OctopodiCon FAQ
1. What is OctopodiCon 2012, and what can I do there?
OcotopodiCon 2012, presented by OctopodiCon, LLC, the Airship Othernauts, and friends, is a steampunk college taking place October 5, 6, and 7th, 2012 in Oklahoma City at the Magnuson/Meridian Convention Center.
Members of the public, airships, steampunk enthusiasts, and other interested people can register to meet fellow enthusiasts, attend presentations and lectures, earn points towards a novelty Bachelor of Steampunk degree, meet authors and other steampunk community luminaries, shop for supplies, accessories, books and other goods, enjoy music and variety performances, play Whist in the Mysterium, have Tea in the lovely Tea Parlour, enjoy a Promenade and a visit to the Art Gallery, and so much more!
2. What, specifically, will happen day to day?
While programming is still under development, we have blocked out most of the main programming. We know that OctopodiCon 2012 will include:
- Socializing with hundreds of other steampunk enthusiasts on the Promenade and in the Tea Parlour
- Author panels, readings, and signings in the Scriptorium
- Make and take workshops by professionals that count towards an OctopodiCon degree in Steampunk in the Laboratorium
- Lectures and presentations by our visiting professors (writers, costumers, historians, musicians, professionals, museum docents, etc) in the Classrooms
- Discussion panels by our visiting professors, in the Classrooms
- Short films in the Spectacularium
- A Masquerade with musical entertainment and a Show and Tell by the audience during the judging in the Specatacularium
- A Mercantile Lane, filled with wonders and delights
- An Art Gallery, where you can browse, admire, and even purchase steampunk art
- An art auction
- A charity auction supporting Dog Ears, a hearing assistance dog training organization
- A gaming room with tabletop steampunk RPGs and Victorian era card and board games as well as some sports (a tabletop Curling game, for example)
- A Saturday night Gears and Gizmos Dance with DJ Bone.
- Children’s steampunk programming
3. What is steampunk?
Steampunk is a retro-futuristic subgenre of speculative fiction, set in or thematically referring to an alternate Victorian period during which the technologies of the Industrial Revolution achieve fantastic sophistication and power.
It is also an aesthetic inspired by said literary phenomenon, expressed in art, fashion, music, motion pictures, handcrafts, and other media.
The name was coined as a tongue-in-cheek reference to cyberpunk, another science fiction subgenre.
4. How do I register to attend OctopodiCon?
- Use the shopping cart buttons on our Registration page
- Pay through Paypal (octopodiconchair@gmail.com)
- Mail payment in with our downloadable form or from our collectible series of steampunk postcards placed at various conventions (5241 NW 47th, Warr Acres, OK 73122),
- Hand representatives payment and a registration card at any of the conventions we attend,
- Sign up at one of our room teas or Tea Parties, or
- Register in-person at the convention.
5. What are OctopodiCon’s attendance policies and code of conduct?
The full con policies are listed in our OctopodiCon 2012 Student Handbook, but they can be summarized as follows:
While attending OctopodiCon 2012, you will abide by federal, state, and local laws, the hotel’s rules of conduct, a set of basic rules governing respectful and responsible behavior, and common courtesy. Dangerous or disruptive people may be removed from the convention. You are responsible for your own person and property. Take photos, but please observe boundaries and respect personal wishes. We reserve the right to refuse service. No refunds after 9/25/12.
6. Is there a hotel stay discount?
Yes, mention the convention by name when booking for a $69.00 room rate, which includes a free hot buffet breakfast. You may also use the registration code GP11993 for the Magnuson.
If you have mobility needs, such as using a scooter or wheelchair, the Magnuson is handicap accessible according to the ADA regulations, but the Hilton Garden Inn exceeds those regulations so we’ve secured a room block at the Hilton Garden Inn as well, use the registration code POD. The Hilton Garden Inn shares a parking lot with the Meridian Convention Center.
Check our Hotel Tab for details.
7. Can I get in free?
There are a number of ways to pay a reduced rate, including early registration and working for a dealer room vendor.
You can get in free by volunteering as staff or providing content as a participant.
For volunteering, please contact us at: octominion@gmail.com.
For providing content, please contact us at: octopodiconchair@gmail.com.
8. How can I support or sponsor OctopodiCon? Are you a non-profit?
You can extend us your financial support by buying a pass to attend, encouraging your friends to buy passes, registering to sell stuff at the convention, or becoming a sponsor.
Sponsors can buy advertising on publicity materials/merchandise, our website, in our program brochures for our monthly Teas, and in our Student Handbook, Course Catalogue, and other joint marketing ventures.
OctopodiCon 2012 is not run by or affiliated with a non-profit organization, and cannot receive tax-deductible donations.
9. I’d like to participate!
We’d like to hear from you!
Please email the organizers at octopodiconchair@gmail.com to introduce yourself and propose your panel or activity. Showing is better than telling; if there’s video online of you doing what you do, please link it. Participants are eligible to receive a scholarship (3 day pass) and Professor’s Lounge access. Please note that the organizers have already made all the commitments for travel and accommodations that are possible within our 2012 budget.
