Dearest Penguicon,
As you probably just saw, the board made some Rather Important Decisions this past weekend. Now that those decisions have been made, the crew of Penguicon 2020 can share with you our plans for the near future.
We will be hosting the first-ever Virtual Penguicon on the same weekend we would have been meeting, April 24-26! Presenters are encouraged to give a virtual version of the presentation, workshop, panel, talk, etc that they would have given at Penguicon 2020. Please check your email in the next couple of days for details on how to be involved, and stay tuned for how to attend! You are also invited to host your own virtual room parties or other such hangouts.
All current paid pre-registrations will be transferred to 2021’s convention, unless you would like it refunded or you want to donate the cost to Penguicon.
We are deeply grateful that so many of you have volunteered to donate your badge revenue for this year. This is extremely generous of you, and that contribution will help us as Penguicon to survive till next year.
If you have pre-registered and already paid, please fill out our 2020 Registration Cancelation Form to let us know how you would like us to handle your badge, even if you have already reached out to us via other methods.
All of our Maker Market vendors will receive a complete refund for their table and badges over the course of the next week. We will also host a Virtual Maker Market during the weekend of con.
Our Sponsors are invited to receive a refund, transfer their sponsorship to Penguicon 2021, or revise their sponsorship to be a Virtual Penguicon Sponsor. You will receive communication in the next week to discuss these options, as well.
I am sure you all share in my grief over the loss of all the hundreds of hours of time and effort that had gone into what would have been a spectacular event this year. I could not have asked for a better team to help plan and prepare the event that was not to be. We’re fortunate, at least, to be able to salvage at least part of that work and put on, for the first time in history, Virtual Penguicon, thanks to the hard work put in by the programming team.
I look forward to seeing you all digitally in a few weeks, when I expect you to leave an empty consuite, depleted beer kegs, tidy programming rooms, and let the Ops Staff actually get some sleep this year!
All my penguin love,
Bagel Garrison
Conchair 2020