr Who to mention a few. We currently host the event at Moon's Family Sports Pub in downtown San Mateo on the first Thursday of every month. Look for GeekFight!SF to bring their Fan-centric pub quiz stylings to the Gaming Room at BayCon!

Chain Mail Workshops
Expanded and continued! Last year, the Chain Mail for Beginners workshop was a sold out success. This year, Chain mail aficionado Renee Ritchie is back, with another class in Chain Mail for Beginners (with room for more participants), and an Intermediate class, teaching more advanced techniques and popularjewelry-making styles! Class starter kits will be available in limited number, for a small cost for the material included in the kit for you to use and take home after the class!

Black Holes and Time Machines, with Andrew Fraknoi!
Recognized for his regular appearances on Bay Area Talk radio, Andrew Fraknoi is an astronomer and educator known for his skill in interpreting astronomical ideas in everyday language. BayCon is happy to have him with us this year, as he gives a talk on Black Holes, Space Warps, Time Machines, and the Excruciating Death of Stars.

BayCon Favorites Abound!
There are the things we know you look forward to all year- and they're here! Regency Dancing, A Shot Rang Out, the Belly Jam, The Eye of Argon, BayCon Cryogenic Culinary Academy, the Klingon Slave Auction, Sunday Night 80's Dance, Charity and Art Auctions, Filk concerts, Readings and Autographs- we've got it! Keep checking the website as more and more updates and news can made available every day!

[back to top]

Masquerade

The masquerade will be changing to what the BayCon Masquerade used to look like. It's won't be as flashy as recent years, but also not as time-intensive for the folks entering. It doesn't have as much stage time, but it will provide everyone with a better opportunity to see people's wonderful costume creations up close, and in all their glory. There's no venue for big, theatrical presentations- but it's also not as daunting or intimidating for the first-time costumer who typically just likes to wear their outfits while roaming the halls. There are positives and negatives, both ways- but we're hoping the focus will still be on what's important, which is giving the amazing Costumers who attend BayCon an opportunity to show off their imagination, innovation, and talent, and to allow the costume enthusiasts to show those costumers who enter just how much their work is enjoyed!

This year, anyone interested in presenting for judging at the masquerade Ball will be asked to show up at 6 PM at the Green Room off the Grand Ballrooms, where you will be given your number, have your name and costume title taken down, and meet with the judges if you wish to have your work included in the Workmanship category. During this time, you will also have the opportunity to have professional photos of your costume taken. We will not have specific entry lighting or sound cues this year- there will be appropriate mood music playing during the contest.

At 8 PM, the Masquerade Ball will begin, and we will have a Costumer's Promenade, where all entrants will make a circuit of the room, pausing at the fan photo area, and then stopping to make a flourish or brief introduction of your costume piece at the Judge's Table. When the Promenade is finished, the entrants will be free to circulate in the room, allowing people attending the Masquerade to see their costumes from an up-close vantage point, and giving the judges ample opportunity to watch as you present your costume and the character it portrays. All entrants will be required to be available at the Masquerade until Awards are given, which is planned to happen at 10 PM. Youth awards will be given earlier in the evening, allowing our young contestants to enjoy the evening without overtaxing theirfaculties.

After the awards have been announced, the Toastmaster will turn the evening over to the revelry of the Ball, and everyone is encouraged to mingle, drink, dance, and enjoy themselves! Tasty treats will be available in the Masquerade Foyer room once the awards have been announced and the Ball begins.

For those of you interested in attending the Masquerade to watch- the Foyer and Bar will be open before the Masquerade starts like last year, and seating in the Masquerade Ballroom will be at round tables, instead of theatre-style, with an open dance floor, to encourage mingling and viewing of the costumes.

Available Awards for the Masquerade will be in the Class Categories of Novice, Professional, and Open. There will be a Workmanship award, and a Presentation award. There will also be a Best Thematic Award, Youth Awards, and the Best In Show award.

