SPECIAL EVENTS:

DVD's of Special Events (Masquerades, Plays, and other "Main Tent" Events) from past Balticon's are available and can be ordered using this form.

OPENING CEREMONIES:

At 8:30 p.m. Friday in the Main Tent, Balticon 43 officially kicks off with introductions of the Guests of Honor and program participants. Doors open at 8:00 PM. Meet the participants afterwards in the Con Suite.

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Friday Facetime is your chance to meet and chat with your favorite authors, artists and scientists in a relaxed, informal setting. Starting at 9:00 pm is the Meet the Guests event, including the Guests of Honor, in Frankie & Vinnie's also known as the Con-suite. Also starting at 9:00pm right across the hall is the Meet the Artists event in the Art Show. At 10:00 pm the Meet the Scientists event will start up in Salon A up the hallway from the above mentioned events.

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No Balticon would be complete without live theatre and musical performances in the Main Tent, and Balticon 43 is no exception. Starting with the Opening Ceremonies on Friday night, weekend performances include our Music GoH Mary Crowell, Comedy and Storytelling by 2008 Compton Crook Award Winner Mark L. Van Name, a special appearance by the Chromatics, and theatrical presentations still in the works.

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On Saturday night Balticon hosts one of the oldest masquerades on the East Coast. Marvel at the participants crafting of fabric and other materials into imaginative and extraordinary costumes. The Masquerade is not just for experienced costumers either -- Hall Costumes and first-timers are encouraged to get up on stage and share their work. The masquerade competition will be judged on the experience skills division system to give beginners a chance to go home winners. Info: e-mail masq@balticon.org or check "Masquerade" on the registration form.
Masquerade rules

Hall Costumes:

Each year we look for the most colorful, unusual and imaginative hall costumes. Whether novice or expert, Balticon wants you to dress up. Pictures will be taken of entries and posted in a gallery at the con allowing the membership to vote for best hall costume.

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Aspiring filmmakers have submitted their work hoping you will vote for them as "Best Film Award Balticon 2009." They want a plaque and a leg-up on their career and you have control. Entries have been pre-judged so only the finalists go before you, the jury. Think of it like the masquerade only with films rather than costumes and you vote for the winner! All this on a 12-foot by 12-foot screen! Stay tuned for another exciting film premiere by producer Earl Newton, Stranger Things: Singularity, as well as all the great programming you expect from Balticon. Download the schedule (PDF).

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For the 13th year in a row, a charity auction for the benefit of Reading is Fundamental (RIF) will be held during the halftime break of the Masquerade on Saturday night. There will be SF&F collectibles, memorabilia and other exotic items put on the block. If you have something to donate to the auction bring it to the con. RIF is a terrific organization working nationwide to teach kids to read by getting them hooked on reading at an early age and distributes free books to many children who cannot afford a book of their own. For more information on RIF please check Reading is Fundamental on the registration form or e-mail rif@balticon.org.

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BSFS presents the Compton Crook Award to the new SF atuhor judged to have written the best SF novel for the previous year. This year the 2009 award will be presented Friday night during the Opening Ceremonies. As is tradition, last years winner, Mark L. Van Name (One Jump Ahead) returns to Balticon to present the annual award.

You can find more information on the Compton Crook Award on the Baltimore Science Fiction Society website here.

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We are planning traditional formal Guest of Honor presentations on multiple days as well as GOH participation scattered throughout the main program. GOHs will select the program panels they most wish to headline from the general program topics and these smaller sessions will be denoted in the formal program schedule when finalized.

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Every year more and more authors choose Balticon as the "launch pad" for their latest book releases, and Balticon 43 has even more book launch goodness than ever before! Book launches currently in the pipeline for Balticon 43 include: Buffalito Destiny by Lawrence Schoen; Wicca Girl by R. Allen Leider; Personal Effects: Dark Art by J. C. Hutchins; Radiation Angels: The Key to Damocles by James Daniel Ross; Nina Kimberly the Merciless by Christiana Ellis; and So It Begins, an anthology edited by Mike McPhail.

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Attention all aeronauts, aethernauts, lady and gentleman adventurers, mad scientists, inventors, and other Steampunks and neo-Victorians! Join us at 10pm Friday night at for a time-traveling formal evening at the Steampunk Ball! Become part of the living clockwork of Victorian and Victorian-inspired set dances and spin madly with your partner to romantic waltzes and lively polkas. No previous experience is needed; all dances will be taught by dance mistress Susan de Guardiola. Music will be an eclectic mix of modern and nineteenth century. Steampunk, neo-Victorian, or Victorian costume encouraged and admired but not required. Airships and time machines should be parked outside the ballroom. No sabers, ray guns, or clanks permitted on the dance floor.

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The DVD remastered feature-length sci-fi parody combining Babylon Five and Star Trek, seven years in the making. It is the product of a core group of five Finns, and over 300 extras, assistants and supporters. The film combines world-class visual effects, a rough-and-ready sense of humour, and a passion that provide the basis for the first-ever Finnish science fiction adventure. Available on DVD from Universal Studios (Scandinavia) and AMG Entertainment (Japan) http://www.starwreck.com/iepromo.php

Friday May 22, 9:30 pm.

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Each panelist, including the moderator, answers all the questions. All answers must be the truth--except three. No one other than the answering panelist knows if the answers are true or lies. After each one, anyone in the audience can challenge the answering panelist. Multiple people can challenge; the more, the better. After there are no more challengers, the panelist tells whether the answer was truth or a lie. If it was true, every challenger puts a dollar in a bucket that runners pass. If it was a lie, the panelist puts $10 in the bucket. All proceeds go to Reading is Fundamental.

Saturday, May 23 2 pm

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Have you ever wanted to see the intersection of science fiction and stand-up comedy? Been curious to learn how Pavlov's dogs got their revenge, or how to cure cockroach problems through religion? Wondered about the real differences between the genders? To satisfy all of these urges and laugh in the process, come see an hour of spoken word, storytelling, and comedy by 2008 Compton Crook Award winner and SF novelist, Mark L. Van Name.

Much of this content is adult in nature and is inappropriate for children. We recommend children not attend.

Sunday 2:30, Valley Ballroom

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Games2U Mobile Video Game Theatre will be at Balticon 43 on Saturday, May 23 at 8 PM. The high-tech video game theatre on wheels will be parked just up the stairs from the Con Suite, to give attendees a taste of what they can bid on at the RIF Auction on Saturday Night: a video game party from Games2U! This is an excellent opportunity to check out the latest video games while you decide on just how much to bid for a video game party in the RIF Auction, so don't miss it!

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All materials copyright © 2009 Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc., unless otherwise noted.