FAQ

Penguicon is a three-day community event where we all learn from each other (as well as from our Guests of Honor) about Open Source software, Science Fiction and Fantasy media and books, DIY projects, hacking, soldering, food, painting miniatures, gaming, coding, building universes as creators of all kinds, and so much more.

Our two pillars are Science Fiction and Open Source, but we cover as many diverse nerdy interests as possible. We have a ConSuite with soda, coffee, and snacks that are free with your membership, which makes it easier on your budget. You can find nerdy T-shirts, books, and custom artwork, and non-commodity crafts in our large and active community Maker Market.

Geek proms, masquerades, costume contests, and World of Warcraft-style questing? We are all over it. Each year is unique, so check the schedule! Expert Guests of Honor in their field? Come to Penguicon to see them in panels, readings, demonstrations, and performances.

At night, you can expect many suite parties with various nerdy themes, as well as late-night gaming and anime watching, with soda available in the con suite all night long.

All of this is arranged by unpaid volunteers – at the end of the day, we are all building this experience together as a community.

To find out more, check out our About page.

Thank you for choosing to join us!

Things people do to prepare for Penguicon

• Register in advance or pay at the door. There is generally a discount for registering ahead of time.
• Reserve a hotel room in our arranged block. This is optional but extremely helpful both to you and to the convention, as we contract a minimum number of hotel rooms in order to have our convention space.  Many people want to participate in late-night programming, conversations, and room parties without worrying about getting home.
• Volunteer – ConCom, Staff, Volunteers, Presenters – everyone plays a part in making Penguicon special as participants. If you’d like to give your time or expertise to your fellow attendees, please reach out ahead of the event or stop by the Volunteers table at the con.

The best way to feel like you are a part of the Penguicon family is to volunteer some of your time, either before, after, or during the convention. If you decide that you would like to volunteer, please contact the ConChair or the volunteer coordinator.

Additionally, we’d love to hear from you on our Facebook group, where you can introduce yourself and keep abreast of social events throughout the year.

Once you arrive, you may see volunteers sitting under a Penguicon banner – that’s our Greeter Desk, and those folks are there to answer your questions and point you toward the fun you’re looking for (and often have stickers and other swag, too!)

We have open socializing spaces as well as gaming areas, and our attendees are friendly and welcoming, especially with new attendees.  A great way to get to know folks is to pick out a game and ask if anyone wants to play!

Penguicon is an event presented by PenguiCorp, a 501c3 non-profit organization. Every organizer – volunteers, year-long Staff, ConCom, Chair, and Board of Directors – donates their time for free to the convention.

Registration pays to meet our contract with the Hotel (including lighting and sound tech and a required food budget), physical storage, ConSuite food and drink (free with your membership), print materials (annual signage, Souvenir Books, schedule books, etc), fees for services like Eventbrite and Sched, our Post Office Box, and our tax accountant, among other things. It also pays for materials used during our programming events, as well as accommodations and travel for our Guests of Honor, who are otherwise uncompensated.

We do not charge Guest of Honor signing fees, and do not have VIP memberships of any kind.

We try very hard to make sure that once you’ve paid your registration you don’t have additional unexpected costs at the event.

We do not accept harassment of any kind during Penguicon. Please take a look at our Code of Conduct, and contact the ConChair or the Board of Directors if you have any questions.

Penguicon only exists because of people like you who love the event and step up to volunteer. We need planners and organizers throughout the entire year. We welcome your help, whether you are new or a long-time attendee. Each year is unique as people step up to take over aspects of the event they love and bring their unique vision to that part of the con. Bring your ideas, we’re ready!

Before the convention, we need help in planning and logistics, from track heads who encourage people to submit programming to Maker Market vendor liaison to ConSuite planning and management. Come to one of our monthly convention meetings and help Penguicon blossom into the con you envision.

We also need hands-on volunteers from the Thursday before the convention through the Monday after. This vital team sets up and tears down convention signage and other features, as well as staff ongoing services like the ConSuite, Logistics, Gaming, Operations, and Registration.

