Escapade's online summer con is coming! SAVE THE DATE for Friday, June 27th through Sunday, June 29th, because we’re serving up a weekend of slashy online fun you won’t want to miss! Start proposing those panels! Submit your panel suggestions here: Escapade 35.5 Panel Nominations: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2rI20o0P5CFxo17QcKRE260wHnI2STPMqfntAtBgP_aozrg/viewform Not sure what to suggest, or questioning how to word something? Our Panel Suggestion Party is noon - 3 pm PDT / 0500 - 0800 UTC on April 27th, hosted by fashes.https://dateful.com/eventlink/2907743510 We’ll be putting out the call for general tech volunteers as the convention gets closer, so stay tuned. Are you excited? We are too!
[In-Person Escapade 35] Unofficial panels, Meetups, and DIYs, Oh My!
Hey there Escapaders! Got a hankering to talk about something that didn’t make it onto the schedule? “Unofficial” panels and “Meetups” are a long-standing tradition for Escapade, and we’ve left space for them!
“Unofficial” Panels and Meetups:
Want to create your own in-person meetup or unofficial panel? Here’s what to do:
- Go to the Con Suite and find an open slot under “Redondo” on the Master Schedule
- Write your panel name in the open slot
- Then add your panel name to the schedules on every panel room door
- Use our big neon post-its to advertise your panel on all panel room doors
- We also have signs you can post and carry around.
- Don’t forget to mention your panel on the Escapade 35 Discord; just make sure it’s clear it’s in-person, and where and when it will take place.
“DIY” panels held online during the convention:
Escapade 35 is an in-person convention, but we’re happy to provide a space for anyone to host their own online “DIY” panels during the con. Keep an eye on the Escapade 35 Discord to learn where and when these virtual panels will be taking place. Please note that Escapade staff will NOT be providing tech support for these DIY online panels; these are strictly Do-It-Yourself in every aspect. Want to create your own online DIY panel? Instructions are in place on the Discord for how to set up your panel online.
Any questions? Ask at the Con Suite or jump into the #help-desk channel on the Discord and we’ll be happy to help you out!
See you soon,
-glymrEscapade Co-Chair
[In-Person Escapade 35] What's a Discord?
Discord is an app that allows people to communicate by text online. Discord can be counterintuitive at first, but many attendees appreciate the IRC-like interface once they settle in.
Our “Forever” Escapade Discord server is open year-round and is free to join. Come see what we’re up to! If you would like access to the "Forever" Escapade server please send us an email at info@escapadecon.net.
If you paid for a membership to Escapade 35, or if you donated at least $20 to Escapade in the past six months, you will also receive a special link for the Exclusive Escapade 35 Discord. This link will be sent by email shortly before the convention. This exclusive Discord is tailored for Escapade 35, with channels for each panel, a 24-hour vid stream, and a live vid stream during the Vid Show. This is not a virtual convention, but rather a benefit designed for Escapade 35 attendees that can also be accessed by donating non-attendees.
There will be a separate Virtual Escapade 35.5 on June 27-29, 2025 with actual panels and online attendees. Register now at: https://escapadecon.net/escapade-35-5-registration-online/
-ConCom
Hey Escapaders!
If you booked a King Suite room, your rate may have gone DOWN! Due to an error in the hotel reservation system, some people who booked King Suites for Friday or Saturday nights were charged $10 more per night than they should have been. The hotel has painstakingly fixed all the incorrect rates, so if you booked a King Suite for Friday and Saturday, your total rate may have gone down by as much as $23! To see if your rate went down, check your original email confirmation, then log in to Hilton and compare the total rate now listed on your reservation. If your rate hasn’t changed, then you were booked at the correct amount in the first place. If you booked a different type of room (for example, a Twin Queen), your rate was correct and should be unaffected.
-ConCom
Hey Escapaders!
If you booked a King Suite room, your rate may have gone DOWN! Due to an error in the hotel reservation system, some people who booked King Suites for Friday or Saturday nights were charged $10 more per night than they should have been. The hotel has painstakingly fixed all the incorrect rates, so if you booked a King Suite for Friday and Saturday, your total rate may have gone down by as much as $23! To see if your rate went down, check your original email confirmation, then log in to Hilton and compare the total rate now listed on your reservation. If your rate hasn’t changed, then you were booked at the correct amount in the first place. If you booked a different type of room (for example, a Twin Queen), your rate was correct and should be unaffected.
