News from Norwescon 43: January 2020

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NorwesKids Arts & Crafts Show!

We are excited to announce our beloved NorwesKids Arts & Crafts Show at Norwescon! Young artists (ages 0-12) are encouraged to bring (or make) arts and crafts that we will put on display in Olympic 1 during the convention. All convention members will be welcome to vote on favorites in age-group categories.

The submission window begins Thursday morning, April 9th, and will continue throughout the convention until Friday evening, April 10th. If you have any questions, please contact Norwescon Youth Track lead Danielle Gembala at: ddmgembala@gmail.com. We are looking forward to seeing more fabulous creations!

Young Artist’s Alley!

During Norwescon 43, we will open Olympic 1 for young artists (ages 0-17) to bring their creative works to display and/or sell. Sign-up is required and will be done on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact Norwescon Youth Track lead Danielle Gembala at ddmgembala@gmail.com for details and to sign up your artists!

Super Special Events!

Don’t forget to purchase your tickets for the Guest of Honor Banquet! Ticket prices are $80 each, which is a great deal for a chance to sit with one of our amazing guests and dine on fabulous food. To purchase tickets, just log back in to our registration page and add the GOH Banquet.

Are you a music fan? If so, you’ll be thrilled with our concert lineup this year. Check it out here!

And don’t forget to prepare for The Longest Night Masked Ball on Saturday night at the con. Celebrate The Longest Night in D’Angeline fashion – by attending a masked ball! This isn’t just a dance, it’s a chance to spark your imagination. Attendees are encouraged to camouflage their faces in intriguing masks and deck themselves in their most delightful outfits. There will be music throughout the night, as well as some immersive theatrical elements. Come and join the revelry!

New LAN Games!

The holiday sales are over and we’re here to tell you about the new games we have added to the LAN this year.

Half-Life Co-op: Get your crowbars ready and step back into the HEV suit of Gordon Freeman in the 1998 classic sci-fi shooter that revolutionized the genre. An accident at a secret government facility causes a tear between dimensions and brings us into contact with a hostile alien race. Team up with a group of friends and experience this landmark game in full co-operative mode!

Half-Life 2 Co-op: Set years after the first game, Gordon Freeman emerges from stasis into a dystopian nightmare where an alien civilization has taken over the planet. Fight your way through City 17 with your friends!

Borderlands 2: Legends of a mystical Vault has summoned hunters to the planet of Pandora, but a betrayal by their tyrannical leader leaves them half dead in a frozen wasteland. Step into the boots of one of four heroes as you explore a hostile, alien planet and blast your way through gunfights with a bazillion different guns!

Diablo: The original isometric dungeon crawl game is back and ready for LAN play. The city of Tristram was built on top of a large 16-level dungeon. In you must go, battling hideous monsters and finding lost treasure on your quest to enter hell itself!

Warcraft 2: Another classic real time strategy game set in the fantasy world of Azeroth. Build up an army and go to war with up to seven other players!

We look forward to seeing you all at Norwescon 43!

Philip K. Dick Challenge!

The Philip K. Dick nominees have been announced and the Norwescon Goodreads group has issued a challenge! Can you read all six nominated books before this year’s award ceremony on April 10th? Give it a shot and join the challenge, post in our discussion group to let us know what you thought of the books, and then join us on Friday evening of Norwescon 43 to hear authors or their representatives read from their work and find out who wins this year’s Philip K. Dick Award and Special Citation!

GOH Spotlight: Sana Takeda

Sana Takeda is an Eisner and Hugo Award winning illustrator and comic book artist from Japan, known for her work on the Monstress series. At age 20 Takeda started working as a 3D CGI designer for the Japanese video game company, SEGA. Her comic book career includes work for Image Comics, Aspen, and Boom Studios, among others. She has worked on several titles for Marvel, including X-23, X-Men, Venom, Civil War II, and Ms Marvel. Sana Takeda lives in Tokyo, Japan. We look forward to meeting her at Norwescon 43!

January Book Club

Remember to join us on Sunday, January 26 from 4-6 p.m for the Norwescon Book Club. We will meet at Panera Bread at 521 2nd Place North, Kent, WA

January’s selection is The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. RSVP on Facebook, and discuss on Goodreads.

If you’ve already read that one and want to get a jump on February, they will be reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler and meeting on February 23.

Please volunteer!

Remember that Norwescon is a volunteer-only organization and the convention committee members donate a huge amount of time and energy to put on the events and panels that you love. You can help! Feel free to come to a convention committee meeting and volunteer for one of the open positions. Registration, the convention lounge, and the cloak room are only a few of the areas that could use your assistance to keep the convention running smoothly. You, too, can be assimilated!