Volunteering is a great way to meet people who care about the con, make friends, and integrate yourself into the fabric of the convention. If you already have a bunch of friends who come to Penguicon, think about volunteering as a group – you can chatting while setting up chairs or handing out registration packets.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the ConChair or Volunteer coordinator.

Penguicon happens in Southeast Michigan between late April and early May. It is unlikely that there will be snow, but we cannot totally rule it out, it’s happened before. Consider bringing an umbrella, walking shoes, a sweater to throw on if you get cold while walking outside, a pair or two of shorts and pants/skirts, warm socks, and a few items of clothing that can be layered. All convention programming is indoors.

One of our original co-founders says, “I had the name Penguicon, which could as easily come from Monty Python’s “and now it’s time for the Penguin on top of your television set to explode” as from Linux’s Tux mascot.” It is meant to represent our roots as both an open-source software convention and a sci-fi convention.

Penguins are joyful and inquisitive, which matches well with our attendees. We’re delighted to have a penguin on a rocket ship as our logo.

No, Penguicon does not provide childcare or child-focused programming. You are responsible for your children at all times. Some attendees may trade off on child care, but the convention is not directly involved.

Penguicon is intended to be a convention for adults, and while we do not exclude children, we also do not provide programming tailored to them. Because Penguicon is a convention for adults, we do not charge a registration fee for children 12 and under, who should be supervised at all times.

If you plan on bringing your children, please know that we provide “After Dark” programming that is intended for adults only, typically scheduled for 9:00 PM and later. Additionally, attendees often choose to arrange room parties on the “noisy” floors of the hotel, many of which require you to be an adult to enter. Keep this in mind if you are thinking of letting your children roam the halls in the evenings.

The word “ConSuite” is a contraction of “convention hospitality suite.” It is a space where Penguicon attendees can grab hot and cold beverages, light snacks, and good conversation. It is not intended as a replacement for a full meal, but is a great quick stop to refuel between panels.

A featured guest is someone who is a standout in their area of knowledge and who is invited to bring something special to Penguicon. Featured Guests receive a free registration, are listed in the program book, and are expected to contribute to the convention experience.

A GoH Emeritus is a past Guest of Honor. We extend an invitation to our past GoHs each year, and they receive a free badge when they attend.

Our Guests of Honor (or GoHs) are often authors, scientists, hackers, coders, game creators, musicians, and other luminaries who make the convention exciting by giving us a chance to learn from the masters. Guests of Honor are given free travel and accommodations as thanks for their participation in the convention. You will find profiles of them in the program book and they are featured in various panels and events throughout the weekend.

As a non-profit all-volunteer charity, we do not pay our Guest of Honor, and they often spend their weekends sharing their knowledge with us when they could be making a lot of money at a for-profit convention or tech conference. We are deeply honored that they come to participate in this experience with us.

We welcome suggestions for future Guests of Honor, who are chosen by that year’s Convention Chair. You can reach out to this year’s Chair, or if you have ideas for future years, contact the Board of Directors who will pass that forward.

Anyone who presents programming at Penguicon is a panelist. Thank you for contributing to the wealth of knowledge and experience that is shared every year at Penguicon!

Panelists can receive a discount on their registration by presenting at least three hours of programming.

Many conventions have a Dealer Room or Artist Alley. Penguicon’s community has many makers, artists, and inventors, and we have asked them to set up tables in our Maker Market so our attendees can support that work by buying art, crafts, games, and electronics projects from their own community during Penguicon.

Makers are carefully selected based on quality, variety, type of merchandise, relevance to the Penguicon, and whatever adds the most to the Penguicon experience. Makers offer their own work; we ask resellers to reach out to us about our Sponsor tables.

When available, the Writer’s Block is a bookstore and author’s corner that is run either by volunteers or by the authors themselves. We provide space for creators to display their written works and make them available to purchase without (generally) having to be their for every minute, allowing those creators more time to participate in the rest of the convention and still have a home for signings and readings.

This part of our programming is highly dependent on having volunteer staff to arrange and run it – please reach out to the ConChair if you’d like to contribute your time, with thanks from us and all the authors who attend Penguicon.

