The program schedule changes right up to the last day of the Con, so check back here for the latest info.
Our Pocket Program Schedule (as of February 27, 2023 22:54 CST)
The schedule below was last updated March 11, 2023 07:27 CST
If you have another programming item in mind please head on over to the Program Ideas Page and add your suggestion.
12:00pm Friday | Registration opens - 2nd floor balcony |
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| Pick up badges & programs, purchase swag, and start checking out the spaces, volunteer to help out if able. After-hours, you may register at the Bridge (1st floor, near Hotel front desk). Food Drive: MarsCon will be accepting food donations for the Food Group, a network of food shelves, during the convention. If you are registering at the door for MarsCon 2023, you can get $5 off your registration by donating 5 cans of food, limited to one discount per person. (Please note, the $5 discount cannot be applied to Day Passes.) If you are a party host and would like to help out, we encourage you to collect donations and bring them to the donation box near Registration/at the Bridge by Sunday. If you are attending and would like to donate, please drop off your donation at Registration, the Bridge, or a participating party room. Thank you for your donations and generosity! | ||
03:00pm Friday | Book Exchange |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | Do you have a book you’ve read and want to share? Bring it to the book exchange! Bring a book or get a book. There are no limits on books and we only ask that you enjoy your read. Book Exchange will be found in the Re(a)d Mars room — for novels, miscellaneous literature, and other SF/Fantasy/Speculative Fiction. Please bring one or more books you would like to donate, and feel free to take a book for reading later. Any unclaimed books will be donated to the Charity Auction which takes place on Sunday morning on the Mainstage. | Everyone |
03:00pm Friday | Dealers Room opens |
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| Ballroom I/II - Buy something fun! There are new Dealers & some older Dealers with new merchandise. Many are offering “Con Theme” oriented merch at Great Prices: jewelry, tote bags, plushies, costumes, accessories, articulated dragons, figurines, books, toys & more. Many local authors that like to talk. Some Dealers are in the hall/foyer area. All hours are posted by the Dealer Room door, in the program book & pocket program… SUPPORT YOUR CON BY SUPPORTING OUR DEALERS | ||
03:00pm Friday | Prop-A-Torium: Sweet 16 opens |
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| 2nd floor, near staircase The Prop-A-Torium is back! And we are turning 16. We will have an extraordinary display of some of the most unusual and fabulous handmade and collected props. From popular movies, television shows, and other media events over the past 60 years! Not only that, the room is staffed by the people who made and collected them! It’s great to see the impressive skill and care that went into some of these magnificent pieces. Then be able to ply the folks who made them with Jedi mind tricks to get the secrets of their construction! There might be something sweet. Enjoy props related to Indiana Jones, Wizarding World, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Middle Earth Saga, James Bond, Marvel Cinematic Universe, and so much more from movies and television shows. We have Fan-Made Props, “Officially Licensed” Props. A few actual Screen-Used Props, even those high-end collectibles we all covet from Sideshow, Master Replicas, Warner Brothers, and more. If you like swords or lightsabers, bullwhips, or blasters, come by the Prop-A-Torium! Photos will be allowed in the Prop-A-Torium; please ask us if you can touch or take videos of the props you see in the Prop-A-Torium. | Tony Artym, Bob Poate, Michael Helde, hosts | |
04:00pm Friday | Trailer Park 2023: Movies |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Check out trailers for the movies coming out this year. Be on your top game when conversing with other folks here at MarsCon! Be ready for that panel! Plan what you are going to see next weekend? Don’t miss THE TRAILER PARK! Titles to include: John Wick 4, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, The Super Mario Bros Movie, The Challenge, Renfield, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume Three, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, The Little Mermaid, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Elemental, The Flash, Barbie, Oppenheimer, The Marvels, and Orbital. | |
04:00pm Friday | The Twilight Zone: Best Episodes |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | Long before Star Trek and Doctor Who, millions of sci-fi fans gathered around the television set to enter another dimension... The Twilight Zone! Rod Serling’s iconic anthology has been imitated, referenced, and rebooted countless times, but nothing has come close. Join this group of TZ fans as they revisit the best episodes, and discuss the legacy of one of the greatest science fiction television shows of all time! | T. Aaron Cisco, mod.; Darlene Polsean, Eric M. Heideman, Ron Stamp, Kat Eeg |
04:00pm Friday | Teen Training |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Jen and Brittany | |
04:00pm Friday | Anime viewing |
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| Anime/YA (Owl Overlook) | Lots of anime viewing throughout the weekend, many titles courtesy of FUNimation! | Suz, host |
04:00pm Friday | Film viewing 4pm-Midnight CST |
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| A/V Room (1119) | Check room for titles and times | Tony Artym, Film Crew |
04:00pm Friday | Science Room opens |
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| Science Room (Woodlands) | Located in Woodlands on the 1st floor, between the Front Desk & Restaurant Come see how we are transforming science fiction into science fact! Visit the Science Room to view and interact with science exhibits. | |
05:00pm Friday | Trailer Park 2023: TV Series |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Check out trailers for the TV series coming out this year. Be on your top game when conversing with other folks here at MarsCon! Be ready for that panel! Plan what you are going to see/stream next weekend or next month. Don’t miss THE TRAILER PARK! Titles to include: Mandalorian: Season 3, and Ahsoka. | |
05:00pm Friday | Writing Geeky Characters |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | How do you write geeky/tech characters without blogging the story with technical terms? How do you write mundane issues without boring the reader? | Kathryn Sullivan, T. Aaron Cisco |
05:00pm Friday | Faeries 14+ |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Stay after the training to use the skills you’ve learned and make a Faerie to take home. | Jen |
05:30pm Friday | Around the World in 80 Days at 150 |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | While not really in an sf genre (except, perhaps, steampunk), this story had entertained generations of readers. Why? What were the three main engineering advances that made an 80 day journey possible and how did they change the 19th century? Will a middle class person be able to buy a ticket for an 80-day trip to Mars in our lifetime? | G. David Nordley, Eric M. Heideman |
06:00pm Friday | Intro to Gaming |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | Some cut their teeth on Dungeons and Dragons, and some have only known card games, tabletop games, online games or console games. If you are new to gaming and want to get started, whatâ s the best game? Where can I play it? Join the discussion and hear recommendations from longtime gamers. | Matthew Hellendrung, Will Klenk, Brian LaBounty, Kevin Berg |
06:00pm Friday | SF/Fantasy Music Videos |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Cool fan-made music videos based on SF/fantasy films and shows like The Mandalorian, Loki, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Arcane, Untamed, Stranger Things and more… | |
