Åcon Punch Out and Play

A while ago, a package arrived from Jeff. “Your mission—should you choose to accept it—is to take this Star Wars: Punch Out and Play! book and play around with it.” As I was about to leave for Åcon I decided to take the book along.

So, besides drinking beer and talking to friends about science fiction I spent parts of the convention walking around with a bunch of paper dolls cardboard action figures, looking even sillier than usual trying to arrange them in interesting positions while explaining to passers-by that Jeff made me do it.

On the last day of the convention I visited the museum ship Pommern that was conveniently docked nearby. The con Guest of Honor Steph Swainston was also there, and got to play too.

The Jedi seemed to take to the ship like naturals. I had a hard time convincing them that it was time to go because the con was over and it was time to go home.

Without further ado, I present to you the Star Wars: Punch Out and Play Åland Adventure, a photo journey of various Jedi, Sith, and other assorted folks in Åland.

Back from Åcon

Åcon 3 is succesfully over and I’m back home. Despite the very sparse programming, there really wasn’t much down time at the convention for blogging and such stuff, so there haven’t been regular updates. Will try to post some thought on the convention later. Meanwhile, here are the things I posted on Twitter on Friday and Saturday:

These are the ongoing twitterings of the sf convention Åcon, its four-day mission to drink strange new bheers. To seek out new books and sfnal conversations. To boldly smof where no one has smoffed before.

Friday

• 08:34 At breakfast. #
• 09:50 Åbout to go on a tour to Stållhågen Brewery. #
• 13:02 Back from the brewery. Burp. #
• 14:15 Today's surprise hit is the ice cream the lobby bar sells. #
• 18:00 The Gothenburg fen arrived and presented Åcon with Tentakelpriset for bridging caps in fandom, awarded in June 2010. #
• 18:49 The state of Swedish science fiction (or rather the lack of it) is being lamented. #
• 19:10 Marianna waxing lyrical about current sf & f in Finland. #
• 19:45 3 panelists with laptops - I wonder if anyone notices me mentioning they abandoned the topic quite a while ago, talking about how to start writing instead
• 19:50 As soon as I had tweeted the previous comment, Ben (not with a laptop) got the panel a bit more back on track. #
• 22:23 Jukka's quiz show starting by designating the volunteers to compete and delivering various instruments that make noise. #
• 03:09 Bar closed a while ago; crowd migrated to room party. Nobody painted green yet but there's always tomorrow. #

Saturday

• 14:42 The Finncon association meeting v. productive. #
• 15:17 The copyright panel got much more interesting after getting the mandatory Mickey Mouse and copyright companies gripe over with. #
• 16:09 GoH is doing wonderful things. #
• 21:33 Will find out what "Sci Fi Babble" means. #
• 21:34 Skipped the banquet, but the alternative meal was very good, and accompanied by very entertaining conversation. #
• 21:35 Hmm, seems to be "Sci Fi Babbel," actually. No wiser yet, though. #
• 21:51 In scifi båbbel the audience gets to vote whether the competitors are being boring. Should be included in regular panels as well! #
• 01:57 Great game show, good chats in the bar. Room party. @JohanJ being painted green. There are pictures. #
• 02:32 The post-midnight Incredible Hulk photo shoot. #
• 03:41 Need... sleep... must... leave... room... party... #

Eurocon 2011 Announces Fan GoH

This just in here at Åcon: Eurocon 2011, held in Stockholm, announced that their fan Guest of Honor is none other than Jukka Halme from Helsinki, Finland. Congratulations, Jukka! (I think it’s safe to guess we’ll be hearing more of this from him. And more. And then some more…)

Åcon Twittering

Twitterings from yesterday:

• 07:19 On the way to #åcon3 #fb #
• 09:54 Dissecting Star Trek at Ölcon. #åcon3 #
• 16:35 Arrived in Mariehamn. In true relaxcon manner there are no badges. Some promised for tomorrow though. #åcon3 #fb #
• 18:38 The convention is åpen. #åcon3 #
• 18:40 People were instructed to use the hash tag #åcon3 when tweeting about the con. #
• 18:53 Innovative sf panel with Steph Swainston & others is about to begin. #åcon3 #
• 21:47 Tragic setback - seems nobody remembered to make sure the bar stays open later the first night. Lobby bar to the rescue! #åcon3 #
• 23:41 Only Finns left, hanging out in the bar. #åcon3 #
• 23:47 Found the Swedes. Lots of conversations going on all around. #åcon3 #

See what others are saying on Twitter. Risingshadow also has a topic abot Åcon (in Finnish, though).