-ConCom
Good news for people who need to park at the hotel but aren’t planning on staying over! The day rate is only $15 a day. When you arrive at the convention, park in the garage lot beneath the hotel. You’ll grab a ticket when entering. Take the ticket to the front desk when you arrive, explain that you’re with Escapade and you need the day rate parking, and they will take care of you. If you’re planning on staying late after the dance or vid show, you may wish to double check the time when “day rate” becomes “overnight”. (Escapade’s overnight rate is $20.)
[IN-PERSON ESCAPADE 35] Sell Yourself to Help Escapade!
Sell Yourself to Help Escapade!
One of the funnest and funniest events of Escapade is the art auction on Sunday morning. If you’d like to help support Escapade, consider Selling a Service at the auction! There are all kinds of creative options, such as: writing a fanfic, drawing fanart, beta/editing services, a podfic reading, sketching a comic, making a fanvid, or other fun ideas. If you’re the type of person who’s never defaulted on an exchange, We Want You!
Please fill out the form to Sell Yourself at: https://forms.gle/DYp7J6fcnsTAiqyy6
IMPORTANT: Proceeds from this type of auction go entirely to the convention and our chosen charity. Sellers will not receive any of the proceeds from a Service auction.
Reblogged
Event Announcement!
Join FujoCoded at Escapade, the original slash slumber party with three decades of fannish history, in Los Angeles, CA from Jan. 31st to Feb. 2nd! Come chat with us about fandom, join our panels, and maybe even buy an exclusive new Fujoboard...
Want to attend in-person? There's still time to sign up!
You can also register for the upcoming online-only Escapade 35.5 or donate to help out this long-standing fandom tradition directly ($20 gets you access to the Escapade 35 Discord!)
@essential-randomness will be hosting 3 panels this year, all about a better fannish internet:
- What's up with BlueSky (and decentralized social networks)?
- The Fujoshi Guide to Web Development - Building a Fandom from Scratch
- Personal Fannish Websites (co-hosted with Elf)
Finally, Escapade needs your help! Even if you can't attend, there are still tons of ways to chip in and help secure the future for this piece of fandom history. Spread the word, tell your friends!
And here's the exclusive Escapade FujoBoard.... under the cut!
Wondering what the food situation is like at Escapade? The hotel offers a full service omelette bar and complimentary hot breakfast to all hotel guests. There’s also an open snack bar at night. During the convention hours, the con suite offers hot options and grab and go with lots of drink options. Got the late night munchies? One of our concom will fix you up, no questions asked. No one goes hungry at Escapade, Jan 31-Feb 2. https://escapadecon.carrd.co/
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Hey there Escapader!
It’s poll time. Ba dum pa! We have two polls for you to go through and take real quick. Each should only take a few minutes.
The first poll is on what preferences are for watching the vidshow. Your responses will help determine the venues used for loud room/quiet room and AV equipment rental.
Vid Show Preferences Survey: https://forms.gle/kW9Zu1xbkidFL8119
The second poll is the Wayback and Wildcard Poll. The Wayback panel possibilities include several panels from ten years ago. Please vote now and the top two will be voted on during the Escapade 35 Welcome Panel to see which panel makes it to the final schedule. The Wildcard panel gives YOU the option to suggest a panel topic for something new and exciting that didn’t make it onto the final schedule.
Wildcard and Wayback Panel Survey: https://forms.gle/yrE9UBr7NPe5M6Pt5
Thanks for voting! Stay tuned for more announcements pending.
-Escapade Con Com
Escapade 35 how many nights is too many nights?
Having a hard time deciding whether to arrive Thursday or Friday? Let’s make it harder for you. Escapade has added a Night Market during Thursday night registration. Escapade, Jan 31-Feb 2*, Night Market, Jan 30. https://escapadecon.carrd.co/
[In-Person Escapade 35] A Little Bad News and A Lot of Good News
Hello, friends!
We have great news for you further down, but first, important hotel stuff! The bad news is that the hotel broke our group code for several days. Any reservations made during that time won’t count toward our contracted total. If we don’t reach our total, it could mean big fines for the con.
The good news is, it’s fairly easy for us to change your room to the group rate: all we need is the first and last name your reservation was booked under, and we can arrange for the hotel to switch you over.
Even if our rate may seem higher than the rate you booked, we confirmed with the hotel that it’s probably not. We negotiated some incredible concessions for our rate:
- All reservations (including ours) have $16 per night added to them upon check-in. This is a hospitality tax implemented by the city of L.A. and is not reflected in the website rates. However, reservations booked through our group rate will have this secret extra charge removed upon check out. So please add $16 per night to the rate you reserved when comparing it to our group rate.