06:00pm Friday | Comedy Writing |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | Comedy writing. Want to write the funny? Come and learn the techniques and tools for writing jokes, scripts and books. A professional comedy writer shares techniques for books, scripts and resume writing. It’s as simple as one, two, badge. | David Walbridge |
06:00pm Friday | Manga Adaptations: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly |
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| Anime/YA (Owl Overlook) | If you’ve seen any sci-fi movies or Japanese animation (anime) you’ve probably seen a movie or a TV show that was adapted from a graphic novel or manga. Sin City, Batman, Nausicaa, Umbrella Academy and many others are out there but which are the best and worst. Share your opinions! | Suz, mod. |
06:30pm Friday | Paracord Bracelet 14+ |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Come make a bracelet from paracord with a Mad Max style closure. Many colors to choose from. 14+ due to difficulty of craft. | Jen |
07:00pm Friday | Opening Ceremonies |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Thank you for joining us for the 25th annual MarsCon Sci Fi/Fantasy/Gaming Convention! We will open MarsCon with live sketch comedy, welcome and introduce our wonderful Guests of Honor, and learn important stuff that will help you get the most out of MarsCon 2023! | ConCom and Guests of Honor Darcy Bell-Myers, P.C. Hodgell, Bradley Galey, Christine Galey, and Bonnie Gordon |
07:00pm Friday | Science Room closes |
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| Science Room (Woodlands) | ||
07:00pm Friday | Dealers Room closes; Prop-A-Torium closes |
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07:45pm Friday | Welcome, Guests of Honor Bradley Galey & Christine Galey |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Bradley and Christine Galey were both born and raised in Pomona, California. They have each taken roles as characters at Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall, to name just a few. More recently, Bradley and Christine have appeared in Disney’s widely acclaimed streaming series’s The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Please join us in giving a warm MarsCon welcome to actors Bradley & Christine Galey! | Bradley Galey, Christine Galey |
08:00pm Friday | The Power of Board Gaming |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | The power of Board Gaming, comedy meets legitimate reasons why folks should be playing Board games together. Expect lots of laughs and gain knowledge why boarding Gaming sessions are good for you from someone in the gaming industry. | Sam Hedden, mod. |
08:00pm Friday | The Advantages and Disadvantages of Writing a Long Series |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | “As I draw close to the end of a 40-years’ long project, I think a lot about the subject.” | P.C. Hodgell, Eric M. Heideman (mod.) |
08:00pm Friday | Bead Lizards 14+ |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Teens and Adults, finish out the first night on a quiet note, and make a bead lizard for your keys, your bag, or for the fun of it. Don’t worry, younlings, your time will come. | Brittany |
08:00pm Friday | Anime by request |
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| Anime/YA (Owl Overlook) | Lots of anime viewing throughout the weekend, many titles courtesy of FUNimation! | Suz, host |
08:30pm Friday | Publications Party |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | Hang out with speculative fiction publishers in and around the Twin Cities area. The Publications Party stays open a bit longer if we still have Alien Guests. | Sponsored by Tales of the Unanticipated, a longtime Twin Cities magazine/fiction anthology |
08:45pm Friday | Autographing: Bradley Galey, Christine Galey |
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| Table near Dealers Room, 2nd floor | Bradley Galey, Christine Galey | |
09:00pm Friday | Il Neige Concert |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Returning for his third year is Garett Snook, a.k.a. “Il Neige” (it’s French). He is an L.A. based songwriter whose love of the electric guitar is matched only by his passion for Simpsons quotes. He began producing comedy music in 2014 with “Sub Zero,” widely regarded as the moment “Let It Go” parodies stopped being funny, and has since gone on to spoof Bastille, the Beatles, and more. His originals walk the line between silly and sincere, covering topics ranging from Nintendo, to the meme-ification of Christmas, to… okay, so it’s mostly Nintendo. His most recent project is “Rock that Pokemon,” a YouTube series that attempts to immortalize all 800+ of the little buggers through song. Citing influence from Green Day, Weezer, and whichever Ska band is playing in Anaheim tonight, Neige believes there’s always room for a little more Geek in your Rock. | Il Neige |
09:00pm Friday | The Good Doctor: Celebrating 60 Years |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | Our favorite Time Lord burst onto the scene in November 1963. With 26 seasons, a revolving cast of characters, and several successful spin-offs, Doctor Who has continued to delight us through the decades. Let’s discuss classic WHO, new WHO, and the greatest moments in time. | T. Aaron Cisco, Darlene Polsean, Kathryn Sullivan, Jim Soos, Shari Hartshorn |
09:00pm Friday | My Time as a Government Lab Rat |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | My 50yr NDA is complete. I can now talk about my time being placed with caucasian aliens, part of the Gateway Experience, and time with the Montauk Project. Providing I am still alive, I will be there. If not I suggest a ghost communicator. | Joe Swenson, host |
09:00pm Friday | A Space Force reading! Old timey space radio show book readin |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | The Space Force and the mind reading cows from planet ranch dressing!!" A live reading from the forthcoming book. Do you like space blasters? Absurd dialogue? Evil space villains? Time traveling sharks? And, for some reason, sword fights on spaceships? (you might even get involved doing the voice of the evil overlord of doom!) A Space force reading! | David Walbridge |
09:00pm Friday | Nightly Karaoke |
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| Barsoom Lounge (White Pelican Bay) | Karaoke Joe’s Café will relocate here during the evening hours for a larger space where extra distancing is possible. Sing safely. | Elizabeth Thompson, host |
09:30pm Friday | TV’s Kyle & Lindzilla Concert |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Kyle A. Carrozza, aka “TV’s Kyle” created an awesome hilarious animated program for Cartoon Network, Mighty MagiSwords, as well as being one of the voice actors on it voicing MANY characters, including the lead male Prohyas. His dinosaur-lifemate “Lindzilla” also worked on the show as a character designer and voice actor. But before any of that happened, Kyle spent decades coming up with crazy catchy tunes, and quite often, Lindsay would join him on the tracks. Once he found The FuMP .com, he started sharing his earworms with all of us. In 2011, after he attended MarsCon for the first time, he vowed never to miss one ever, and with Lindsay joining him hasn’t missed one since. Track Chair Luke Ski also worked as a storyboarder and voice actor on Mighty MagiSwords, which by the way is available to watch in its entirety on Hulu and HBOmax! That’s 88 episodes, just waiting to be binge watched! What are you waiting for? Kyle also co-hosts the fortnightly animation podcast Kyle & Luke Talk About Toons with Luke Ski and is one half of the duo Scooter Picnic with Insane Ian, which he describes as “bloopcore quirkhop” as if those words have meaning. Silly cartoon man. | TV’s Kyle & Lindzilla |