Many conventions have a Dealer Room or Artist Alley. Penguicon’s community has many makers, artists, and inventors, and we have asked them to set up tables in our Maker Market so our attendees can support that work by buying art, crafts, games, and electronics projects from their own community during Penguicon.

Makers are carefully selected based on quality, variety, type of merchandise, relevance to the Penguicon, and whatever adds the most to the Penguicon experience. Makers offer their own work; we ask resellers to reach out to us about our Sponsor tables.

We like to see a wide variety of makers every year, but we do have a preference for local makers that handcraft their own goods. We will typically not accept a vendor that resells items, with the exception of a bookseller or someone selling limited electronics. Along with the typical science fiction and fantasy-related vendors, we are also interested in vendors of Steampunk gear, portable technology, or pro-hackerspace vendors with soldering equipment and the like.

Yes, we love room parties and have designated party floors for this purpose. Room parties are the responsibility of those who reserve the room for this purpose, and we ask them to agree to abide by hotel policies and the laws of the state and country, especially when it comes to serving alcohol.

Room parties at Penguicon range from quiet “Stitch and B*tch” circles to full-on DJ’d dances and have themes as varied as you can imagine. Please contact our Hotel Liaison in order to ensure the room you reserve for your party is on the party floors.

If you’d like to post flyers (with permission) for Penguicon at your place of business, school, or other nerdy community, we’d like to thank you for thinking of us and helping to expand our community!  Please reach out to our ConChair for the latest flyer highlighting what our event has to offer.

Get excited! Presenting at Penguicon is awesome! Expect to hear from us more often as the event approaches. Please add [email protected] (and any emails from the track head your programming falls under) to your email address book to make sure you don’t miss any of our communications.

We may also contact you if we feel material changes are necessary for your event. If your event is a panel, we may add panelists. We reserve the right to edit event titles and descriptions to better represent events to our attendees.

We would love for you to submit your event proposal to us. If you have contacted other panelists, please include those. As a community-run convention, this comes together only because we all participate!

NOTE: Programming stops taking suggestions for the year on February 1st.

If you have an amazing idea for programming that you can shepherd from start to finish and doesn’t require a budget, you can contact Programming with that request after the deadline, but it is rare that we can make space as we often fill every available room with submitted programming – please anticipate them asking you to try again next year.

We have events in a variety of formats. Most of our events are presentations, panel discussions, workshops, Birds of a Feather (unmoderated discussions), or other interactive activities. We welcome your unique format ideas! Time slots are 50 minutes long. Most events take place during a single slot, though we can accommodate some events that require additional time.

We accept submissions from people of all experience levels. The only qualification is that you are really interested in the topic and able to hold the audience’s attention for an hour. The programming team will choose panels and panelists based on a number of factors. If your panel was not approved in a given year, please try another panel idea or try next year!

If requested before Penguicon, we will do our best to provide presenters with video projectors and sound equipment. Wi-Fi is available throughout the event facility. Please plan to provide your own computer, adapters, power strips, and any additional special equipment you require.

Our pillars are Open Source and Science Fiction, but we accept a wide range of events of interest to nerds, geeks, and fans.

Some of our programming tracks include:

• Action Adventure
• After Dark
• Anime
• Cosplay
• DIY
• Food
• Gaming
• Life
• Literature
• Mayhem
• Media
• Science
• Technology

Track heads, Guests of Honor, and panelists contribute ideas for paneling throughout the year. Additionally, Penguicon members make suggestions that our track heads then try to make happen.

We will do a preliminary review as the deadline approaches. We intend to notify everyone within four weeks after the deadline. If you haven’t heard from us by March 1st, please email [email protected].

There are many reasons we might not select a panel this year, including space restrictions and too many panels on the same topic – please don’t be discouraged, and try contributing other ideas!

Please contact Registration with your name and email so they can look up your status.

Yes, you can register at the door on your arrival at Penguicon. When you walk in, you may see some folks sitting under a Penguicon banner – that would be our Greeter Desk, and they can direct you to Registration or answer any questions you have.

