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| Preliminary Program Schedule | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Room | Event | Description | Presenters |
Friday, May 12, 2000 | ||||
| 3:00 pm | Atrium 4 | I'm New! What's There to Do?? | An introduction to MarsCon and fan-run conventions in general. We'll talk about the many activities you can enjoy at MarsCon and the ways you can help out by volunteering at the convention. Then we'll give you a walking tour. Fun for both newbies and seasoned fen. | Ron Searby, Christine LaBounty |
| 4:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Drum Jam Lesson | Tod O'Donoghue | |
| 4:00 pm | Atrium 4 | Klingon 101 | How to develop a Klingon character. A backgrounding panel. | IKV RakeHell, Joel "Twisty" Nye |
| 4:00 pm | Atrium 8 | Giclee Seminar | State-of-the-art reproduction for artists and collectors, both! Buying fantastic sci-fi/fantasy art? Make sure you know what you are getting! Ready to get your work reproduced? Learn about the various types and costs of reproduction. | Brinn Willis |
| 4:00 pm | Blue Mars | Realm Rider Presents: The Warrior Princess Music Videos | Music videos starring everyone's favorite warrior, Xena, and also music videos for other genre shows. | Matt Savelkoul |
| 4:00 pm | Krushenko's | Libraries to Gun Ranges: How to Research a Novel and Have Fun Doing It | Lyda Morehouse, mod., C. J. Stone | |
| 4:00 pm | Young Aliens | SF/Fantasy Puppets | Make paper bag puppets. | Jessie Berg |
| 5:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Weapons Construction | Both wood/composite and metal | IKV RakeHell, Jay Sharpe |
| 5:00 pm | Atrium 4 | What are Role-Playing Games? | Are they just a children's game of Let's Pretend? Theater? Storytelling? Join rogue scholar Fang Langford as he gives an eye-opening definition of this unique and under-exploited medium. | Fang Langford |
| 5:00 pm | Atrium 7 | When Science Goes, "Oops!" | An exploration of assorted mistakes and pitfalls of Earth's scientists. | Rich Brown |
| 5:00 pm | Krushenko's | Printing-on-demand technology | Joan Marie Verba, C. J. Stone | |
| 5:00 pm | Young Aliens | Comic Art Demonstration | Artist John Mundt.. | John Mundt |
| 5:30 pm | Dealer's Room | Mark Allen Shepherd Autographs | The first of several autograph sessions for guest of honor Mark Allen Shepherd. Check the pocket program and dealer's room for further times. | Mark Allen Shepherd |
| 5:30 pm | Dealer's Room | Lisa Getto Autographs | The first of several autograph sessions for guest of honor Lisa M. Getto. Check the pocket program and dealer's room for further times. | Lisa Getto |
| 6:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Writing Seminar I | Submit a short story to Margaret Weis and she will critique it at a separate panel on Saturday. | Margaret Weis |
| 6:00 pm | Atrium 4 | A Batleth Demonstration | Laura Thurston, David Peck, Jenn Peck, Donna Lang, George Richard | |
| 6:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Toys in Space | Ben Huset, Minnesota Space Frontier Society | |
| 6:00 pm | Atrium 8 | The Big Three Killers | Heart disease, cancer, and strokes took their toll in the Twentieth Century. Why do these appear in science fiction so rarely and what will be the big three of the next millenium? | Brinn Willis, C. J. Stone |
| 7:00 pm | Mainstage | Opening Ceremonies | A fine old convention tradition: meet the convention committee and the guests of honor and start the convention off with a bang. | Steve McKillen, Lynne Tauer, ConCom, Margaret Weis, Don Perrin, Mark Allen Shepherd, Jack Borkowski, Donald Schmitt, Lisa M. Getto, Denise Boie |
| 7:00 pm | Music Room | Vessel Celtic Rock | A local band will be performing in the music room. | Vessel Celtic Rock |
| 8:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Costuming on a Shoe-String, Looking Fabulous for Pennies | Donna Lang, Kathy Peck, Jenn Peck | |
| 8:00 pm | Atrium 4 | Q & A with Margaret Weis and Don Perrin | Margaret Weis, Don Perrin | |
| 8:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Donald Schmitt | Donald Schmitt | |
| 8:00 pm | Mainstage | Skiffy Radio Play | A Hole in Reality | Jerry Stearns |