10:00pm Friday | Insane Ian Concert |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Insane Ian is a comedian/writer who has been in several bands and loves video games. He plays them, he reviews them, he collects them, he even writes comedy songs about video games. He’s gone so far as to combine reviews and comedy songs into his video game “Reviewsicals” on YouTube. Just one look at Ian’s Bandcamp page makes it obvious that Insane Ian is a comedy music juggernaut that cannot be stopped. Ian hit a milestone in his career a long time in coming, as he had the #1 most requested song of 2015 on “The Dr. Demento Show”, the name-mangling Brit-tribute, “Benedict Cumberbatch”, sitting firmly atop the Doctor’s year-end Funny 25. With a sharp wit, sarcastic smirk, and a bit of self-deprecation, he’s here to bring his unique sound to anyone who won’t tell him to shut up… and even a few that will. | Insane Ian |
10:00pm Friday | What’s Woke Got to Do With It? |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | Ripley in Alien. Frank N Furter in RHPS. Blade in Blade. Mitch Downe in ParaNorman. Representative characters have been present in genre works for numerous decades, but over the past few years, some segments of fandom have claimed that our films and tv series have become “woke.” Even shows like Star Trek and Twilight Zone, which began as thinly-veiled allegories for social justice issues have been branded with the dreaded W-word. Our panel examines what woke really means, and what-if any0 impact the concept has on both the content and fan communities. | T. Aaron Cisco, mod.; Michael Merriam, Jim Soos |
10:00pm Friday | Esperanto! |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Before Star Trek, William Shatner starred in Incubus which was filmed entirely in Esperanto, the most successful constructed international auxiliary language. Starting with Attack of the Moon Zombies, filmmaker and former guest of honor Christopher Mihm has dubbed eight of his self-described "new old good bad" films into Esperanto: The Monster of Phantom Lake Attack of the Moon Zombies House of Ghosts The Giant Spider The Late Night Double Feature Danny Johnson Saves The World Demon with the Atomic Brain Queen of Snakes Learn about the language from local fans and Esperantists, and maybe pick up a phrase or two. | Art Johnson, Alexander Johnson, Joan Philips: Minnesota Esperanto Club, Richard Larson |
10:45pm Friday | The Odd Ditties |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Austin Aeschliman has been performing for years, both solo and as a part of bands under many different names, including Odd Austin, Smashy Claw, Rycehat, Killer Calamari, Soul Phage, not to mention a number of collaborations with other bands. This year at MarsCon, Austin is here as the frontman of “The Odd Ditties”, which also includes Nathan Long, Branden Strochinsky, and Kristin Katze. Austin is also one of the founders of Needlejuice Records, an independent record label specializing in the physical release of alternative music. Formed in September 2017 by Austin, Jace McClain of Nuclear Bubble Wrap, and Brandon Brown, the label is dedicated to the tangible, with a goal to create high quality vinyl records, cassette tapes, and compact discs with ambitious aesthetic value. You’ll be able to find a lot of Needlejuice Records vinyl and other merch at Table 27. | The Odd Ditties |
11:15pm Friday | Nuclear Bubble Wrap |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Nuclear Bubble Wrap is a psychedelic/alternative rock band from Nashville, TN. While their early work was devoted to creating humorous internet content, the band’s style evolved into whimsical art-rock influenced by Ween and The Flaming Lips. Their music is known for containing lush, multi-layered psychedelic arrangements, with catchy melodies and witty lyrics. Their live show features a bevy of masks and costumes. Founded by keyboardist Jace McLain and guitarist Kyle Thorne, Nuclear Bubble Wrap began recording home-made demo albums in 2005 before switching to fully-produced studio recordings in 2010. Some of this material was played on the Dr. Demento Show. Using the momentum from several popular viral music videos, the band built a cult following and has played in several cities across the United States. The current iteration of the group is filled out by bassist Stephen Smith and drummer Julia Larson. | Nuclear Bubble Wrap |
09:00am Saturday | Light Sabre Handles |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Come decorate a cardboard tube and make it your specific light sabre handle. The blade is all in your mind. All ages are welcome. No fighting in the room. | Jen |
10:00am Saturday | The Saber Legion Demo |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | The Saber Legion is a worldwide saber club, with a focus on saber combat and sparring. Our Mission Statement: Love and always represent your charters and who you are. We’re here to teach all the ways of the force. With sabers, all will be united! http://www.saberlegion.org | The Saber Legion |
10:00am Saturday | Billionaires in Space |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Musk, Bezos, Branson - they’re building and flying rockets. How much of a difference are they making? Will commercial space overtake government programs? Which will be first to the Moon and Mars? | Karl K. Gallagher |
10:00am Saturday | Small Press SFFH and Finding Good Reads |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | Panel or presentation. What are sone of the small presses putting out new books and how can you find more of whatever it is you’d like to read? | Catherine Lundoff, Kathryn Sullivan |
10:00am Saturday | Is this a Cookbook? |
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| Anime/YA (Owl Overlook) | A themed cookbook is one thing, but a manga about cooking? A tale of eldritch horror? A literal dream from a webcomic mostly about cats? You may be surprised to learn these are all delicious recipe guides. | Cass |
10:00am Saturday | Science Room opens |
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| Science Room (Woodlands) | ||
10:00am Saturday | 18th Annual MarsCon Blood Drive! |
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| This year is the 18th American Red Cross blood drive at MarsCon. The USS Nokomis is inviting everyone to come save up to three lives with one donation on Saturday the 11th between 10am and 4pm. MarsCon donors have touched over 1,300 lives with their donations over the last 17 years, and this year we’ll touch even more! Come to donate to get most coveted, hardest to get, absolute coolest ribbon at Con! Several ways to sign up: Register online at redcrossblood.org using sponsor code MarsCon, sign up in the USS Nokomis party room on Friday night, email captain@ussnokomis.org, or come to the table in the lobby on Saturday to sign up with USS Nokomis crew members. Grab your time early to help us save lives! | USS Nokomis | |
10:00am Saturday | Dealers Room opens; Prop-A-Torium opens |
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10:15am Saturday | Buttons |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Decorate a button blank with markers, stickers etc and let Brittany press it into the button for you to wear. All ages, Brittany will be the only one using the button press. | Brittany |
