by ebbierowe | Mar 16, 2020 | Uncategorized
One of my favorite things about JordanCon is all the cosplay you see. And it is not just Wheel of Time cosplay. It is from all over the fantasy genre.
And trust me, cosplay does not go unappreciated at JordanCon, which is why we have an amazing costume contest every year.
The costume contest takes place on Saturday and is open to everyone (even kids). In this post, we are going to cover some basic information about the contest, but if you are considering entering you should review the full Costume Contest Rule Packet that can be found HERE. And for our veteran con-goers, even if you have participated in the costume contest in the past you should still check out the rules as some things have changed.
The first thing you need to decide is if you want to compete for Juried Awards or Judge’s Choice/Audience Choice.
Juried Awards: Juried Awards include Best in Show, Best in Class, and Best Workmanship. Each of these categories is divided into 3 classes:
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- .Novice– Anyone who has never won an award before.
- Journeyman– Anyone who has won 2 or fewer best in class awards or no more than 1 best in show.
- Master– Anyone who has won best in show more than once or Best in Class 3 or more times.
There is mandatory pre-judging for the juried awards that take place at 4 pm on Saturday in the main program hall. Make sure you are on time for this.
Audience Choice: The Audience Choice award is determined by audience applause and general rowdiness.
Judge’s Choice: The Judge’s Choice Award is left up to the discretion of each judge.
How to Enter: You will need to register for the costume contest on Saturday Morning between 11 am and 1 pm at the registration desk. This is the same place you picked up your badge.
Two important things to remember:
- Registrations are first-come, first-serve
- Only the first twenty (20) juried registrations will be accepted (so don’t dilly dally)
Awards: What is a contest without awards?! Kind of boring, that’s what. So, of course, our costume contest has awards. The following awards will be given at the end of the contest.
- Best in Show– The best overall entrant from all classes.
- Best in Class– The best entrant from each class that is not also the Best in Show.
- Best Workmanship– The entrant with the best workmanship who has not also won Best in Class or Show.
- Judges Choice– Each judge may choose to present an award to any contestant that does not also receive a Best of award.
- Audience Choice– This award will be chosen based on audience reaction.
The costume contest is one of the highlights of the Con. I encourage anyone who plans on cosplaying to participate. And if you aren’t cosplaying, come out and support these amazingly talented individuals.
by ebbierowe | Mar 9, 2020 | Uncategorized
How many of you like great music? How many of you like to dance? Well, the Saturday Night JordanCon Dance Party is for you!
Every year, we have an awesome themed dance party that is DJ’d by none other than Mr. Paul Bielaczyc. If you don’t know who Paul is, by Saturday night you probably will. Paul is in charge of the Dealers Hall and the Art Show.
Here is a little history of this awesome dance party. It all started at the 2nd JordanCon when Paul was bored on that Saturday night and asked if he could set up a dance party and Jay Duro (He will be the person walking around with cookies at the Con. I know that sounds a little strange, but trust me that they’re good!) had some speakers and so they got together and put on a great party.
After that, Paul was asked to do another dance party at the 3rd JordanCon, and he has done so ever since.
Every year the dance has a theme. This year it is the Roaring 20’s. You can dress in costume, wear your favorite cosplay, or come as you are.
So if you want to have a great time and shake your booty, your moneymaker, or what your mama gave ya on the dance floor, make sure you don’t miss the awesome JordanCon dance party. You won’t regret it!!
by ebbierowe | Mar 2, 2020 | Uncategorized
We have talked about Gaming at JordanCon, but we wanted to go into a little more detail about one of the events hosted by the Charity. Every year at JordanCon we have a Seanchan Poker Tournament!
Now I am sure you are saying “The Seanchan didn’t play poker in the books,” and you are right they didn’t. But as you may or may not know, Robert Jordan said the Seanchan accent was similar to the US Texan accent. Well, we took that idea and ran with it in this particular case.
