by Rhed Morgan | Jan 9, 2025 | Uncategorized
Calling all cosplay groups who love ConSuite!
Do you have an amazing group costume idea you just don’t know how to show off? Do you want the con to come to you and marvel at your creativity and skill? Do you want to give back to our wonderful community?
Keep reading, because you can do all three at once!
Remember the Asha’maids, the incredible sensation from 2023?? We want to expand that fun experience in ConSuite for 2025 and provide our awesome cosplayers a new way to share their creations.
The ConSuite team is seeking groups of themed cosplayers to volunteer for a meal service during this year’s event. If this sounds like a good fit for you, please review the requirements below:
-
- Number of participants: Groups of 4-7 individuals wearing coordinating costumes
- Costume Requirements:
- No dangly bits or sleeves that could dip into food
- Must wear provided food service gloves (no nails or jewelry that would pierce/prevent gloves)
- Must tie long hair back
- Costume must not restrict ability to lift or serve food or impede maneuverability in serving area (eg, no hoop skirts)
We look forward to seeing your group in April!
by Rhed Morgan | Nov 1, 2024 | Announcements, Food and Drink, Information
Tomorrow the host hotel block opens for booking! So today I wanted to take the time to tell you a little bit about the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia.
1. Either valet or self parking is available on site. In the past, the hotel has offered a reduced daily rate for JordanCon attendees. Parking is in a garage under the hotel. In 2024, an alternate parking garage was available as well, around the corner from the hotel.
2. Food is available on site. The Crowne Plaza offers a grab-and-go convenience food selection, a coffee shop, two bars (upstairs and down), light eats upstairs, and a full-service restaurant open for breakfast and dinner. With JordanCon in the hotel, breakfast that in the past consisted of a buffet meal, usually eggs, potatoes, meat(s), and a breakfast bread like pancakes or waffles, plus the usual continental items as well.
3. If you smoke or vape, there’s an area to the far left of the hotel entrance (turn left as you go out the hotel doors). There are at least three picnic tables there, along with butt cans and a trash can. Remember to help keep this area clean!
4. Behind the hotel is a beautiful park area. It’s a great place to take your food delivery (no eating in the hotel lobby), or to get away from the bustle of the con for a bit with a book. The park has some great places to take photos, and you can bet all the pro photographers at the event know the best spots!
5. If you’re a mermaid, there is a pool. It’s indoors on floor 2 and heated, so if you want to take a dip, you have that option.
6. The area surrounding the hotel boasts a ton of places for you to grab snacks and beverages for the room (Target and Publix are close by), or to go out to have a meal outside the hotel. UberEats, Grubhub, and the like are also available should you just want to chill in your room with some Chinese food.
7. Lastly, staying at the host hotel enhances your JordanCon experience. You have a place to store purchases from the Vendors Hall, a place to escape the crowds, a room to go back to with your ConSuite lunch, and a bed to stumble toward when you’re exhausted from a long night of dancing or gaming.
Tl;dr? The host hotel is the place to be for JordanCon 2025. The link opens November 2 at noon, so watch social media and your email to book.
by Rhed Morgan | Oct 25, 2024 | Uncategorized
Applications to enter the JordanCon 2025 Art Show have opened! The Art Show gives artists of all types a chance to showcase their work—and sell it! Each piece (unless it’s not for sale) is displayed with a slip of paper that has a “Quick Buy” price and a space for bidding, silent auction–style.
I spoke with Tina Pierce, Art Show Director, for more info about what being an artist in the Art Show is all about.
What kind of art is in the Art Show? Well…every kind: paintings, prints, jewelry, carvings, beads, glass, “all to dazzle, delight, and beautify your life,” Tina said. “We want to have as much variety as we can.” Applicants can look at previous years’ artists and consider how their own artwork might stand out.
Once they receive applications (open through March 31, 2025), Tina and her team will view all submissions and determine who will be in the Art Show based on the quality, the genre, and how the art “fits” with others already selected. “We can’t allow sale of copyrighted materials without the legal permissions,” Tina said, “but other than that—bring it on!”
JordanCon charges a modest fee for Art Show display space, and prices range from $25 to $55. The fees cover your membership to JordanCon as well as the display space.
If you have a collection of fan art and want to display that, you’re also welcome! Please note that no AI art will be allowed in the Art Show.
Interested in showing your art? Review the Art Show Rules and fill out this application form. Make sure you include a link to any kind of gallery or someplace where the Art Show staff can see your art. “Just make sure it’s public and filled with your art,” Tina said, “not Facebook posts of your kitty (yeah, that happened once).” The more art you have in your gallery, the better!
Whether or not you’re an artist, you should visit the Art Show. Everyone, no matter their budget, will find something for them. The People’s Choice Awards allow JordanCon attendees to vote for their favorite pieces; voting is a fantastic way to show artists some love. Plus: voters get an exclusive Art Show badge ribbon.
by Rhed Morgan | Oct 15, 2024 | Uncategorized
This fall has seen two powerful hurricanes hit the United States and affect communities 300 miles inland in the mountains, as well as much of the state of Florida.