11:00am Saturday | Behind the Scenes with Christine & Bradley Galey |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Bradley Galey got his start in entertainment in 2000 in a Whoop Ass Chili commercial. From there he worked at Disneyland as The #1 Donald Duck and also the lovable Dopey, taking after his dad’s 35 year career as the famous Duck! Bradley also worked at Universal Studios Hollywood. During his 13 year run with The Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, Bradley also appeared on The MTV Video Music Awards with Kevin Hart, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan , America’s Best Dance Crew , The Ones , Still Waiting, Brospehs , The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Christine Galey’s first entertainment gig was working at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2012 as a suit performer “scare actor,” playing the character of Chuckie Bride “Tiffany Bride” and a zombie. She went on to work at Universal Studio Japan, then later as a Entertainer performance character named “Moppy””in a Sesame Street show and also “Chopper” in The One Piece show. In 2014, she was a Principal Actor, playing one of the Santa’s elves and also the fussy Baby Bear in the Nutcracker number in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall. In 2015, Christine appeared in a reality television show. The Little Women of New York show as herself. They had a little women fashion show in NYC and she was one of the models. In 2017, she was hired in at The Disneyland Resort Entertainment Department as a Cosmetologist. (“Where I make the magic happen.”) Her roles in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fettinclude an astronaut, R2-D2, R5 and Jawa. | Bradley Galey, Christine Galey |
11:00am Saturday | The Historical Basis of the LotR and Hobbit Costumes or How to Dress A Dwarf |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | Presentation on the historical garb that inspired the Hobbit and LotR costumes: Comparing the costumes seen on the screen of Jackson’s adaptations to actual historical examples. Advice on how to reconstruct basic Dwarf, Elf, Wizard, Human and Hobbit clothing. Giving online links to available pattern sources, museums, etc. | Rae Lundquist, The Dreamstitcher |
11:00am Saturday | For the Love of Miniatures |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Let’s talk about miniatures! With 60+ years of experience in the hobby, we discuss painting, prepping, collecting, what’s old, new, and meeds to exist. Kitbashing and customization, 3D printing and Kickstarters, tips and techniques. Come share our enthusiasm! | Kris Spiesz (mod); Deborah Spiesz, Chandra Reyer, Laura Thurston |
11:00am Saturday | Anime by request |
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| Anime/YA (Owl Overlook) | Suz, host | |
11:00am Saturday | Zumba! Dance demo |
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| Barsoom Lounge (White Pelican Bay) | Come join the dance party to world music including fandom favorites like Dr Who and the Tardis and James Bond Technostyle! Consider it your warm-up for the Masquerade Ball. Plus, all the calories you burn off will make you fit better into that costume you’ve been wanting in the Dealer’s Room. Bring/drink lots of water and dress comfortably to move your body. | Rachel Beise, Instructor |
11:00am Saturday | Film Viewing |
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| A/V Room (1119) | See room for titles and times. | Tony Artym, Film Crew |
11:00am Saturday | Author Guest of Honor Reading |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | P.C. Hodgell reads from her work. | P.C. Hodgell |
11:30am Saturday | Bookmarks |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Come decorate a bookmark that you can use for your next book on your to read pile. Cindy will laminate it for many years worth of use. All ages are welcome. | Cindy |
12:00pm Saturday | Haidong Gumdo Sword Demonstration |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Come watch and learn about the Korean Sword art form Haidong Gumdo from local group White Tiger Martial Arts located in Fridley. We will be demonstrating some of the basic forms and showing some basic cutting technics. | Steve Erickson, Master Robert Frankovich, Marien Renee, Master Chris Kickhafer, Joe, Joseph H, Ashton Killerger White Tiger Martial Arts members |
12:00pm Saturday | Making and Using a Free Star Wheel |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | Make and Learn to use the ancient Star Wheel, aka Planisphere. Gain lifetime comfort with the night sky. Identify bright constellations and stars any night of the year, anywhere in mid-northern latitudes. Viking and Polynesian celestial navigation. Zenith stars, horizon skimming stars. Hawaiian star lines. I will read one or two constellation tales from around the world. Make a Free Star Wheel to bring home. All ages. Children below about age 8 accompanied by an adult please. | Michael Kauper |
12:00pm Saturday | Astronaut on a Budget |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Want to be an Astronaut but don’t think it can happen? There are ways to live out your dreams that don’t involve years of college or applying to NASA or another government Space Program! Join Mike Urvand, Technology Engineer and Analog Astronaut as he speaks about ways that you can live your Space dreams while still living firmly on the ground! | Mike Urvand |
12:00pm Saturday | The Dresden Files |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | The Dresden Files Series, telling the story of Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, Chicago’s first (and only) Wizard P.I. We will talk about all of the books including the new stories of Peace Talks, Battle Ground, The Law, and Fugitive, as well as what might be ahead for Harry in the series in books 18 and 19: Twelve Months and Mirror Mirror. They will be spoiled all the way up to Fugitive. | Tony Artym, Crystal Therese, Elizabeth Erickson, Tim Strong |
12:00pm Saturday | Drum setup |
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| Barsoom Lounge (White Pelican Bay) | ||
12:00pm Saturday | AO3 Meetup |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | Fanfic is flourishing on AO3 (Archive of our Own), a fan-created, fan-run, nonprofit, noncommercial archive for transformative fanworks, like fanfiction, fanart, fan videos, and podfic. Meet up with fellow fans to dish about your faves or learn about your soon-to-be favorite place to play on the Internet. Discuss fic-able moments together. What makes a book or show open to fan fiction. There is a theory that there are moments of ambiguity in the original shows or books that seem to be common launch points for fan fantasy. These may be places where deeper relationships between characters are hinted at but not actually explored. Let’s call them “ficable moments.”What are these moments like? Which shows/books have them? Are there good shows/books that are lacking in these moments? | AO3 Fans & the AO3 Curious |
12:00pm Saturday | Bradley Galey & Christine Galey Autograph Session |
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| Signing just outside Dealers Room | Bradley Galey & Christine Galey | |
12:00pm Saturday | Author Guest of Honor Autographing (Table near Dealers Room) |
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| P.C. Hodgell signs her work. | P.C. Hodgell | |
12:30pm Saturday | Tribbles |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | The trouble with tribbles is that there are just not enough of them. So, come and make your own to take home, just don’t feed it after midnight. Or is that get it wet? I’m not sure. You can find out at home. All ages are welcome. | Jen and Brittany |
01:00pm Saturday | Taiko Drumming |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Drumming performance followed by Q&A | |
01:00pm Saturday | Star Trek Universe |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | A talk about the 56 years of Star Trek , We will cover all shows, the movies, and the many shows in development. There will be spoilers, plus mix in some good memories from Star Treks past. | Tony Artym, mod.; Joan Marie Verba, Jennifer VanRiper, Jay Sterling, Bonnie Gordon |
01:00pm Saturday | Putting the Science in Science Fiction |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | Discussion. How much accurate science does there need to be in sci-fi? How much real science should you sacrifice for the sake of the narrative? Where’s the line between incorporating accurate scientific theory and bogging down the audience? Where’s the line between sci-fi and total fantasy/fiction? (Re: if the science the story is based on turns out to be totally false, does that story still get to be called sci-fi?) | C. M. Alongi, mod.; Karl K. Gallagher, G. David Nordley, Kathryn Sullivan |