The poker tourney is No-Limit Texas Hold’em and all the proceeds go to charity. Even if you have never played Texas Hold’em, you are welcome to come and play. The tournament usually takes place on Friday night and there is a $20 buy-in. Everybody begins with 1,000 chips. Signup starts half an hour before the tournament. Big blinds start at 20 and small blinds at 10. Blinds will increase at a regular interval. If you run out, we allow one buy-back for $20 for 500 chips. Buy-back is not allowed at the final table.
As we have said before, we’re not only a great Fantasy Convention, we are also a 501C4 Charity Organization. The poker tournament is one of the ways we raise money for charity. Make sure you come and check it out and play with us. You’ll have a great time and help out a great charity.
by ebbierowe | Feb 24, 2020 | Uncategorized
Gamers, this one is for you! A weekend at JordanCon is great, but what if you need a quick D & D fix? Or have you been dying to show off your Magic the Gathering skills to people that will actually care? Maybe you aren’t a gamer, but you are curious about those strategy games that take hours and this weekend you just happen to have the time. Then trust me, the Gaming Track is the place for you!
The game room is an ideal place to meet new people with similar interests. It is a relaxed area where you are welcome to come, play, and have fun, even if you have never played before. Game demos are great to try new games out or just revisit old favorites. There are a wide variety of games and you are welcome to bring your own to share
If you like Magic the Gathering, they have a Draft for you. D&D is a favorite for those who want to delve into a dark hole for gold, glory, and adventure. They have the annual Seanchan Hold’em Poker tournament to benefit the Mayo Clinic. (More about that in a future post.)
Gaming is open not only during the regular programming day but afterward until 11:30 pm. So you can have the best of both worlds. Keep an eye out for the Gaming Schedule as we get closer to the Con.
by ebbierowe | Feb 10, 2020 | Uncategorized
A con is nothing without volunteers and JordanCon is no different. Volunteers are part of what makes the con run so smoothly, and you can be one. I know what you are thinking. “If I volunteer I will miss out on all the fun stuff.” But guess what, you won’t!!
Volunteer shifts are only 90 minutes (the length of a panel). Plus volunteer sign up doesn’t start until 3 days AFTER the schedule for Jordancon is released. This gives you a chance to look over the schedule, decide which panels you just can’t miss and when you have time to volunteer.
Now you may be wondering, “What can I even volunteer for? It is my first time at JordanCon.” Well, volunteering is a great way to meet people and get a real feel for the con.
You can volunteer to help with the Art Show, the ConSuite (That is where you go to get food. We will do a post about that later.), Registration, the JordanCon Store, or be on stand by for your selected period of time.
And there are other perks besides getting to meet people. You get an awesome Ribbon (or badge swag, as I like to call it). You also get to participate in an exclusive raffle for some pretty cool items. (I won two Wheel of Time graphic novels.)
Important things to remember:
- Volunteer Shifts are only 90 minutes each
- You get to choose where you volunteer
- You can sign up for as many or as few shifts as you like
- You get a ribbon
- You get to participate in an exclusive raffle
- Check the JordanCon Schedule to figure out when you can volunteer
And most importantly
- You can volunteer AND have a great time at JordanCon
Keep an eye out for more information about volunteering.
See ya’ next time!
by Writers Track | Feb 9, 2020 | Uncategorized
Your friendly Richard Fife here with some announcements for one and all!
Karaoke All-Stars!
The submission form for Karaoke All-Stars is now live. Sign up here! The rules are on the form, but to belabor the point:
- You may sing whatever you want, but keep it PG-13.
- Groups are allowed, but you can only sing once in the contest.
- There is only 1 grand prize, a set of Talent Pipes. And bragging rights about being the best.
- Your performance must be under 5 minutes.
- Costumes and alternate lyrics are allowed, dare I say, encouraged!
Karaoke All-Stars will take place from 8:30-9:30 pm on Friday night, followed by general Karaoke. See you all there!
“Writers Workshop” and “JordanCon’s Got Slush” Submissions Open!
The submission forms for JordanCon’s Got Slush and the JordanCon Writers Workshop are now open. Those links take you to pages about those events, or to be efficient, you can go to the submission forms here:
2020 JordanCon’s Got Slush Submissions
2020 JordanCon Writers Workshop Submissions