10. How can I sell stuff at OctopodiCon?
There are three options: reserve a dealer space, reserve a space in the Art Gallery, or reserve a space in our Scriptorium.
In the Mercantile (Dealer’s Room), all spaces include 1 6’x3’ table, 2 chairs, access to WiFi, one scholarship with up to 4 additional ones available at a 30% discount, and the wall-placed spaces have electricity. Space is limited, and we are jurying in the vendors, so we will need photos, videos, or other representations of your stock to make sure it is something that fits our steampunk theme. Please email these pictures or links to videos to octovendor@oksteam.org to describe your needs so we can match you with a suitable space as available.
Our staff-run Art Gallery is also juried, all items must be labeled in detail, and you may consign a limited number of items.
Our staff-run Scriptorium is for our attending authors and artists. They may bring up to 25 copies of each title of their steampunk books or anthologies in which they appear, or an unlimited number of ebook cards, or 30 prints of graphic art .
Please email octopodiconchair@gmail.com for a full explanation of our Scriptorium and Art Gallery terms.
11. Can I get a discount by volunteering?
Yes! One 4 (four) hour volunteer shift earns you a 1 (one) day scholarship. If you are under 18, a second 4 (four) hour shift earns you a full 3 day scholarship. If you are over 18, you need 2 (two) additional 4 (four) hour shifts to earn a 3 day scholarship. If you wish to take any of the workshops (they require supplies), you will still have to purchase those supplies by applying for the workshops before July 25, 2012.
12. Can minors attend OctopodiCon?
Minors of any age may accompany their parent or guardian to OctopodiCon with paid registration. Children under 6 are free, and we will have 1 Gears and Grease (cookies and milk) story hour for them when accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Children between 6 and 15 are half price, and we will have 6 hours of steampunk programming for them – accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Children 16 and older pay full price and may attend unaccompanied by a parent if they can show a valid driver’s license.
13. What is your privacy policy?
Your personal information and methods of contact will be used to issue your pass at the convention; to inform you of important changes in OctopodiCon’s policies, programming, scheduling, or venue; to communicate about specific issues related to your registration or payment; or to make suggestions which may improve your convention experience (such as child care or pet boarding close to the venue). Note that this is entirely at the discretion of the organizers, and that advertisers may NOT purchase an “email blast” for the purpose of spamming our attendees.
Your personal information is NOT for sale or release to any party and will NOT be accessed by sponsors, dealers, or other commercial associates.
14. Who is running OctopodiCon?
OctopodiCon is presented by OctopodiCon, LLC, owned by Noddy Brothers, and run by the Airship Othernaut and friends who, between them, have decades of conrunning and meeting planning experience.
Noddy Brothers – Chair – octopodiconchair @gmail.com
Duvy Gilchrist-Montgomery – Co-Chair and Webmistress – duvy.dfsm@gmail.com
Bev Hale – Negotiations and Chief Assassin – octoneg@gmail.com
Annette Asprin – Bursar – octofin@gmail.com
Margaret Decker – Registrar – octotranscripts@gmail.com
Mandolin Cole – Mercantile – octovendor@oksteam.org
Laura Hartley – Minion Mistress – octominion@gmail.com
Martin Cole – Chief Engineer –
Zenon Awful – Special Guest Liaison –
Tyburn Blossom – Green Room Goddess (Professor’s Lounge) – samira.sashenka@gmail.com
Please come meet us and give us your suggestions for a successful event; our Open Meetings are the second Sunday of each month at the Classen Circle IHOP in Oklahoma City at 6:00 pm. (Unless it’s a holiday weekend, in which case the meeting is the Sunday before.)
15. You’ve used some odd terms. What do they mean?
Enrollment – since OctopodiCon is education-oriented – the convention you want to go to to learn about steampunk and how to make steampunk things, this is the word we’re using for “registration”.
Scholarship – When you win or earn a free enrollment to OctopodiCOn, it’s called a scholarship.
Visiting Professors – these are our guests who will be presenting panels, lectures, films, discussions, makeshops, and demonstrations for your edification and enjoyment.
Distinguished Visiting Professors – these are our main guests.
Students – people who have registered to attend OctopodiCon.
Visiting Scholars – people who have purchased a sponsor package to attend OctopodiCon, includes T-Shirt and Tote Bag, plus other benefits.
Promenade – this is a social area where students may gather to meet and greet one another. There are sofas and chairs available. No food is allowed in the Promenade by the Meridian Convention Center .
Tea Parlour – This is like the Promenade but with snacks and tea. It’s a blend of the ConSuite of a Science Fiction Convention and the Maid Cafe of an anime convention – some of the snacks and tea are free and some cost. a minimal amount.
Scriptorium – a room where the authors are meeting their fans, doing readings, giving autographs, and selling their books.
Mysterium – the game room, with parlour games, steampunk/Victorian card games, and RPGs like Wild Weird West and Space 1889.
Spectacularium – the main programming room
Laboratorium – the room where makeshops and demonstrations take place
Makeshops – classes where students pre-register to receive supplies so they can learn to make things. The supplies will be in their registration bags.
Classrooms – the rooms where panels, discussions, and lectures.
This FAQ will be revised to add specific staffers as soon as those positions are filled.