01:00pm Saturday | Costumes and Wardrobe in Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Historical Drama |
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| Anime/YA (Owl Overlook) | How do costumers on movies and TV envision and execute such breathtaking costumes? From fabric selection to research to construction, experienced costumers and fashion designers share their perspective. | Suz Woehrle, mod.; Samantha Haddow, Bill Hedrick, Rae Lundquist, Elizabeth Sloan, Gerald Dagel, Emily Fritze and Shanna Anderson |
01:00pm Saturday | Distant Calling Pictures |
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| A/V Room (1119) | Distant Calling Pictures returns to Marscon 2023 for a film screening and Q & A. On Sat. March 11, 2023, at 1 pm, a Return of Minnesota film-making team, DISTANT CALLING PICTURES, is proud to present selected works for your viewing enjoyment. This 90-minute program will consist of short films ranging from drama, horror, dark comedy, and action. Q&A with filmmakers to follow. | Nathan Block, Distant Calling Pictures |
01:30pm Saturday | Haidong Gumdo Sword Basics |
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| Barsoom Lounge (White Pelican Bay) | Come play and learn some of the basics of Haidong Gumdo (Korean Sword Art) Will be teaching some basics on how to cut and form stances for this Martial art. | Steve Erickson, Master Robert Frankovich, Marien Renee, Master Chris Kickhafer, Joe, Joseph H, Ashton Killerger White Tiger Martial Arts members |
01:45pm Saturday | Faeries |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Come and make your faerie! All ages are welcome! | Jen and Brittany |
02:00pm Saturday | Klingon Pop Warrior |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Commander jenbom sutai-toQqul (Jen Usellis) and her guitar slinging Red Shirt (Joe Mizzi) travel to bring the best Klingon pop and rock to your ears. What started as a one-off background song for the Improvised Star Trek podcast has turned into a viral music video, 4 EP’s, musical collaborations and live performances for geeks and music lovers alike. jenbom has the 47th translation of “Let It Go” from Frozen in the Disney archives and is constantly on the look out for more songs you thought you knew. Tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek humor backed up with impressive musicianship and vocals, the Klingon Pop Warrior is a unique and fun experience for audiences of all ages and all fandoms. And as if that weren’t enough – Jen is also the Klingon language consultant for Star Trek: Prodigy! | Klingon Pop Warrior |
02:00pm Saturday | Time Travelers from the Infant Solar System |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | We’ll explore where meteorites come from, the stories they tell and the things they've hit. Plus you’ll get to touch and smell real space rocks from the asteroid belt. | Bob King |
02:00pm Saturday | Creative Success Secrets - How to Thrive as a Professional Creative Person |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | Let’s talk about your career: how do you mix creativity with business success? What’s the difference between a skilled creator and a profitable one? Come hear from successful creators with more than 30 years of business success. For writers, performers, inventors, artists and other creative persons. | David Walbridge, mod.; Darcy Bell-Myers, T. Aaron Cisco |
02:00pm Saturday | Science Fiction and Fantasy for Middle Grade Readers |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | Trends in YA SFF are often discussed, but what about the younger readers? The Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series started with middle school heroes and the Rick Riordan Presents series are aimed at Middle Grade readers. What are the new trends in MG? | Kathryn Sullivan, David Lenander, Eric M. Heideman |
02:30pm Saturday | Steve Goodie presents AL! |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | The Weird Tribute (and how Daniel Radcliffe got mixed up in this Nonsense) | Steve Goodie |
02:30pm Saturday | Arab Dance For Every Body |
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| Barsoom Lounge (White Pelican Bay) | The dance forms from the Arab world that fall under the English term "bellydance" are a fun way to get moving and enjoy beautiful music. We will learn a little bit about these dances, warm up, play with veils, learn a few basic movements that are building blocks of these dances, and put these moves together into a simple combination. No dance experience required. Bring a hip scarf and/or veil if you have them, otherwise Anjela will have some available to borrow during the class. All genders, sizes, and ability levels are invited. Variations will be offered for various levels of mobility. The instructor places an emphasis on how the movements feel over how they look. Sensory advisory: coin scarves produce ringing sounds that may cause discomfort for some with noise sensitivity or hearing aids. Anjela has been studying and performing Arab Dances for over 15 years; her love of this art began with her very first class, which was right here at MarsCon! | Anjela, Instructor |
03:00pm Saturday | Orbital Mechanics Without Math |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Hard SF stories and real space operations are influenced by the physics of moving in orbits. But you can understand the basics of orbital mechanics without doing any math at all. This presentation will show the geometry of different types of orbits and maneuvers. | Karl K. Gallagher |
03:00pm Saturday | Discussion with P.C. Hodgell of Her New Book, and the overall Kencyrath series |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | Title kind of says it. I’d like to make this a Rivendell Group (of the Mythopoeic Society) discussion, and also simulcast it over Zoom for those who cannot attend in person. P.C. Hodgell has a long history with Rivendell, going back to her days as a grad student at the U of M English Department, when she was a regular attendee Rivendell discussions. We heard her first short story before it appeared in print. | David Lenander, mod.; P.C. Hodgell, Catherine Lundoff |
03:30pm Saturday | Robbie Ellis Concert |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Robbie Ellis is primarily a piano comedian, and has done feature-length musical comedy sets at venues around Chicago, including FuMPFest 2019, as well as around the US and his native New Zealand. His debut album Pumpkins has earned him multiple dollars of sales on Bandcamp and royalties on Spotify. He’s a regular musical guest at The Paper Machete at The Green Mill, on the faculty at the Second City Training Center, and is a music director for improv, sketch, and musical theatre. He’s a composer for orchestras, choirs, chamber ensembles etc, and headlined an orchestral comedy concert called The Mid-30s Guide to the Orchestra with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago. His day job is presenting and producing classical music radio on WFMT Chicago. He was the Music Guest of Honor zooming in on Virtual MarsCon 2021, and we are very happy to have him at MarsCon in person! | Robbie Ellis |
03:30pm Saturday | Masquerade Orientation |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | Mandatory meeting for all those entering the costume contest. Last chance to register. Note to contestants: If you bring a thumb drive, we can get you a recording of your main stage event. | George Richard, Masquerade Director |
03:30pm Saturday | Bead Lizards |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Now is your time to make your annual bead lizard pet. Come, pick an egg and have fun. All ages welcome. Small parts, not recommended for under 3. | Brittany |