The theme of the BayCon 2010 Masquerade Ball is "Anti-Heroes and Villains". Who watches the Watchmen? How dark is the Dark Knight? Can you do very bad things, and still be a Good Guy? Tonight is the night we celebrate all those heroes with a dark side that we adore, and the villains we love to hate. Sin City, Watchmen, Dark Knight, Han Solo, The Punisher, V and his vendetta- you know the score. And then there are the right-out Baddies, the Sith and the Sinister. You hate them, but they draw you back, time and time again! Come join us Saturday night, and Celebrate the Dark!

[back to top]

Nightly Themes for BayCon 2010: It's an Adventure!

Celebrating all there is to be celebrated in the Golden Age of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Comics is no mean feat! Join us each night of the convention as we give spotlight to certain aspects of this year's Convention theme!

Friday Night - "Meet the Guests? No, MING the Guests!"

Join the ChairMING, Robert Toland, in his Reception Hall for MING the Guests at 8 PM, in the Grand Ballrooms. Don your finest attire, and join us on Mongo! Whether you represent the Ice Kingdom of Frigia, or the Forest Kingdom of Arboria; if you travel from the Flying City of the Hawkmen with Prince Vultan, or the savage jungles of Tropica, all are welcome! Come meet and MINGle with the Guests of Honor at his Majesty's first night of revelry, celebrating, well.... BayCon!

Stick around the Grand Ballrooms after Meet the Guests for the Charity Casino, supporting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and the return of last year's break-out Friday Night Hit - BayCon Karaoke! Bruce of KoR Karaoke returns with his amazing catalog of over 10,000 songs for everyone's vocal stylings! Take a spin with Lady Luck- come on, it's for charity - then grab the mic and belt out your favorite tunes all night long!

Saturday Night - "Anti-Heroes and Villains"

The theme of the BayCon 2010 Masquerade Ball is "Anti-Heroes and Villains". Who watches the Watchmen? How dark is the Dark Knight? Can you do very bad things, and still be a Good Guy? Tonight is the night we celebrate all those heroes with a dark side that we adore, and the villains we love to hate. Sin City, Watchmen, Dark Knight, Han Solo, The Punisher, V and his vendetta- you know the score. And then there are the right-out Baddies, the Sith and the Sinister. You hate them, but they draw you back, time and time again! Come join us Saturday night, and Celebrate the Dark! BayCon's very own DJ Neshemah will be spinning her special blend of darkwave, goth and industrial music to tantalize your dark side!

Sunday Night - "We Could Be Heroes"

As we come to the end of our weekend, we revel in the triumph of Good over Evil, and celebrate the Heroes within us all! Deck yourselves out as your favorite Superhero, or in your finest 80's flash and glitter, and come dance the night away to the sounds of the decade that made us believe that the Greatest American Hero could be a normal, hometown guy. When all is said and done- it's the Heroes that make the day! Bruce of KoR Karaoke and DJ Neshemah will be working to bring you the very best of the Decade of Decadence in 80's dance music and cult favorites!

[back to top]

Special Focus: Klingon Slave Auction

Saturday night, in the Cypress Room (near the top of the stairs on the second floor)
Doors open at 10:00 pm, Auction starts 10:30 pm.
18 and over, please.

For more information, visit "The Black Hole" (on the Party Floor) - a Klingon recreational outpost featuring the finest in exotic intoxicants this side of the galaxy. Tales of Spices, Slaves, Ships and weapons of all kinds, are served alongside all legal beverages.

Klingon Blood Wine, Phaser Shots, Romulan Ale and the ever popular Warp Core Coolant are featured - and if you are unlucky enough, some Klingon Opera!

The specialty of the house is REVENGE 0 "A drink best served COLD"

All proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation

[back to top]

Confirmed Guests

[back to top]

A Special Treat from Our Friends at BBC America

BBC America has kindly allowed us to share some special clips from Dr. Who.

[back to top]