| 9:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Pre-Raphaelite Art | Artist Guest of Honor Denise Boie | Denise Boie |
| 9:00 pm | Atrium 4 | Living on Deep Space Nine | Media Guests Mark Allen Shepherd and Lisa M. Getto chat about what it was like to work on Deep Space Nine. | Mark Allen Shepherd, Lisa Getto |
| 9:00 pm | Atrium 7 | UFOs and Close Encounters in the Present Day | This talk is intended for believers and skeptics alike. No claim is presented as to the explanation for the phenomenon, but will assume that sightings and encounters occur - not all of them explained. This talk presents an overview of the phenomenon, as it is reported by apparently credible witnesses in the present day. It describes the types of sightings, presenting an example of each. We will then discuss Close Encounter events of the 4th kind (CE4s, a.k.a. UFO abductions), some of the dynamics of the CE4 phenomenon, and some indicators of the presence of this phenomenon. | Craig Lang |
| 9:00 pm | Atrium 8 | Chocolate Ceremony | We pay homage to chocolate, the perfect food. | Louise Gastuch, Donna Lang, Kathy Peck |
| 9:00 pm | Gaming Room | Vampire: The Masquerade LARP | Live Action Role Playing Game | |
| 9:00 pm | Krushenko's | Literary Party | Host: Eric Heideman | |
| 9:30 pm | Mainstage | Belly Dancing | Ivan Rosen, Tina Nagy, Mary West, Laurie Olson Williams, Karol Kurtz-Naeve | |
| 10:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Dark Poetry | Brinn Willis | |
| 10:00 pm | Atrium 4 | The Fandom/Feline Connection | Why cats are Klingons with fur or why your cat may really be a Vogon. | Dr. Jane Dusak & Mary Loving |
| 10:00 pm | Mainstage | Drum Jam | Bring your drum and thrum, thrum, thrum | Tod O'Donoghue |
| 10:30 pm | Music Room | Mark Allen Shepherd Filking | Mark Allen Shepherd | |
| 11:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Vogon Poetry | Listen to poetry so bad that it might make you want to chew your left arm off. Bring your own to share or just kick back and enjoy the torture. | Christine LaBounty |
| 11:00 pm | Atrium 4 | Wheel of Sci-Fi | Trivia Contest | U.S.S Czar'ak |
| 11:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Futurism | John Dingley | |
Saturday, May 13, 2000 | ||||
| 12:00 am | Atrium 1 | Shades of Black: A Buffy Panel | An exploratory discussion of morality and the vampire-slaying biz. | Mickey Erickson, Christine LaBounty |
| 9:00 am | Atrium 4 | I'm New! What's There to Do?? | An introduction to MarsCon and fan-run conventions in general. We'll talk about the many activities you can enjoy at MarsCon and the ways you can help out by volunteering at the convention. Then we'll give you a walking tour. Fun for both newbies and seasoned fen. | Ron Searby, Christine LaBounty |
| 10:00 am | Atrium 1 | Getting a Head in the Klingon Empire | A make-up demo with instructions on making prosthetics easily | Bill Hedrick, Jay Sharpe |
| 10:00 am | Atrium 4 | Civil War Gaming | Dave Page | |
| 10:00 am | Atrium 7 | Mars Direct | How to send humans to Mars on 1/10th of what it would cost NASA | Minnesota Space Frontier Society |
| 10:00 am | Atrium 8 | Science Fiction as a Vehicle for Personal Transformation | Dr. Jane Dusek, Mary Loving | |
| 10:00 am | Blue Mars | World Premiere: "The First Manned Trip to Mars" | The world premier of a short animated film and pilot for the animated series "King Stinko" in which Mark Allen Shepherd not only performed the voice of King Sticko's sidekick Corncoblin, but also did art backgrounds, composed music, and served as musical director | Mark Allen Shepherd |
| 10:00 am | Mainstage | Masquerade Rehearsal | Jolene Hardy | |
| 10:00 am | Young Aliens | Tie-Dyed T-Shirts | Create your own Tie-Dyed T-Shirt. $8 for children, $10 for adults (for materials). | Kat Drake |
| 10:00 am | Garden Court | Fan Faire | What do fans do when they're not doing conventions? Here's your answer! Come and meet representatives from various local fan clubs and other fannish organizations. Tables will be assigned to groups on a first come, first served basis. | |
| 11:00 am | Atrium 1 | Artist Jam | Creative group art project | Denise Boie |