Åcon 3 Is Go

Once again we’re here in Mariehamn for Åcon. The convention is traditionally relaxed—the program book doesn’t have starting times for the program items (which were announced at the beginning but changed several times on later occasions), and so on. The con started about half an hour late, but considering the boat was over an hour behind schedule you could say we started early. And everyone is having fun as usual. The GoH Steph Swainston is very nice (and has good taste in whisky), the weather is fine (so far; the forecast is not all that promising), the new Adlon terrace is very comfy, and of course there are many fen to see and talk to.

There were some minor setbacks (no badges until tomorrow, the bar didn’t get the message of staying open late already today), but nothing serious. And this time we’re prepared for the very early cleaning staff at the hotel (last year they started knocking on doors, wanting to clean the rooms around 8 in the morning): there was a workshop where people could customize their own “Do not disturb” signs (the rooms don’t have those). So we should be all set for tomorrow.

The only real program item for today: a panel discussion of innovation in sf. From the left: Jesper, Jarmo, Dr. Pasinen and Steph Swainston

Last Day for Åcon Ferry Booking

If you’re thinking of coming to Åcon but haven’t signed up yet, do it now—today is the last day you can book the very inexpensive ferry trip there and back.

Note: it’s still possible to attend the convention even if you miss today’s booking deadline: you’ll just have to take care of the travel booking by yourself.

See you there!

Sign up for Åcon

The Sign-up form for Åcon is now online. You register for the convention and book the ferry travel on the same form. The deadline for booking is April 20, so go there and sign up now!

Brewery Visit at Åcon

Åcon 3 announced they are organizing a visit to the Stallhage brewery on Friday. So if you’re interested, head on to the info page and sign up.

Åcon Hotel Reservations Open

Åcon 3 has announced their hotel reservation information. The prices are the same as last year: 145 € for the whole con in a double (or twin) room, 115 € for a double/twin with an additional bed, and 260 € for a single. The room offer is valid until April 21, and as last year the hotel is divided in “quiet” and “noisy” areas, so you can choose whether you want to sleep or party all night.

Åcon 3 Site Alive

Åcon 3 is approaching, and the web site now seems to be properly launched—with most of the information still to come, but at least there’s an introduction of the GoH Steph Swainston there. Now awaiting the hotel booking info…

Åcon 3 Announces GoH

Åcon 3 has announced their Guest of Honor (website update still pending): British author Steph Swainston comes to Mariehamn next May. Great news and a great choice for a guest—make sure you'll be there too!

Buy Your Åcon 3 Discount Membership Now

If you’re thinking of going to Åcon next year, you can still join for the discounted rate of 20 € until June 15 (Sunday this week). After that, membership goes up to 25 €. So go to the members page and join now!

Åcon is Gone, Long Live Åcon

Back from a magnificent convention in Mariehamn, Åland. Åcon 2 was a success! The Guest of Honor (Ian McDonald) was interesting and entertaining. There was a suitable amount of quality programming (some said there was too much, but on the other hand last year others complained about there being too few items, so I guess the amount is in general pretty much perfect). The bar staid open late (and had much better stock of beverages than last year, although—despite our strong suggestions—they still run out of much of the good stuff during the weekend). Room parties were loud and fun. 70 members attended, met friends, made new ones, and engaged in drinking sfnal discussion. And some drinking, of course.

Proper reporting will have to wait for a couple of days (or more precisely, a couple of nights slept), but for now I’ll just note that there will be Åcon 3 next year (May 21–24, 2009). Membership fee is 20 € until June 15, and 25 € afterwards. I’m sure more details on how to pay will appear soon on the web site.

I’m not on the committee next year, so I’m really looking forward to just going to Mariehamn an enjoying being a member of Åcon.