Join us April 3-5, 2020! @bitchinparty - Tumblr Blog

BitchinParty 2020 Brief Update

Dear partiers! As we approach November and our rescheduled con dates for this year, it seems more and more like it won't be safe enough to have a gathering of this size this year. That's a huge bummer for us all, but safety is obviously our highest priority.

While having the Con may not be in the cards, we're not cancelling officially at this point, because we want to be able to give everyone a full refund if at all possible, and that is reliant on some things with the hotel and our deposit that we've already made. We are only able to offer a $65 refund if we officially cancel now. We hope to have more news to you soon, and hope you and your families are staying safe.

#fan con #fandom #bitchin' party

Registration Response Deadline

We hope to see you all at Bitchin' Party 2020 this November 13-15th. We know people are still figuring out their schedules and that a lot of people’s plans are in flux right now. If you know what your plan is for November, we’d love to hear from you via this form.

You can choose to roll over your registration to November, cancel your registration, or donate your registration to the Con. If you need to cancel now, please use the form and select that option. We can offer a $50 refund now, and hope to be able to offer more in the future once we have more information about our November registration numbers and costs.

All registrees we haven’t heard from will be automatically rolled over to November registrations on June 1st, 2020.

We will offer our usual cancellation policy for Bitchin' Party 2020 in November. This cancellation policy applies to all registrees, both new and rolled over: If you roll over your registration to the new dates, and then need to cancel your paid membership for the November Con dates before September 13th, we will refund $65 of your $85, or $30 of your $45. (We may also cry a little that we won't get to see you, but don't mind us.) After September 13th, we won't be able to offer any refunds. However, we have a "no problem!" transfer policy. You can transfer your membership to another party at any time, even the day of the con if need be. After all 100 spots fill up, we will start a waiting list. Any cancellations after the fill point will be offered to the people on the waiting list, in order.

If you haven’t yet, it’s a good idea to cancel your hotel registration. The hotel will charge a cancellation fee after end-of-day this upcoming Tuesday, March 31st. When we have a new hotel block for November, we’ll let you all know so you can re-book rooms at the Con discount.

Please feel free to contact us with questions at [email protected] or on Twitter at @bitchinparty. We hope you all stay safe and healthy, and we hope to see you in November!

#bp2020 #fan con #fandom #postponed

BP2020 POSTPONED to November 13-15

As you all are aware, the novel coronavirus is approaching pandemic status, and the Seattle area has a high number of cases that is expected to be adjusted upwards as more tests are run. Now there have been 8 confirmed cases at a nursing home in Issaquah, the city where Bitchin' Party is scheduled to take place, and public health officials as well as epidemiology experts are recommending canceling events to curb the spread of the disease. Because of this, we are sad to announce that we have decided to postpone the con. Bitchin' Party will now be held the weekend of November 13-15, 2020.

Currently registered attendees, please fill out this form letting us know whether you plan to attend the rescheduled con. For those who do choose to attend, we'll automatically roll over your registration. For those who unfortunately can't attend the new dates, we are very sorry to miss you, and we're offering a partial refund of $50 of your registration fee for now--we hope to be able to refund in full later on. There is also an option on the form to donate your registration to the con. For attendees who received financial aid, registrations can be rolled over normally; financial aid money left over from cancellations will be donated to the con.

Everyone who has made a hotel room reservation will need to cancel the reservation for April, since we can't roll those over. The hotel doesn't charge a cancellation fee until end of day March 31st, so you won't be penalized for canceling now. When we have a block of rooms set up for November, we'll let you know how to reserve a new room.

For those who had planned to fly to Seattle next month, several major airlines are amending their cancellation and change policies due to COVID-19. As of Monday March 9th, airlines suspending penalty fees for flight cancellations in March and April included Delta, United, and American. Please check with your airline directly, as these policies are in flux at the moment and information that pops up from a search may not reflect recent updates.

We are very sorry to have to make this difficult decision. We love everyone in this bar and we want you all and the vulnerable people in your lives to be healthy and safe. Thank you for understanding.

Please feel free to contact us with questions in the comments here, at pacificwriterscon [at] gmail [dot] com, or on Twitter at @bitchinparty. We hope to see you in November!