| 11:00 am | Atrium 4 | How to Get Into Show Business | Want to get onto a big screen or small screen some day? Find out how from one who knows. | Lisa Getto |
| 11:00 am | Atrium 7 | John Koblas | John Koblas | |
| 11:00 am | Atrium 8 | The Fine Art of Fan Fic | Catherine Cegla, mod., Elena Beltran, Todd Hamilton, Larissa Presho, Joan Marie Verba, Lyda Morehouse | |
| 11:00 am | Young Aliens | Story Hour With Grandma | Stories for the little ones. | Jessie Berg |
| 12:00 pm | Atrium 4 | The Writings of Margaret Weis and Don Perrin | Margaret Weis, Don Perrin | |
| 12:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Space Stations | Ben Huset, Minnesota Space Frontier Society | |
| 12:00 pm | Atrium 8 | Torques, Ringers, & Rules Rapes: How to Annoy Your GM | Brian LaBounty, Richard Kubik | |
| 12:00 pm | Krushenko's | Fiction Reading: Sandra Rector | Sandra Rector | |
| 12:00 pm | Young Aliens | Dungeons and Dragons for Girls and Boys | A brand new Dungeons and Dragons adventure for girls and boys, ages 6-12. No experience necessary, advanced players welcome. Must be able to read some. Characters will be provided. A parent must be present to register the child into the game. | Michael Kauper |
| 1:00 pm | Atrium 7 | The Pros and Cons of a Writer's Group | Sandra Rector, mod., Joan Marie Verba, C. J. Stone | |
| 1:00 pm | Atrium 8 | From "My Favorite Martian" to "Men in Black" | There have been aliens living among humans on Earth. Some live here in secret (My Favorite Martian, Third Rock from the Sun). Some make their presence known (Alien Nation, Star Trek). Some Aliens do both (Superman, V). Some are here to study humans and some are here to conquer (The Invaders). | Anthony Armor, Sponsored by the Q Continuum |
| 1:00 pm | Blue Mars | Realm Rider Presents: The Warrior Princess Music Videos | Music videos starring everyone's favorite warrior, Xena | Matt Savelkoul |
| 1:00 pm | Krushenko's | Mars in Fact, Folklore, Fiction, and Film | Eric Heideman | |
| 1:00 pm | Mainstage | The Best of the IKV RakeHell | The Martian Liberation Front, in cooperation with Klingon Revolutionary Art Performance Troups present: The Best of the IKV RakeHell, Revolutionary fables to free the lumpin proletariat. | IKV RakeHell |
| 1:30 pm | Parking lot | Strike Any Key When Ready | Pulverize a computer for a good cause. | U.S.S. Nokomis |
| 2:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Left-Brain/Right-Brain Fandom | Joel "Twisty" Nye, Bill Hedrick | |
| 2:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Sovereign Stone: A New Role-Playing System | Margaret Weis, Don Perrin | |
| 2:00 pm | Krushenko's | Fiction Reading: Lyda Morehouse | Lyda Morehouse | |
| 2:00 pm | Main stage | Morn Speaks | Get to know Mark Allen Shepherd. | Mark Allen Shepherd |
| 3:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Working on Babylon 5 | Lisa M. Getto relates her experiences as a background actor on the space epic, Babylon 5. | Lisa M. Getto |
| 3:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Donald Schmitt | Donald Schmitt | |
| 3:00 pm | Atrium 8 | A Robot in Every Home | What is needed for home robots to become a standard consumer electronics product and what will their impact on society be? | William J. Crolley, Bob Odegard, Bryan Andersen, Richard Caylor (Sponsored by the Twin Cities Robotics Club) |
| 3:00 pm | Blue Mars | Cold Vengeance Premiere | George Richard | |
| 3:00 pm | Krushenko's | Plotting vs. Ideas | Which is more important to crafting an SF story: the plot or the idea behind it? | P.M.F. Johnson, mod., Paula Fleming, C. J. Stone |
| 4:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Advanced Costuming | With examples and sources. | Jack & Jett Borkowski |
| 4:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Life on Other Planets | John Dingley | |
| 4:00 pm | Atrium 8 | Fantasy and Magic Realism: Is there a difference, and if so, what? | Robert Subiaga, Jr., Lyda Morehouse, C. J. Stone | |
| 4:00 pm | Mainstage | Bitter Suite | A dramatic performance by the Xenaversity of Minnesota. | Xenaversity |
| 5:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Toys in Space | Physics disguised as fun and games (for kids) | Ben Huset, MN Space Frontier |
