[zircon]

Otakon is the largest anime convention in the US. This year, it is taking place in Baltimore, Maryland at the Baltimore Convention Center near the harbor. The dates are July 20 through the 22nd (Fri-Sun). OCR will be going there officially to run a panel, and we will also be having meetups throughout the weekend.

www.otakon.com

PANEL INFO:
"OverClocked ReMix: Game Music Evolved"
Friday July 20 @ 10 AM to Noon
Location: Panel 4, Ballroom 2

REGISTRATION:
If you are coming, you should pre-register well in advance. Registration at the con itself is horrendous in terms of wait times. It's $50 per person. Also, don't forget to get your badge EARLY... the lines are really long and you don't want to arrive at 9:30AM Friday only to spend 2 hours waiting for your badge and miss the panel!

TRANSPORT:
* More info here as we figure out who is driving etc.
* For those in the Baltimore area, the lightrail travels right near the convention center.
* Greyhound and Amtrak run to locations that are within reach of a lightrail, which will in turn get you to the center.

ACCOMODATIONS:
No one in the area has offered housing, so you MUST FIND a hotel! Xerol noted that you can get one outside of Baltimore and take the light rail in daily, which will likely be much cheaper than getting one near the harbor. Might add a 30-45 minute commute every day, but it should be worth it.

STUFF TO DO:
For one thing, the panel itself It will be lots of fun with trivia, giveaways, live performances, exclusive debuts, etc. Otakon itself has lots of stuff to do as well, even for non-anime fans, and the general Baltimore area has a good amount of places to eat and shop. There's always hangin' out in the hotel rooms and playing games if someone wants to bring a Wii or something.

Meetup #1
Friday, July 20th - Directly following our panel, which ends at 12:00 noon
We will congregate outside of the panel room and make our way to the harbor. If there are any people like Xerol who can only come for an outside meetup, wait at the big fountain (it's a multi-level thing directly to the left of the harbor). We should be there by 12:30 or so, and then we'll all head off to lunch.

Meetup #2
Saturday, July 21st - 12:00 noon at the big fountain
Same fountain as described above. We'll all hang out and get lunch somewhere in the harborplace.

DEFINITE ATTENDEES:
zircon
pixietricks
djpretzel
Liontamer
Ninja-san
Kizyr
Dyne + Friend
Ferret
DJ Sammy G
starla
The Green Tentacle
Jiggles McPuff
tgfoo
Jose the Bronx Rican
Xerol
Arrowned
AMVTeknoBoy
Upthorn
Xaleph
Sindra
sgx
PosiBolt

[Hemophiliac]

there's a good chance that i may be coming from CA for this. :D

[Bahamut]

I'm really considering...but if this is anything like MAGfest, my wallet would get raped again, and I don't know if I could absorb this cost. We'll see what happens.

One of my friends might be able to help some of you people out though (with a place to stay).

[atmuh]

maaaaaaaaybe

[Xerol Oplan]

I will most likely not be coming unless there's something arranged OUTSIDE of the con (like a lunch downtown or something), I'll be living in Delaware by then and need all the cash I can get.

However, I can at least provide some advice. There's a Holiday Inn in Timonium (about 15 miles north of downtown) which is about a 5 minute walk from two Light Rail stations. The Light Rail goes directly to the convention center (well, across the street, but pretty much directly) so if you buy a weekly pass (for around $7) you can save at least $200/night on a room. The rooms at the Holiday Inn are around $130-150 a night during that period, so anyone doing room sharing might want to look into that. Even at 2 to a room it's cheaper than downtown.

Keep in mind that the Light Rail isn't a bullet train and makes lots of stops, so the only downside is you'll have to leave about an hour earlier than you normally would to get to things on time.

Yahoo Travel Link - The picture is of downtown, the hotel itself is about 15 miles north of where that picture was taken.

Plus you'll be a mile from my house so if I'm home that weekend we could have a cookout one evening.

[Arek the Absolute]

who cares
what about ax?
since i am being forced to go *gettin payed 400 so eh* i would like to see some representation there
maybe analoq will host a panel or something iono

[analoq]

Originally Posted by Arek the Absolute

maybe analoq will host a panel or something iono

hahah, i could just imagine that:

You see kids, you listen to the J-POP which gives you the BRAIN DAMAGE. With the bippin' and a boppin'...

i may be going to AX again this year, because my sister hates me.
cheers.

[Arek the Absolute]

good
i will be needing some company there
please dont leave me alone there :(

[Dyne]

As I've said in #ocremix, I WILL be at Otakon. Oh yes...Dyne is coming to town...HIDE!



Just kidding.

I'm looking forward to a good time at Otakon. If you need any help setting up for your panel please, by all means, let me know what you need, I'd love to help you guys out Zircon. As far as what to talk about on the panel...good question. I'll get back to you on that.

[Ferret]

I'll definitely be attending again this year. And now that I have an OCR shirt I'll definitely be wearing it, too.

If I decide on going in costume, look for me in a green suit with blond hair and a raygun. ;)