#bp2020 #Update #postponed #con #fan con #fandom

BP Panel Suggestions Are Open

Are you coming to BP (we hope so!), do you have a rad panel idea? You should tell us about it. ^_____^

Brainstorming comments here for things you’d love to see but don’t want to run: https://bitchinparty.dreamwidth.org

Or if you want to mod your totally cool panel, that’s excellent, tell us more: https://forms.gle/yyeLqVm3BtSckpRQA

Panels Timeline Saturday, February 1: Submission form is live! Submit panels! Saturday, February 22 (11:59pm Pacific time): Submission deadline Sunday, February 23: Panel voting opens Saturday, February 29 (11:59pm Pacific time): Panel voting closes

Note you do need to be registered to Submit a panel or vote on a panel.

#panels #fan con #Con #BP2020 #Pacificon #fandom

BP 2020 roommate-finding and road trip-planning posts are up!

If you’re looking for a roommate for the con, check out our post here, and if you’re planning to drive, or would like to see if someone else is driving from your area, check out the road trip post here. See you in April!

#bp2020 #Pacificon

Vids \o/

Bitchin Party’s vid show creators are hard at work putting together an awesome evening of vids for Saturday night. We’d love your help to make these two shows: the Vidshow and the Dance Party as epic and delightful as possible. To do that we need your help!

For the Vidshow do you have suggestions of vids to show? Tell us about it, do you have a Premiere? We’d love to include it! Please let us know all suggestions and Premiere intentions by Saturday February 29th.

For the Vid Dance Party we also are interested in your suggestions, what do you yearn to dance to? Do you have a Premiere that is just waiting for people to groove to it, sign up by February 20th!