| 5:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Time Travel and the Good Doctor | Sponsored by the Celestial Affiliation of Time Lords and the MN Doctor Who Viewing Society | |
| 5:00 pm | Atrium 8 | Never, Never, Never Give Up! | How many rejections does it take to make you quit? How to keep faith in yourself in a tough market. | P.M.F. Johnson, Lyda Morehouse, C. J. Stone |
| 5:00 pm | Mainstage | Cold Terror Fleet Assembly | A Cold Terror Fleet Assembly with presentation of awards and a parade of ships in attendence. | Jack Borkowski & The Klingon Invasion |
| 6:00 pm | Atrium 1 | Solar Power Satellites | Are we likely to see electricity from power satellites in our lifetimes, or is this something as likely to be built as, say, a ringworld? And why do astronomers threaten to start wringing necks when ever this topic is mentioned? | Rich Brown |
| 6:00 pm | Atrium 4 | Babylon 5: Rants, Raves, and Saves | What did you like the most about Babylon 5? What did you hate? How would you have changed it to make it better? No-Prizes will be awarded for the most creative solutions. | Whitestar Phoenix |
| 6:00 pm | Atrium 8 | Drawing for Comic Books | Shawn VanBriesen, Terry Pavlet, Doug Mahnke, John Mundt | |
| 6:00 pm | Krushenko's | Fiction Reading: Paula Fleming | Paula Fleming | |
| 6:00 pm | Mainstage | Masquerade Setup | Jolene Hardy | |
| 7:00 pm | Krushenko's | Fiction Reading: Robert Subiaga, Jr. | Robert Subiaga, Jr. | |
| 7:00 pm | Mainstage | Masquerade and Dance | Steve McKillen, Jolene Hardy, Jack Borkowski, Mark Allen Shepherd, IKV Rakehell | |
| 9:00 pm | Atrium 4 | Klingon Simming | Jason McGuire | |
| 9:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Where should the "X-Files" go next? | (The exact thrust of this topic will depend on whether FOX decides to go for an eighth year.) Should the movies deal with the "mythology" or "monsters of the week"? Should more characters be brought into center stage or should the focus continue to be on Mulder and Scully? Is there a good approach to transferring the dark, often claustorphobic atmosphere of the t.v. series onto the big screen? | Paula Fleming |
| 9:00 pm | Krushenko's | Literary Party | Host: Eric Heideman | |
| 9:00 pm | Music Room | Belly Dancing | Ivan Rosen, Tina Nagy, Mary West, Laurie Olson Williams, Karol Kurtz-Naeve | |
| 10:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Giclee Seminar | State-of-the-art reproduction for artists and collectors, both! Buying fantastic sci-fi/fantasy art? Make sure you know what you are getting! Ready to get your work reproduced? Learn about the various types and costs of reproduction. | Brinn Willis |
| 10:00 pm | Atrium 8 | What an Incredible Smell You've Discovered! (The Obligatory Phantom Menace Rant) | Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was one of the worst movies ever filmed. Find out why. | Godfree, the Barneyslayer & Lyda Morehouse |
| 10:00 pm | Poolside | Batleth Croquet | IKV RakeHell | |
| 11:00 pm | Atrium 8 | Punnel | Brian LaBounty | |
| 11:00 pm | Everywhere | Bar-Hopping with Morn | Check out all the parties with our most famous bar-hopper, Morn, and our own Party Godess, Malasondra. | Mark Allen Shepherd, Malasondra Doepner |
Sunday, May 14, 2000 | ||||
| 12:00 am | Atrium 1 | Any Question Answered | You've seen him areound with the sign "Any Question Answered", now come and pose your toughest questions. In this second annual event, the answer-man, Fang Langford, will take all questions, each guaranteed to receive an answer (time permitting). | Fang Langford |
| 12:00 am | Atrium 7 | Erotic Readings | Louise Gastuch | |
| 12:00 am | Atrium 8 | Klingon Sex | The title should speak for itself. Not recommended for the young or faint of heart. | Jack Borkowski, Donna Lang, Jenn Peck |
| 12:00 am | Mainstage | Drum Jam | Bring your drum and thrum, thrum, thrum | Tod O'Donoghue |
| 10:00 am | Atrium 1 | Harry Potter | Erin McCanna, Amy Berger, David Perlman, Bill Hathaway | |
| 10:00 am | Atrium 4 | Writing Seminar II | Margaret Weis critiques works submitted to her during Friday's panel. | Margaret Weis |