Fred Rogers was told as a child, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
Now is our chance to be the helpers, JordanCon fam. Obviously not all of us can physically go to Asheville, NC, or other affected areas and help that way; but we can provide $5, $50, or $500 toward relief efforts.
Hurricane Helene
On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall and proceeded to devastate and destroy a wide swath across the southeastern United States. Western North Carolina and South Carolina were particularly hard hit, though the damage went as far east as Savannah, Georgia, and down to the southernmost tip of Florida. The situation is truly catastrophic, as we in safer places have watched the waters rise to 1000-year heights and whole villages and towns washed away or decimated.
Helene Relief Efforts
One way to help is to prepurchase Charlotte-based Falstaff Books’s Appalachian Strong, an anthology with a line up of amazing authors including Jonathan Maberry, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Matt Denniman, and Nicole Given Kurtz, all of whom will contribute a story to the anthology. The book is $50 in Falstaff’s shop, and delivery will be in December 2024.
I had the opportunity to speak with John Hartness, Publisher at Falstaff. He was inspired to create this fundraising anthology because his niece, a business owner in Asheville, NC, and her family were rescued from the roof of their home by kayak. “That kind of devastation hits hard,” said Hartness, “as did the horror of spending hours not knowing if they were safe, or alive.” This anthology, he continued, “was my best way of helping my family and their neighbors recover.”
Hartness’s current plan is to divide the proceeds between his niece’s family and a pair of Asheville bookstores, Malaprops and Sassafras on Sutton. “Bookstores seem like the logical place to give money raised from an anthology,” he said. “If I hear from those businesses that there are areas of greater need, I will pivot my efforts there. I plan to take guidance from people on the ground, who actually know where the money will do the most good.”
The weekend Helene hit, Hartness was at a conference in Washington, D.C. “I sat down Saturday morning in my hotel room and thought of the biggest names that I had email addresses for, and I sent them an ask. I got responses to my phone before I’d even made it down the elevator to my booth.”
Hartness concluded, “We all want to help people in times of tragedy, so I gave people a chance to lend a hand and stave off the feelings of helplessness a lot of us were experiencing…I couldn’t be more thankful for my friends in this time of need.”
Horror podcast Old Gods of Appalachia’s Facebook page is a great source for local ways to support. Some of the cast members, including Steve Shell (Narrator) and DJ Rogers (Tobias Underwood and Young Doc Underwood), are offering up Cameo recordings, providing personalized messages for birthdays, anniversaries, or, in poet Rogers’s case, reading your favorite poem. All Cameo proceeds will be donated to relief funds.
Hurricane Milton
Just two weeks after Hurricane Helene, a second unprecedented hurricane, Milton, made landfall in Florida. Though the predicted 9-12 feet storm surge didn’t directly hit Tampa, dozens of tornadoes spun off the hurricane proper and wreaked havoc in their paths. Millions of people were—and still are—without power across the state.
General Relief Efforts
Outside of the literary community at JordanCon, we have a strong maker and artist community. The Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) has a grant for $3000 to craft artists who have experienced a recent and disruptive emergency or disaster. You can see if you qualify and can apply for the grant here if you’ve been impacted by Helene, or you can donate to help provide these grants to craft artists here.
Charity Navigator has a list of organizations helping with Helene efforts, as well as those assisting with Milton aid. If you have any favorite relief efforts, please leave a comment below to share.
Now, in all cases, fam, please do your research and ensure you’re donating to a trusted source. Charity Watch is a great place to vet organizations you’re considering donating to. The ones listed above are a few I know and trust, but you may have other qualifications when it comes to donating.
by Rhed Morgan | Sep 20, 2024 | Guests
Earlier this month, JordanCon 2025 Guest applications opened. I spoke with Nancy Greene, Guest Relations Director, about what it means to be a Guest at JordanCon.
Guests are visiting 
professionals at JordanCon who have a comped badge and are expected to be on a certain number of panels during the weekend. Professionals of all sorts will be considered, including writers, artists, scientists, and makers.
Guests need to be responsive to emails, Nancy says, and if we don’t hear from Guests in a timely manner, their application may not be approved, or they may end up on panels where they have less to contribute. Guest Services does their best to ensure Guests are placed where they have the most interest. Guests are also expected to engage with attendees and other Guests.
Unfortunately, Nancy says, “we do have to limit the number of Guests each year. This sometimes leads to great heartbreak as we have to say ‘not this year’ to past Guests to ensure we can bring in new Guests each year.” Track Directors look for people who can contribute to panel topics, so if you’re unsure about what topics JordanCon covers, check the Programming page for ideas.
What advice does Nancy have for Guests? First, let Guest Services know if you’re unable to make it to a panel so they can ensure you’re ok, and so they can make programming adjustments. “Also, ask us anything you have questions about,” she says. “Someone has already asked the question and someone in the organization has the answer.”
“We’re here to make the experience as seamless and wonderful as possible for Guests,” Nancy concludes.
A separate form for those fans and attendees who wish to be Program Participants will be released at a later date.
If you want to be considered as a Guest for JordanCon 2025, fill out the form as soon as possible; spaces are limited and can fill as early as November.
