jasra

Do you have a good idea of something you would like to see at Arisia?

Note from the Acting Head of Programming

We have decided to close the mailing list and convert our brainstorming process to forums. You are therefore cordially invited to be among the first to sign up for the brand-new Arisia forums, http://forums.arisia.org/ .

For the moment, brainstorming will be held in a limited-access sub-forum. Once you've registered, send an email to [forums at arisia.org] requesting permission to join the brainstorm group. The site is live now, so start storming away!

We apologize for the late start this year, but with the new capabilities a webforum allows us, we should be much better organized when it comes the time to import everything into our custom scheduling software.

If you have any questions about the process, send an email to [programming at arisia.org] for administrative issues or [forums at arisia.org] for technical issues.

As always, thank you for your commitment to improving programming at Arisia!

Sincerely,

Jaime Garmendia
(Acting) Division Head, Programming
Arisia 2013

Guidelines for Brainstorming

jasra

Hello from the Locus Science Fiction Foundation!

Knowing your commitment to and involvement in the science fiction and fantasy community, we are writing to ask you for your help with a small project. As you may know, Locus magazine is now part of the Locus Science Fiction Foundation, a 501(c)(3) California nonprofit. One of the goals of the LSFF is to preserve, protect, digitize, and make available to the public the massive photo and ephemera collection that belonged to Locus founder, Charles N. Brown. The LSFF's archival intern, Kate Dollarhyde, has set up a Kickstarter campaign to help fund this project: digitizing and cataloging the over 40,000 pieces of SF/F history in the collection, and then setting up an online gallery of as many of the materials as possible, making them available to fans, writers, researchers, scholars, and others.

Our LSFF Kickstarter project is designed to fund the purchase of a large quantity of archival supplies for the photos and ephemera, so that we can properly provide long-term stabilization and storage for the 60+ years worth of collectible photos, memorabilia, and documents as we digitize them. We also need to pay for a good quality scanner and the construction of a searchable, viewable, online database of these images for public and academic use.

I'd like to ask each of you to, simply, promote the heck out of the LSFF Kickstarter campaign. Here is the link to the LSFF Kickstarter page.

We're reaching out to you knowing that you can get that information out there - whether it's through Facebook, Twitter, your own personal blogs, websites, fan bases, fan sites, listservs or personal email (preferably all of the above!) - it's the jumpstart we need to get the word out there. We'll be following that with campaigns to Locus magazine subscribers, as well as having the LSFF board members personally campaign to raise funds.

Our initial goal is $9,500, and we'll be running our Kickstarter for 35 days. If we overfund, there are several other projects waiting in the wings that are just as important. We'd like to ask you to help us get the word out! Please also visit our website at http://www.lsff.net for more information on the Locus Science Fiction Foundation.

Feel free to let us know if you have any questions. Emails regarding the project can be sent to <locusarchive@gmail.com>.

Thank you all, in advance, for helping out the foundation with a few words to your own supporters!

Sincerely,

Liza Trombi, Editor-in-Chief, Locus Magazine
Rina Weisman, Board Member, Locus Science Fiction Foundation
Kate Dollarhyde, Intern, LSFF

docwatson42

Dear Members and Alumni of the Smith Science Fiction and Fantasy Society,

We request the pleasure of your company for tea on Friday, April Thirteenth at 4:30 pm in the Campus Center (room TBA).

In the past few months, we have came across some photographs and documents from former years of SSFFS. While we do not always recognize the people specifically, we do recognize them as SSFFSians -- it seems that in thirty-two years, the character of our organization has not really changed. We hope to gather as many of us as possible to share stories, pictures, and fun.

All are invited, but we unfortunately do not have everyone's contact information. Please forward this invitation to any other member you know!

RSVP at your earliest convenience so that we can make appropriate arrangements.

Sincerely,

The Smith Science Fiction and Fantasy Society:

President Amy Tayloe '12

Vice President Elizabeth Hillis '12

ConChair Cassandra Prager '14

Treasurer Elizabeth Reisine '13

Secretary Celena Farrel '13

Librarian Kate Zdepski '12

Social Chair Beryl Brachman '14

Social Chair Faith Donaher '15

Webmistress Freda Moore '14

Gaming Chair Rachel Frank '14

Anime Chair April Ho-Tsing '14

bostonbabydolls

We're pleased to partner with The West End Museum of Boston.  The museum is delighted to host an expanded version of our costume exhibit for a month, beginning a few days after The Great Burlesque Exposition.  From April 10, 2012 through May 12, 2012 the costumes will be on display in an appropriate location: a museum dedicated to the Boston neighborhood which encompassed Scollay Square, Boston's original burlesque district.

One of the benefactors of The West End Museum has pledged to match our fund drive, dollar for dollar, if we can raise over $500.00 – that's where you come in.  We need these funds to transport and insure these unique and historical costumes; license images of vintage burlesque costumes and performers; and purchase the display accessories which will allow us to showcase these beautiful pieces in the manner in which they deserve to be shown.

Admission to this exhibit will be free while it is housed The West End Museum.  A portion of the funds go towards providing free access to these wonderful pieces of Americana.