| 10:00 am | Atrium 8 | Non-Warrior Klingons: Who Makes Blood Wine? | Donna Lang, Mary Bertelson | |
| 10:00 am | Mainstage | Morn Speaks | Get to know Mark Allen Shepherd. | Mark Allen Shepherd |
| 10:30 am | Mother's Day Breakfast Buffet with the Guests | Enjoy a scrumptious breakfast with the guests of honor. (You must have purchased a ticket to attend.) | Margaret Weis, Don Perrin, Mark Allen Shepherd, Jack Borkowski, Donald Schmitt, Lisa M. Getto, Denise Boie | |
| 11:00 am | Atrium 4 | First Contact Scenarios | What would the ramifications be of the discovery of, or contact with, extraterrestrial life. We can imagine that the reaction of humanity would be far different to the discovery of a meteorite in Antarctica with 4-billion year old nano-fossils from Mars, than if the aliens landed on the white house lawn. This talk will explore some scenarios of possible ET life discovery and ET contact based upon work by a number of science writers and futurists. With each scenario, we will look at the strangeness of the idea, and social resistance to it. | MUFON, Craig Lang |
| 11:00 am | Atrium 8 | The Hammer of Grabthar vs. the Sword of Kahless | Warrior Cultures in SF. | George Richard, Joel "Twisty" Nye |
| 11:00 am | Krushenko's | Gleanings from the Slushpile | Magazine staff-members discuss what they've learned about creative writing and business from reading other people's submissions. | Sandra Rector, mod., P.M.F. Johnson, C. J. Stone, Paula Fleming, Eric Heideman |
| 11:00 am | Young Aliens | Comic Art Demonstration | With artist John Mundt. | John Mundt |
| 12:00 pm | Atrium 1 | X-Files and Beyond | Lisa will talk about her experiences working on the X-Files and other shows and movies | Lisa Getto |
| 12:00 pm | Atrium 4 | Donald Schmitt | Donald Schmitt | |
| 12:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Meet Marscon 2001 Exec | Meet the folks who are planning Marscon 2001. | Jolene Hardy, Malasondra Doepner, Christine LaBounty |
| 12:00 pm | Atrium 8 | Gays in the military: Are there answers in SF? | In David Drake's "Slammers" stories, Colonel Hammer's personal bodyguard is openly gay. A nurse in Harry Turtledove's alternate WWII universe is lesbian. These characters are very good at what they do and they find a place in military service where they fit. Do we have to suspend disbelief more than usual to accept these characters or is SF describing a plausible future for our armed forces? | Paula Fleming, mod., Lyda Morehouse, C. J. Stone |
| 12:00 pm | Krushenko's | Fiction Reading: P.M.F. Johnson | P.M.F. Johnson | |
| 1:00 pm | Krushenko's | My Eyes Are on Backorder: The Problems of Cybernetics | What sort of horrible problems would a cyborg have if cybernetic maintenance was as problematic as automobile maintenance? | Lyda Morehouse, C. J. Stone |
| 1:00 pm | Mainstage | Charity Auction | All proceeds go to Camp Heartland. | Auctioneer: Eric Larson |
| 2:00 pm | Atrium 8 | Space: Above and Beyond | A question and answer session about the show. | Kevin Trainor and the Space Ready Reserve |
| 2:00 pm | Krushenko's | Developing a Well-Rounded Fantasy Character | How do you make your character rise out of a magical world? | P.M.F. Johnson, C. J. Stone |
| 3:00 pm | Atrium 4 | Kids in Space | Ben Huset, Minnesota Space Frontier Society | |
| 3:00 pm | Atrium 7 | Belly Dancing Class | Ivan Rosen, Tina Nagy, Mary West, Laurie Olson Williams, Karol Kurtz-Naeve | |
| 3:00 pm | Krushenko's | When does science fiction become fantasy? | Warping the fabric of space; wands of teleportation. Virtual reality that's indistinguishable from regular reality; illusional magicks. Parallel universes; entering the land of faerie. Some SF extrapolates from the current cutting-edge of applied science, but some SF extrapolates applied science from current theories or hypotheses. Is this latter type of speculation more accurately termed "fantasy" than "science fiction"? | Paula Fleming, C. J. Stone |
| 3:00 pm | Mainstage | Art Auction | Liked the art show? Take a piece of it home with you. | Nora Leverson, Erik Larson |
| 4:00 pm | Mainstage | Closing Ceremonies | Another fine old con tradition | Steve McKillen, M2K Concom, M001 Concom |