#bp vidshow #bp dance party #vids #fanvids

BP 2020 Main Con Info Post

Here is the ginormous, one-stop-shopping con information post, including registration, hotel, con schedule, travel, tourist, and concomm contact information, to be updated as we go. Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter or Dreamwidth for quick links to updates! You can also reach the concomm at pacificwriterscon [at] gmail at any time. General Information: When is Pacificon 2020? April 4 and 5, 2020, with an optional movie night and other activities on the evening of April 3. Where will it take place? At the Issaquah Hilton Garden Inn near Seattle, Washington. How do I sign up? The registration post—including detailed registration and payment information—is here. Full membership is $85, and is limited to 100 attendees. You must be at least 18 years old to attend. The current list of attendees will be posted soon. If you need some help with the registration fee, check out the financial assistance post. "Bitchin' Party"? Seriously? "Bitchin' Party" became the unofficial name of the con after some of the concomm had the misfortune of watching a gloriously bad TV show called Dante's Cove. Don't worry, we're not using it unironically.* *except that some of us totally are Hotel Information: The hotel is the Issaquah Hilton Garden Inn, located at 1800 Gilman Blvd, Issaquah, WA (here on Google Maps). The front desk number is 1-425-837-3600, and the fax number is 1-425-837-3635. How much does it cost? The con rate $124/king and $144/two queens, plus tax. A small number of cots will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis upon check-in. How do I reserve a room? You must reserve your room by March 3, 2020 in order to receive the con rate and be in the room block with all the other cool kids con attendees. If you're looking for a roommate, we'll link that thread once we get closer to the con. To reserve a room online: 1. Go here. 2. Select your arrival/departure dates, your number of rooms/guests, your preferred bed configuration, and then provide your information. Our group code is PWC402. (Note that you can only add ONE additional person's name to your reservation, so give some thought to who is likely to arrive first. It can also be changed later if necessary.) A credit card is required to hold the reservation, but no deposit is required. (They do have a disclaimer that they can place a hold on your card for the full amount of your stay, but FWIW, we've never seen that happen.) NOTE: If you have ANY question or problem with the reservation process (for example, if you did not get the correct rate quoted to you, or it says it doesn't have your preferred bed configuration available), PLEASE call the toll-free number at 1-877-STAY-HGI and talk to a real person (tell them you're reserving for the Pacific Writers' Conference). If for some reason that still doesn't resolve things, contact us at pacificwriterscon [at] gmail [dot] com and we will contact the hotel. To reserve over the phone: Call the main reservation line at 1-877-STAY-HGI and tell them you're reserving for the Pacific Writers' Conference (that is our sekkrit spy codename to civilians!). Make sure you specify whether you'd like a king room or two queens. Again, if you have any trouble—if they tell you our block is full or that the con rate isn't available—contact pacificwriterscon [at] gmail and we will contact the hotel. Hotel Amenities Room amenities include: - mini fridge - microwave - 42-inch HDTV - FREE wireless high-speed internet throughout the hotel Hotel amenities include: - on-site restaurant (including a bar) - room service - pool and hot tub - fitness center - free parking - complimentary shuttle available for transport within a five-mile radius of the hotel Check-in starts at 3 p.m., check-out is at noon. The con will be providing hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar on Saturday night, a full breakfast on Saturday and Sunday morning, and some snacks and beverages throughout both days. We'll post a complete menu a couple of weeks prior to the con. NOTE: We are NOT allowed to bring our own outside snacks into the meeting room. You are, however, welcome to eat or drink whatever you like in your own room. Area Amenities Within walking distance of the hotel, you'll find several fast food options, a couple of restaurants, a grocery store, a Starbucks (of course), and a liquor store. Within easy driving distance and within the range of the complimentary hotel shuttle, you'll find practically anything else you might need, including lots of food options, Costco, drugstores, Target, various banks, an organic grocery store, etc. Maps will be included with your welcome packet when you arrive. If you want to check out the lay of the land before then, Google Maps is your friend (see the hotel link above). Con events The con will officially run from 9 a.m. on April 4th until 5 p.m. on April 5th, with an optional movie night and other activities to get the ball rolling on the evening of April 3rd, and post-con movie-watching on the evening of the 5th. Panels Panels are being organized by the ConComm, with help from you. Final list of panels will be linked here once they are available. Always check out the panels tag for the latest info! Vidshow There will be a vidshow on Saturday night, details TBD. Check out the vidshow tag for the latest info! Room parties Room parties are totally encouraged (as long as noise is kept to a respectful level that won't get us in trouble with other guests/the hotel)! Please note, however: NO alcohol is allowed in the main con ballroom (except via the cash bar on Saturday night). Feel free to drink/eat whatever you want in your sleeping rooms. A list of things we will not have, because we are all casual and stuff: No celebrity guests (y'all are rockstars enough for us) No art show No dealers No free meals besides hors d'oeuvres on Saturday and breakfast on Saturday & Sunday What we do have is LOVE, people. SO MUCH LOVE. And bacon! Getting to the con: By air Airport You'll probably want to fly into Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) International Airport. Getting from the airport to the hotel The hotel is about 20 miles from Sea-Tac. The most affordable option is to take the light rail and connect to a bus; the light rail will get you from the airport to downtown Seattle for $2.50, and from downtown, there are several buses to Issaquah (average $2.50 fare) that will drop you off at the Issaquah Transit Center on 17th Ave NW, less than half a mile from the hotel (see the Metro Online Site for more info). Otherwise: - Taxi (in the vicinity of $55-$65 plus tip), Uber, or Lyft - Shuttle service - When the con gets closer, we'll open up a thread for anyone who wants to try to coordinate cab/shuttle-sharing with other attendees. - Rent a car (see below for driving directions) Getting to the con: Not by air The thread for roadtrip coordination will be posted closer to the con and linked here. By train or bus Amtrak and Greyhound both have stations in downtown Seattle. From there, you're about a 20-minute drive away from Issaquah. See below for driving directions. Local bus service is, as I said, not all that comprehensive, but it is pretty easy from downtown--the Metro Online site is here if you'd like to check out your options. By car: driving directions - As long as you are not east of Issaquah (including from Sea-Tac airport), take (as applicable) I-5 N, I-5 S, I-405 N, or I-405 S to I-90 E (toward Spokane). If you're east of Issaquah, take I-90 W. - From I-90, take exit 15 (WA-900 / 17th Ave NW). - Turn right at the light onto 17th Ave NW. - About a block down, turn right onto Gilman Blvd (by the Burger King). - The hotel will be about a block ahead of you on your right, behind the John L. Scott building. The hotel is here on Google Maps. Getting to the con: Other Travel by War Rig, Bifrost, tour bus, dog sled, Goat Van, stargate, wormhole, battlestar, firefly, TARDIS, Leviathan, Chevy Impala, Mystery Machine, or similar to be arranged by individual attendees. Roommates, rideshares, and airport transportation coordination Roommate, rideshare, and cab/Lyft/shuttle-share threads will be posted closer to the con! Weather It does not, in fact, rain ALL the time in Seattle. However, in the springtime, it tends to rain quite a bit. Bring a waterproof jacket if you have one, and maybe an umbrella if you plan to be out and about (though the hotel also has a few umbrellas you can borrow). Temperatures will probably be in the 50s/low 60s, but given climate change shenanigans, we cannot safely predict the weather. Basically, layers are highly recommended—not only is Seattle weather changeable (it snowed at our first BP; WHAAAT), but so are hotel temperatures (especially in meeting spaces, where they tend to crank the air conditioning), so being able to take off/add clothes as necessary is your best bet. Tourist information Downtown Seattle is about a 20-minute drive from Issaquah (up to about 45 minutes with traffic). For information about tourist activities available in the area, you can visit this site. Who's flying this thing? The mod team is intransitive, jedusaur, & pi. General questions/concerns/etc. should go to the ConComm at pacificwriterscon [at] gmail Questions about registration should go to the ConComm at pacificwriterscon [at] gmail as well. As we get closer, we'll update this post with panel, vidshow, and other contact info, but the entire ConComm has access to the above email, and the appropriate person will answer any questions that come up, so that email address is your best bet! We're trying to tag posts as much as possible for ease of navigation. To view all the tags for the community, go here. See you in April!