04:00pm Saturday | The Biden Era in Space, Year Two |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | For many years a band of scientists and science buffs has been meeting at local cons to talk about recent developments in space exploration and astronomy. This time we’ll explore what’s happened in the first half of President Biden’s term. | Eric M. Heideman, mod.; Ben Huset, G. David Nordley |
04:00pm Saturday | Michael Merriam Reading and Book Signing |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | Michael Merriam | |
04:00pm Saturday | Bite Sized Writing: Creativity in the (Very) Short Forms |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | No time for a novel? Come and learn to write little big stuff; jokes, slogans, micro-fiction taglines, buttons and more. | David Walbridge |
04:15pm Saturday | Great Luke Ski Concert |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | At Dragon*Con 2004, Dr. Demento declared “the great Luke Ski” (a former MarsCon Music Guest Of Honor) to be his radio program’s “Most Requested Artist of the 21st Century”. Since then, Luke held onto that title by having his nerdy comedy tracks on “The Dr. Demento Show’s” annual year-end “Funny 25” countdown of his most requested songs of the year for 18 years in a row, with a whopping FIVE of them reaching the #1 spot, including his 2018 hit “Candybars”, which earned him his 3rd Logan Award for Outstanding Parody Song. Luke has been the Chair of the MarsCon Comedy Music Track since it’s inception, now in its 20th year. Luke Ski is currently looking for his next full-time job in the animation industry in the Burbank / L.A. area, paying the bills by being a cannabis product delivery boy, and trying to make more new comedy songs when he has the time and money to do so. This year Luke Ski is releasing is first new album in over 8 years, “Needlessly Meta”, available at Table 27 all weekend. | Great Luke Ski |
04:30pm Saturday | Cosplay Posing |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | When you get into your fabulous costume people will want pictures of you! But so many of us just stand there. Bill Hedrick, award winning Master Costumer and Black Belt Martial artist will share tips and tricks to make you look as great in pictures as you do in real life! Coming in costume is encouraged. | Bill Hedrick, host |
04:30pm Saturday | Queer Webcomics |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | While print comics are unfortunately still mired in the politics of the publishing industry, webcomics, which are published independently online, have found it easier to show a fuller rainbow. We’ll talk about some comics that feature characters who identify all over the LGBTQIAAP+ spectrum. | Cass, mod.; Kathryn Sullivan |
04:45pm Saturday | Guest of Honor Bonnie Gordon Concert |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Bonnie Gordon is an American actress and singer residing in Los Angeles, California. MarsCon was introduced to Bonnie Gordon in 2016 when she first performed there in the Comedy Music Track along with her partner Xander Jeanneret as the duo “The Library Bards”. Bonnie’s many epic credits include: Being a regular performer at the world famous “Magic Castle” in Hollywood for over 13 years; ABC’s reality TV series “The Quest” where she became known as the Paladin of Everealm; Geek & Sundry‘s Star Trek roleplayer gaming series “Shield Of Tomorrow” where she played as Lieutenant Lark Sage; The Library Bards’ two full albums of nerdy comedy parody music “Bardcore” and “BomBARDed” (available on Bandcamp) as well as many hilarious music videos; As a video game voice actor she plays Rainbow Mika in “Street Fighter V”, Silque in the Fire Emblem Heroes series, and Bounce Man in “Mega Man 11”, and many others; And as an animation voice actor she played multiple characters on Cartoon Network‘s “Mighty Magiswords” including Nana Mewfles, Candi Carrots, and Darlin‘ Narwhal Magisword, and she is the voice of the ship‘s computer, the USS Protostar, on Nickelodeon‘s “Star Trek: Prodigy”! As well as appearing and performing at conventions all over the world regularly, Bonnie has been working on her debut solo album “Con Artist” following a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign in 2021. The album will feature original songs alongside some “hint of nerdy” cover songs, some special guests and more. All of her friends and colleagues from the Funny Music Project (The FuMP .com) are thoroughly excited to have Bonnie Gordon make her return to MarsCon as our 2023 Music Guest Of Honor. | Bonnie Gordon |
05:00pm Saturday | Everything You Wanted to Know About Filmmaking But Were Afraid to Ask |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Local filmmaker Nathan Block, founder of Distant Calling Pictures production company, will lead this panel that will give you information on how you, yes you, can make your very own film! Everything from budgets, casting, shooting and post-production will be covered as well as the pros and cons of short films, feature films and web-series. | Nathan Block, host; Adam Colt, Wesley Johnson, Michelle Perdue, Connor McCarthy, Laura Runge-Hunt, Ben Gersch, Eric Richardson, Isaac Sobczak |
05:00pm Saturday | Paracord Bracelets 14+ |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Teens, did you miss Friday’s craft? Do you still want to do it? Well, come on down. We have what you’re looking for. Paracord bracelet with Mad Max closure. Difficulty rating 14+ | Jen |
05:00pm Saturday | SF Writing Groups: The 2023 Scene |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | Since 1986,the Minnesota Imaginative Fiction writers’ Alliance has held an annual meeting—recently at MarsCon--at which solo science fiction/fantasy who are looking for a writing group get a chance to connect with SF writing groups that are looking for new writers. | Eric M. Heideman, mod.; Michael Merriam, G. David Nordley |
06:00pm Saturday | Sci-Fi Scenes From A Hat |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Sci-Fi themed improv comedy similar to "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" 60+ minute show featuring crazy improvers dressed up in various sci-fi outfits doing sci-fi related improv comedy with suggestions from the audience for scenes and parameters | Steve Murphy |
06:00pm Saturday | Masquerade Green Room |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | George Richard, Masquerade Director | |
06:00pm Saturday | Full Color Fantasy: Reading & Book Signing with T. Aaron Cisco |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | T. Aaron Cisco reads excerpts from his works, and shares a variety of informative and entertaining stories from adventures in writing, television production, and music. | T. Aaron Cisco |
06:00pm Saturday | Best Anime In The Last 10 Years |
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| Anime/YA (Owl Overlook) | Join other anime fans in discussing your favorite anime and the best way to enjoy them. | Suz, host |
06:30pm Saturday | Put Your Story Out There |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | You have a book, or a short story, or you’re working on one. What’s the best way to share it? There’s Kindle, Kobo, Substack, anthologies, magazines, fanfic sites, what’s the best home for your story? Can you actually make some money at this? | Karl K. Gallagher, Michael Merriam |
06:30pm Saturday | Bird Houses 14+ |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Did one bird really fly over the cuckoo’s nest? Well, decorate a bird house and see what happens. This is a quiet craft for 14+. | Jen and Brittany |
07:00pm Saturday | Masquerade Rehearsal & Judging |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | ||
07:00pm Saturday | So Much Star Wars |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | A Long Time Ago… | Brian LaBounty, Kevin Berg |
07:00pm Saturday | Arcana Meeting |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | In this annual meeting, Arcana, a group of celebrators of the Dark Fantastic, join in celebrating the Dark Fantastic. Visit the group’s long history—its three founders started getting together in 1968—and brainstorming about the future. | Eric M. Heideman, mod. |