If you paid via PayPal, you’ll get an email confirmation. If you’re worried, email us at [email protected].

If you cannot attend, you can transfer your badge to someone else. The best approach is to give that person a signed letter about the transfer, and also to let us know by e-mailing [email protected].

If you can’t transfer your badge to another person, please contact [email protected] to request a refund.

Penguicon is an event presented by PenguiCorp, a 501c3 non-profit organization. Every organizer – volunteers, year-long Staff, ConCom, Chair, and Board of Directors – donates their time for free to the convention.

Registration pays to meet our contract with the Hotel (including lighting and sound tech and a required food budget), physical storage, ConSuite food and drink (free with your membership), print materials (annual signage, Souvenir Books, schedule books, etc), fees for services like Eventbrite and Sched, our Post Office Box, and our tax accountant, among other things. It also pays for materials used during our programming events, as well as accommodations and travel for our Guests of Honor, who are otherwise uncompensated.

We do not charge Guest of Honor signing fees, and do not have VIP memberships of any kind.

We try very hard to make sure that once you’ve paid your registration you don’t have additional unexpected costs at the event.

Penguicon usually offers a discount to attendees for registering in advance. This helps Penguicon by letting us know what funds will be available for the event, and it helps you by making check-in easier when you arrive at Penguicon.

We also have very attractive badges printed in advance that you may want to collect!

Please contact Registration with your name and email so they can look up your status.

Up until the deadline, we accept payment via PayPal. If you are looking to pre-register via cash please email [email protected].

At the door, we accept payment via US bank check, US travelers’ check, US currency, MasterCard, and Visa.

We do not accept foreign checks or currency. If you live outside the US and want to register in advance, PayPal is the best option.

Please check our year-specific Penguicon web site (available at [year].penguicon.org) for specific information about registering including pricing and methods of payment.  If this year’s Penguicon page is not set up yet, you can search for “Penguicon Eventbrite” to find our pre-registration page – just make sure it’s the right year!

If the panel is already confirmed for this year, please contact our head of programming at [email protected].

If you have a suggestion for something you’d like to see happen at Penguicon (that you aren’t running), please submit your event suggestion before February 1st.

If you want to submit a proposal for an event you’d like to be on, submit your event proposal before February 1st.

If there is not a form available for this year’s convention at the time you’re reading this, please email [email protected] with your request.

If you paid via PayPal, you’ll get an email confirmation. If you’re worried, email us at [email protected].

If you cannot attend, you can transfer your badge to someone else. The best approach is to give that person a signed letter about the transfer, and also to let us know by e-mailing [email protected].

If you can’t transfer your badge to another person, please contact [email protected] to request a refund.

Get excited! Presenting at Penguicon is awesome! Expect to hear from us more often as the event approaches. Please add [email protected] (and any emails from the track head your programming falls under) to your email address book to make sure you don’t miss any of our communications.

We may also contact you if we feel material changes are necessary for your event. If your event is a panel, we may add panelists. We reserve the right to edit event titles and descriptions to better represent events to our attendees.

We would love for you to submit your event proposal to us. If you have contacted other panelists, please include those. As a community-run convention, this comes together only because we all participate!

NOTE: Programming stops taking suggestions for the year on February 1st.

If you have an amazing idea for programming that you can shepherd from start to finish and doesn’t require a budget, you can contact Programming with that request after the deadline, but it is rare that we can make space as we often fill every available room with submitted programming – please anticipate them asking you to try again next year.

Penguicon usually offers a discount to attendees for registering in advance. This helps Penguicon by letting us know what funds will be available for the event, and it helps you by making check-in easier when you arrive at Penguicon.

We also have very attractive badges printed in advance that you may want to collect!

We will do a preliminary review as the deadline approaches. We intend to notify everyone within four weeks after the deadline. If you haven’t heard from us by March 1st, please email [email protected].

There are many reasons we might not select a panel this year, including space restrictions and too many panels on the same topic – please don’t be discouraged, and try contributing other ideas!