#bp2020 #bitchin' party

REGISTRATION FOR PACIFICON 2020 (TAKING PLACE APRIL 3-5, 2020) IS NOW OPEN. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT THE REGISTRATION FORM. All fields are required (except the pronouns, additional platforms, and the financial assistance fields). If your form is incomplete, you will lose your place in line, so please be thorough!

Registration is $85. We're capping the total at 100 attendees. Registration is open NOW!

Here's how the process works:

1) you fill out the registration form above

2) we email you to let you know we received it (and you made the <100 cut) and ask for payment

3) once you have this green light, you submit payment (preferably by PayPal)

4) we email you AGAIN (at the email you registered with) notifying we received your payment. Only then are you officially registered. Yay for you!

Some notes:

- You should receive your confirmation emails fairly shortly after submitting your registration form. If you submitted your form more than about five hours ago and still have not seen an initial confirmation email, please check your spam filter. In the past, Gmail hasn't seemed to like emails from "Bitchin' Party" all that much. WHATEVER, GMAIL. If your spam filter is also empty, please send us an email and we'll get back to you ASAP.

- We greatly prefer Paypal to pacificwriterscon [at] gmail [dot] com for speed and online tracking purposes, but we can take a check or money order if absolutely necessary (US dollars only, please). We can email you a mailing address if that's the case. If you're international, we have to insist on something electronic. Please note that this is a NEW PayPal address for us – make sure you use pacificwriterscon [at] gmail [dot] com and not the old one from 2016.

- Payment is due within 7 days of the first confirmation email. Please do not register yet if you don't have the ability to pay within 7 days. If we don't receive your payment by the due date, your spot will be forfeit to the next person in line, if there is one. If you need financial assistance, there’s an extra step before you register for that information click <a href="">here</a>

- Your final confirmation email will be sent to the email address connected with your PayPal account (if you paid by PayPal), or to the email address you registered with. If you pay via eCheck, you will receive your final confirmation email once the funds have cleared.

- If you need to cancel your paid membership before March 1, we will refund $65 of your $85, or $30 of your $45. (We may also cry a little that we won't get to see you, but don't mind us.) After March 1, we won't be able to offer any refunds. However, we have a "no problem!" transfer policy. You can transfer your membership to another party at any time, even the day of the con if need be. After all 100 spots fill up, we will start a waiting list. Any cancellations after the fill point will be offered to the people on the waiting list, in order.

- We are facilitating financial assistance this year! If you'd like to contribute to someone else's registration fee or other costs, let us know in the form. We'll contact you later to take you up on that if needed. If you'd like to be considered for financial assistance, check out this screened post where you can let us know and we'll coordinate.

Comments to this post are NOT screened. Do not submit your personal private real-person information here for all the internet to see.

Please feel free to contact us at pacificwriterscon[at]gmail[dot]com if you have any questions! The main con information post will be going up next week to fill you in on all the details of the hotel, transportation, etc.