- Many of you were concerned about the high deposit for incidentals pre-authorized on your credit or debit card last year. We initially negotiated a $250 cap on this for the whole stay, but now the hotel has agreed to waive the deposit entirely for rooms booked under our group code this year.
- Regular parking cost at the hotel is going up this year to $60 per night. For rooms booked under our rate this year, it’s only $20 per night. If you’re planning on bringing a car, you’ll want your room booked under our rate. (Fair warning, part of the deal to get the deposit waived means you’ll pay the parking bill upfront as a separate charge from the room.)
- Rooms booked under our group code are cancellable until the night before the convention. Other rates generally don’t have this benefit.
If you want your reservation under the group rate, you can reply to this email with the name used to reserve the room and we’ll take care of it for you.
You can also simply cancel your reservation and re-book online now that our group code CESRCG is working again. However, you may have difficulty if you try to call directly, since the rep likely handles many hotels and won’t have been briefed on the specifics of our situation. The best way is to either handle it online, or let us handle it on your behalf.
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The GREAT News:
After our last email, we received a huge outpouring of support. We’re awed, we’re humbled, and we’re so, so grateful. Some of you are sponsoring new attendees, some are sharing their love for Escapade on Discord, tumblr, and Blue Sky, and many of you donated. Thank you so much. You may make the difference between whether Escapade survives or not.
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More great news!
Agatha All Along and Wicked streaming on Sundays before the convention!
Umber will be hosting showings of Agatha All Along on Sundays, 1/5/25, 1/12/25, and 1/19/25, at 2pm PST (5pm EST). Each showing will be around 2.5 hours.
Kosmi link: https://kosmi.gg/xp51uu
Umber will be hosting a showing of Wicked on Sunday, 1/26/25, at 2pm PST (5pm EST).
Kosmi link: https://kosmi.gg/xp51uu
Join her to check out these popular new fandoms before the convention!
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And even more great news:
The vidshow deadline has been extended to 1/23/25. You now have a couple more weeks to procrastinate. ^_^
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Thank you all for your patience, your kindness, and your generosity. We’re working hard to make this year’s Escapade more fun than ever. We hope to see all of you soon, if not in 2025, then in 2026!
-Escapade Con Com
Escapade needs your help
Dear Escapade family: we need your help.
Many of you can’t make it this year. Our registered attendance is currently in the 60s. Not only does this make us all really, really sad - it could also be catastrophic for Escapade. Bottom line: we've got to get our attendance up above 100, or the future of the convention is at stake. So we’re reaching out to you, our Escapade family, and asking for help.
Things you can do:
- Reserve your room Less than half of our contracted room nights have been reserved. We’ll end up having to pay a huge penalty if we can’t meet our commitment. So if you intend to attend and just haven’t reserved your room yet, please do so. This link will pre-fill a three night stay (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, checking out on Sunday) with our group code and can be edited with your choice of dates. If you go to the website directly, please make sure to use our group code: CESRCG. The reservation should be fully cancelable, and you don’t need to pay in advance.
- Come early and stay late!Consider including an extra night in your trip, especially Thursday night. We’ll be running a new event on Thursday evening, The Night Market, and you won’t want to miss it! Staying through Monday lets you hang out at the Dead Dog party and sleep it off afterward.
- Invite everyone you knowPlease invite your friends to Escapade. If every person currently registered brought just one other person, we'd be set. The Press Kit can help with spreading the word, but just talking about how much you love the convention on other Discords is a great way to get people interested, too. Some things I’ve said about it: "Escapade is my favorite convention! I love how warm and friendly everyone is." "It’s a classic hospitality con with a fantastic con suite." "The panels are different from any other convention, way more interesting and interactive." Reach out to individuals and spread the word on social media. It costs nothing and it helps tremendously.
- Donate moneyIf you have the financial resources to help, purchasing rooms or donating towards the purchase of extra room nights helps not only the convention, but the many scholarship applicants. It’s like doubling your effect!
- Donate your skills and timeAnother great way to contribute is by offering fannish items and services to the auction. If you’ve never missed a deadline on an exchange; if you can write fic, create vids, make art, record podfics, or have some other skill you’re willing to share, please reach out to us!
- Donate and get access!Finally, if you’re one of the many who tragically can’t attend in-person this year, a contribution of $20 or more will get you access to the Escapade 35 Discord when it becomes active. We'd love to see you, and every little bit helps.
In any other year, we wouldn't be on our knees, banging the bell. This is serious.
But it's also doable. With your help, we can not only ensure that Escapade 35 is fun (and solvent!) but also that we have Escapades for decades to come.
Thank you so much for your help. Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you help the con.