07:45pm Saturday | Discussion: What Are You Reading? What Are You Viewing? |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | In which we go around the room recommending books, movies, etc., that you’ve recently enjoyed. Sponsored by Diversicon and Arcana, moderated by Eric M. Heideman, the discussion flows unobtrusively into the conversational party below. | Eric M. Heideman, mod. |
08:00pm Saturday | Masquerade/ Cosplay |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | A grand costume contest with prizes and half-time entertainment provided by The Blue Lotus Middle Eastern Dancers and Music Guest of Honor Bonnie Gordon! | George Richard, Masquerade Director Judges include: Darcy Bell-Myers |
08:30pm Saturday | Diversicon Party |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | Since February 1992, this organization has been promoting multi-cultural speculative fiction through such projects as the Speculations Readings Series, Tales of the Unanticipated, and Diversicon. On July 14-16, 2023, Diversicon 30 will honor Guests of Honor Tananarive Due and Steven Banes. If you stick around the Witching Hour we’ll keep the candle burning a while. | |
09:00pm Saturday | Kind-of-A-Concert |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | I can play keyboard again. I still may not be good enough to call it a concert, but I’ve got some new music. | Lisa Freitag, host |
09:00pm Saturday | Contracts You Shouldn’t Sign |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | Writers and other creative types sometimes are trapped by contracts which take their work for marginal compensation. Here’s a non-lawyer’s take on things to look for, with examples from good and bad contracts. | Karl K. Gallagher |
09:00pm Saturday | Nightly Karaoke |
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| Barsoom Lounge (White Pelican Bay) | Karaoke Joe’s Café may relocate here during the evening hours for a larger space where extra distancing is possible. Sing safely. | Elizabeth Thompson, host |
10:00pm Saturday | Costume Show & Tell & Swap |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | Bring stuff. Take stuff. We all love to make stuff. Show off your cool costumes and discuss inspiration for the next. | Everyone |
10:00pm Saturday | Why World of Warcraft Sucks |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Hey, my name is Aurora. I’ve been playing this game for longer than I care to admit for more hours than its worth. I’ll be going over what made WoW good, and more importantly what made it bad. | Aurora Pariseau.Orca/Aurorlock |
10:00pm Saturday | The Movie is Better than the Book |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | Due to the limitations of the medium, it’s near impossible for a film or television adaptation to capture every aspect of the books and stories being adapted, so in every case, changes are needed. Join our panel of movie and book nerds as they examine those instances where the omissions and revisions improved upon the source material. | T. Aaron Cisco, mod.; Darlene Polsean, Jim Soos, Shari Hartshorn |
11:00pm Saturday | Burlesque - 18+ |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Back for their Tenth appearance…the ladies and gentlemen of the Twin Cities burlesque scene. Meet them, hear a history, learn where the shows are, and maybe a performance. Open to those 18+ ONLY, you will be carded at the door. | |
03:00am Sunday | Time Warp? Again?? |
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| Your body may think it’s just 2:00 am, but it is, in fact, 3:00 am Central Daylight Time. Why does this keep happening? A MarsCon tradition. | Everyone, Everywhere in Minnesota | |
09:00am Sunday | Bookmarks |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Did you miss the first craft but still want a groovy bookmark for your next read? You’re in luck. Come on down and decorate a bookmark. Cindy will laminate it for longevity and you can take it home. | Cindy |
09:30am Sunday | Viewing Time for Charity Auction Items |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Silent bids will be accepted prior to live auction which will benefit Geek Partnership (GPS) and the Gordy Dickson Memorial Scholarship Fund. | |
10:00am Sunday | Charity Auction |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Come, bid on donated items, and raise money for worthwhile causes! Charity Auction proceeds will be split between the Gordy Dickson Memorial Scholarship Fund which benefits aspiring SF authors and the Geek Partnership Society which works in cooperation with other organizations to better serve the geek community of the Saint Paul/Minneapolis area. Please consider contributing to the Charity Auction any way you can--by bidding, by donating, by volunteering. We are able to take donations up until an hour before the auction. Donations may be brought to the Bridge which is located on first floor, across from the hotel’s front desk. Thank you for your generosity! | ConCom |
10:30am Sunday | Masks and Wands |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Make your own cosplay, Harry Potter anyone? Or your own faerie wand. Make one or both. All ages Welcome! | Jen and Brittany |
11:00am Sunday | Artificial Gravity by Rotation |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | We’re familiar with big rotating wheels and spinning tubes like Rama, but these are major engineering projects with significant technical challenges. There are other ideas, such as the tumbling spaceship in The Rolling Stones that are more compact, easier to balance, and less expensive. Our panelists will discuss some of these designs in fact and fiction and the need to learn more about how people might live in gravities between zero and one. | G. David Nordley, Ben Huset |
11:00am Sunday | Anime viewing |
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| Anime/YA (Owl Overlook) | Lots of anime viewing throughout the weekend, many titles courtesy of FUNimation! | Susan Woehrle, host |
11:00am Sunday | A Writers’ Conversation |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | Informal conversation amongst authors. | P.C. Hodgell, Ruth Berman, Michael Merriam, T. Aaron Cisco |
11:30am Sunday | Q&A with Christine & Bradley Galey |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Let’s ask some questions here and get to know our actor guests a little better. | Bradley Galey, Christine Galey |
11:30am Sunday | Get on the RADIO! Ham Radio Hour |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | When all other lines of communication are down, it’s nice to know a Ham. Amateur radio is a wonderful hobby and a public service. Bounce your signal off the moon, spot tornadoes, chat with people all over the world and contact astronauts in space. Join us. | Art Johnson, Tron Howard |
12:00pm Sunday | The Pleasures of Reading |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | What do you look for in a good book? How do you persuade other people to read books that you like? | Catherine Lundoff, T. Aaron Cisco |
12:00pm Sunday | Journals |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | What would our weekend theme be if we didn’t make our own books? Decorate a blank book and then write your own story! All ages are welcome | Brittany |
12:30pm Sunday | Minnesota Mufon - UFOs in Minnesota Q&A |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | Bring your questions and hear stories of actual Minnesota sightings throughout the years. | Tom Maher, mod.; Joe Swenson |
12:30pm Sunday | TBA |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | Coming soon to a MarsCon near you… | Eric M. Heideman |
