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Official Announcements, SF3, WisCon 43

The Gathering: Clothing Swap, Tiptree Crowning, and MORE!

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We’re grateful and happy to share that A Room Of One’s Own bookstore is sponsoring The Gathering this year! They’ll be hosting the Thursday night Guest of Honor Reception in-store at 315 W Gorham Street, and will be in the Dealers’ Room throughout the convention, carrying books by as many of the authors attending WisCon as they can. A Room Of One’s Own is a beautiful, welcoming physical store and is a pleasure to browse. Thank you, A Room Of One’s Own!

Whether you’re a WisCon regular or this is your first time, The Gathering is a must for kicking off your convention weekend! Held from 1-4pm in the Wisconsin/Capital Ballroom on the second floor, The Gathering is a great spot to meet up with friends old and new, snag some new threads, have some fun, and see this year’s Tiptree Award Winner crowned.

Wondering what’s going to be happening this year? Well, wonder no longer.

The Clothing Swap is back, and after suffering a little from its own success last year, we have some new rules as well as some reminders. The bigest reminder is that despite the name, it isn’t really a swap! You are welcomed and encouraged to take any clothing that strikes your fancy home, and you don’t need to bring any to give away in order to do so. In fact, we’ve always had too much donated and too little taken away, so please feel free to shop (for free). Anything that’s left at the end of The Gathering will be donated to a local nonprofit, but please have mercy on our volunteers who will have to carry the leftovers away, and adopt more clothes!

Want to bring us some treasures that no longer fit you or your aesthetic? You can bring them to the Wisconsin/Capital Ballroom beginning at 11am on Friday. Please do not bring anything to the Swap later than 2pm, as we will not be able to use it. If you are able to do so, we invite you to come in and help set out or hang up your donations — you will know sizes a lot faster than we will! We are also looking for volunteers to help keep things neat and help people “shop” during the swap, as well as folks who can help pack up anything that’s left over. Time spent helping out at the Clothing Swap can count toward a volunteering rebate, and anyone who volunteers for any amount of time is eligible for the volunteering gift, which is available at the Registration Desk on Monday. Interested? Please email personnel@sf3.org, or wait until WisCon and ask one of the folks already volunteering at the Clothing Swap for guidance on how you can help.

Here’s our revised and expanded set of guidelines for donating clothes to the Clothing Swap:

  • Please donate no more than one large bag of clothing. By large bag, we mean: one Ikea bag or shoe stone bag, or two brown paper grocery bags, or one loosely-filled kitchen-size trash bag, or a half-full large trash bag.
  • Please donate only items that you would gift to a friend – no holes, nothing worn-out, and preferably nothing that you didn’t think was great, for at least a little while.
  • No underwear of any type. No socks, no bras, no binders, no lingerie, no pajamas.
  • Please do not donate any clothing that is strongly scented or covered in pet hair. If you are able, please launder items in an unscented detergent. Donations that are smoky, musty, perfumed, otherwise strongly scented, or covered in pet hair will not be put out at the Clothing Swap.
  • Please do not donate any clothing that is wet. Yes, this has happened. Bags of wet clothing will be thrown away, as we will not even be able to donate them after the convention.

What else is happening at The Gathering this year? We are so glad you asked!

  • Coffee, Tea, and Subversion (yes, this is a fancy title for refreshments.)
  • Fiber Circle (bring your knitting/crocheting/embroidery/whatever!)
  • Tiptree Auction Preview (see what will be featured at the Auction)
  • Zen Doodles (new to The Gathering this year! Create some fun, meditative art.)
  • Gadget Petting Zoo (check out some technology, or share your own!)
  • Gaming Preview (play some games and find out more about games at WisCon)
  • Tarot Circle (bring your deck to show off and do a few readings, or have your cards read)
  • Nail Polish Swap (also not technically a swap, so feel free to drop off bottles without taking any, or take some without leaving any)
  • Renaissance Hair Braiding (fancy braiding for smooth and straight hair types)

And last but FAR from least, The Gathering closes with our Opening Ceremonies, where we might make announcements, and we will certainly honor the winner of this year’s Tiptree Award!

Official Announcements, WisCon 42

Let’s get ready to GATHERRRRRRRRRR!!!!

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Is everyone getting excited for WisCon? Because I sure am. This year we’re opening the convention* the traditional way: with the Gathering!

Editing to add: this year the Gathering is very generously sponsored by JoSelle Vanderhooft. She’s an amazing editor, writing coach, and writing teacher who also offers critiques as part of our Workshops. Check out her online resume and portfolio at www.joedits.com. Thank you, JoSelle!

If you don’t know it, the Gathering is just what it sounds like, and so very much more. Join us 1-4pm Friday in the big second floor ballroom to meet people, knit and crochet, get your tarot read, play with gadgets, pick up some new (to you) nail polish, learn to grind and mix curry powder, and other diversions.

If you’re new to WisCon, we’ve got friendly folks ready to answer your questions, connect you with resources, and take you on tours. They’ll be hanging out by the refreshments, so come grab a complimentary coffee, tea, or fruit punch and let us tell you all about what’s new and what hidden gems the con has to offer. If you’ve been coming for years, stop by and tell us what you wish you’d known earlier!

In case you were worried, our Clothing Swap is back this year! We’re in search of at least two more people who love recommending clothes and giving opinions about what would look great on folks — but who also are willing to hang, sort, and set out the clothes that members bring in to gift to each other. Interested? Give us a holler at chair@wiscon.net and we’ll make sure you get first crack at the treasures.

We call it a “swap”, but you don’t have to bring clothes in order to take some away — in fact, every year we have far more left over than we can handle! If you are bringing clothes, please make sure they are treasures rather than castoffs. The perfect Clothing Swap donation is something you’re parting with because it needs to be worn, not because it’s worn out! We also ask that you make sure anything you bring has been washed in an unscented detergent if possible, as many people are sensitive to perfumes and chemical scents, and that you remove any pet hair so that folks with allergies don’t get an unhappy surprise.

We’ll wrap up the Gathering at 4pm with a special ceremony to honor the late Ursula K Le Guin, and the winner of this year’s Tiptree Award will be crowned, then lead us all up to the Bakesale for celebratory cake, so you’ll want to plan on being there.

*Note: Yes, the Gathering opens the convention! But it isn’t the first event of the convention — that’s the Guest of Honor reception at Room of One’s Own on Thursday night.  🙂