#bp2020 #bp registration

bitchinparty

BP 2020 Registration opens THIS UPCOMING SATURDAY!

Hellooooo! Registration for Pacificon 2020 (aka Bitchin’ Party) will open at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, September 7, 2019.

The procedure is going to be almost exactly the same as last time, with a few important changes:

The registration fee is $85 for the full con, $45 for one full day plus Friday night, or $15 for just Friday. We are capping registration at 100 attendees, with a little wiggle room depending on how many one-day registrations we get. We don’t expect registration to fill up right away, and we will post an update when we get close to that. We’ll also be accepting donations for folks who need financial help to attend. If you would like to donate, please PayPal [email protected], select the “Friends and Family” option, and mention in the notes that you are donating to the financial assistance fund. All donations to this fund will go toward con attendees who request financial assistance.

The registration post will go up at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, September 7, 2019. You may register for yourself, or for another person, but can only register one person at a time. One person, one form :)

We will be using a registration form, the same as last time. It will be super-easy. You’ll love it!

Information we will be asking for (for both self-registrations and registrations on behalf of others) includes:

1) Your name as it appears in your PayPal account. FIRST AND LAST. Don’t worry, no one will see this but us. This is just so we can match up payment to your registration.

2) Your badge name. It can be whatever you want, however you want. We will print it exactly how you provide it here. That means capitalization, spelling, spaces, etc. Please be attentive to this (though you will have the opportunity to make corrections later if necessary). This badge name will be posted to the Dreamwidth comm in the list of attendees, so keep that in mind.

3) A valid working email address where we can reach you quickly and easily. Please use proper punctuation instead of typing out “dot com,” etc. Again, no one will see this but us. If you register for someone else, we’ll send their confirmations to both of you.

4) Your method of payment. We need to know where to be looking. We also need a real, actual name where the payment will be coming from, so we make sure it gets applied correctly. Please note our current PayPal email address is [email protected]. Make sure you send payments to that address.

5) An age statement, which you can confirm using a handy tickybox! This event WILL have porn and booze and stuff available to those of age. We make no claim otherwise. You must be at least 18 in order to attend.

6) Your primary fannish home, and your name there (e.g., mine would be “exmanhater on Twitter”). Our main thought in asking for this is that it might be a better way to list the attendees, so that other attendees can find/recognize you. For ease of use/coding, please just pick ONE platform for this. The next question allows you add any other platforms and names.

After you’ve submitted your form, you will be emailed a confirmation (make sure you check your spam filter if you haven’t received it within a couple of hours). From the point at which you receive your confirmation email, you will then have seven days to submit payment. We greatly prefer PayPal to pacificwriterscon [at] gmail [dot] com for speed and online tracking purposes, but we can take a check or money order if absolutely necessary (US dollars only, please). If you’re international, we have to insist on PayPal. If we don’t receive your payment by the due date, your spot will be forfeit to the next person in line, if there is one. Once your payment is received, you’ll receive a second confirmation email letting you know you’re officially registered with Bitchin’ Party. Woo!

Because we know that life is unpredictable, and the best-laid plans, etc., etc., we’re offering the most lenient refund policy we can afford. If you need to cancel your paid membership before March 1st, 2020, we will refund $65 of your $85, or $30 of your $45. After March 1st or for $15 registrations, we won’t be able to offer any refunds. However, we have a “no problem!” transfer policy. You can transfer your membership to another party at any time, even the day of the con if need be. After all 100 spots fill up, we will start a waiting list. Any cancellations after the fill point will be offered to the people on the waiting list, in order.

And don’t forget, you can also:

Follow us on Twitter (@bitchinparty)“ Follow us on Dreamwidth (bitchinparty) To receive updates via email, join the mailing list! Email [email protected] with ‘mailing list’ in the subject line and we’ll add you.

YAAAAAAY, ALMOST REGISTRATION TIME. As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions!

bitchinparty

Reblogged to add an important detail! BP 2020 is April 3-5, 2020. Come join us!

#bitchin' party #bp2020

Hi - Maybe I missed it but I don't see the dates for the 2020 con anywhere...

This is a very good question, and I’m going to update the post to include the dates! Thanks for pointing this out! Bitchin’ Party 2020 will be April 3-5, 2020, in Issaquah, WA (near Seattle).