01:00pm Sunday | MeowMeme Concert |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | MeowMeme is the comedy music alter ego of Alexandria Rasey, age 11, daughter of comedy musician Carrie Dahlby, and has attended the MarsCon Comedy Music Track every year following her birth year. She has performed during the FuMP Jukebox and at the Comedy Music Smackdown in years past, and last year she and her new persona performed a 15 minute comedy music concert of her own to kick off our Sunday concert block, and this year she’s doing it again with some brand new songs! Her first song, done with Carrie Dahlby and darkNES of the Gothsicles, “Woodland Creatures”, can be heard at the FuMP dot com. | MeowMeme |
01:00pm Sunday | Artist Guest of Honor Darcy Bell-Myers on Art and Illustration |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | Darcy Bell-Myers has been a professional illustrator for more than 30 years. She has illustrated more than 100 books as well as countless magazine and newspaper features, stickers, greeting cards, games, cartoons, websites, and educational software. Now that you’ve had the chance to see her exhibits in the Art Show, let’s get to know Darcy better—how she got started, what’s inspired her artistic journey, insights into an artist’s success, etc… Any aspiring illustrators or other kinds of artists who want to get into illustration can come talk with Darcy about the difference between fine art and illustration, the business side of it, different kinds of illustration (book, editorial, animation, clothing & product illustration, technical & medical illustration, etc), and keeping your personal creativity alive when you’re channeling a lot of your energy doing creative work to make someone else’s vision come alive. | Darcy Bell-Myers |
01:00pm Sunday | You Never Forget Your First |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | What book or other work inspired you and started on your journey in SF/fantasy fandom? What stood out? What resonated with you? Come and share your firsts among friends. | Christine LaBounty, mod.; Karl Gallagher, Michael Merriam, Kathryn Sullivan |
01:15pm Sunday | Holy Bongwater Concert |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Holy Bongwater is the musical project of adorable couple Jace McLain (of Nuclear Bubble Wrap) and Julia Larson. They do psychedelic comedy and parody music. Their EP “Mock The Vote” is a series of parodies made about each main candidate during the 2016 presidential election: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, and Bernie Sanders. Although the election was intense and stressful, this little parody EP hopefully serves as a nice little time capsule that showcases how a lot of people felt at the time. Many of their songs can be heard at the Funny Music Project, aka The FuMP dot com. | Holy Bongwater |
01:45pm Sunday | Regdar and the Fighters Concert |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Regdar and the Fighters is a glitch punk band out of Nashville, TN. Since 2007, who have been making weird, energetic music for nerds and music lovers. The core lineup is Steve “Fighter #1” Smith on bass/guitar and vocals, and Regdar “Why Did We Give the Computer Free Will?” on drums and synthesizers. Other musicians are frequently featured in recordings and live performances. They have existed in some form or another since 2007 and have played live with this lineup since 2009. They’re on all the major streaming platforms. If you’re looking for that, you know how to find it. | Regdar and the Fighters |
02:00pm Sunday | Best of Masquerade Slideshow |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | MarsCon is celebrating 25 years of Masquerade with pictures from previous Masquerade events. Sit back, enjoy, reminisce. | MarsCon Archives |
02:00pm Sunday | New Atlantis & Magnalia Naturae 400 years later.* |
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| Free Mars (Cardinal Perch) | What was the key to Francis Bacon anticipating so many advances? What might be the next thing on his list to “come alive?” His times being what they were, Bacon needed to be careful to insulate himself against charges of atheism, so New Atlantis contains much of a pious nature, but which to discerning readers, was clearly and intentionally implausible. Still such made it hard to call the work atheistic. In the sense that Bacon, essentially, codified the scientific method, and New Atlantis was fiction, should we regard New Atlantis as the first work of Science Fiction? *[Bacon died in 1623 while the work was incomplete.] | G. David Nordley |
02:00pm Sunday | Murderbot! |
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| Re(a)d Mars (Eagle’s Nest) | An appreciation of and discussion of what we love about Martha Wells’ media-addicted construct. | Kathryn Sullivan, mod. |
02:00pm Sunday | Project pick up |
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| Creative Planet (Mallard Point) | Did you make a craft this weekend and it’s sitting on our table to dry? Well, it’s probably ready for you to pick up and take home. Come and get it. At 4pm anything left will go on the free table or get thrown out. | Jen and Brittany |
02:00pm Sunday | What Little I Know about Story |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | A discussion of creating worthwhile stories for books, stage, gaming and life. What is a story? What makes it work or fail? Did you hate that movie because it fails to complete a hero’s journey? Or love because it violates your expectations? Humans love hearing and telling stories. - Can learning more fix your book or increase your enjoyment of a game with a better understanding of story? | David Walbridge |
02:30pm Sunday | The Dumb Parody Ideas Contest |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | ||
03:00pm Sunday | Comedy Music Smackdown Concert |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Featuring some of the 2023 Comedy Music Track acts in our grand* finale! | |
03:00pm Sunday | Eye Candy! Best Costumes in Movies & TV |
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| Labyrinth (Blue Heron Colony) | Which series excelled in wardrobe? What shows or movies should costumers be checking out now? Looking for source material, ideas and suggestions for what to watch to inspire the next/greatest cosplay. | T. Aaron Cisco, Jim Soos, Kat Eeg, Ron Stamp |
03:00pm Sunday | Diversicon Meeting |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | Come, learn about (and perhaps volunteer for?) this multicural, multimedia convention, the 30th edition of which will celebrate Guests of Honor Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due. | |
03:00pm Sunday | Science Room closes |
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| Science Room (Woodlands) | ||
03:00pm Sunday | Dealers Room closes; Prop-A-Torium closes |
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04:00pm Sunday | Closing Ceremonies |
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| Mainstage (Ballroom III/IV) | Say “farewell” to the guests & “thanks” to volunteers. Hear news about next year’s convention plans, pre-register for next year, and wonder why the weekend went so quickly. | ConCom and Guests of Honor Darcy Bell-Myers, P.C. Hodgell, Bradley Galey, Christine Galey, and Bonnie Gordon |
05:00pm Sunday | Hotel Cleanup |
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| Everyone is welcome to pitch in with cleaning up and clearing the rooms. Afterwards, join us and celebrate in Con Suite, Krushenko’s and poolside for the after-parties. Thank you, volunteers, artists, dealers, party hosts, science exhibitors, prop masters, guests, authors, musicians, and everyone else who brought fun to MarsCon! | ||
07:00pm Sunday | Party for Readers and Viewers |
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| Krushenko’s (1117) | Sponsored by Second Foundation, a speculative-and science-fiction book discussion group that has met about every six weeks since January 1983. Krushenko's: Conversation and Gaming Krushenko's Annex: Conversation and Oscar Viewing, followed by Viewers’ Choice |
“When Books Come Alive”
March 10 - 12, 2023
Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Mall of America
3800 American Blvd E
Bloomington, Minnesota
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