Description: a photo of the Olive 8 tower where the Hyatt is located. Source: Wikipedia.
Attending GeekGirlCon’19 from out of town? You’re going to need somewhere to stay, and you can’t get much closer than the Hyatt at Olive 8!
This year, we’re partnering with the Hyatt to offer reservations for the full con weekend (November 14 through 18) for just $149 a night. The Hyatt is right down the street from the Conference Center where GGC’19 will take place, close enough that you can pop back over in case you forgot something or need to charge your phone for a bit in the middle of the day. Make your reservations now!
Description: a map showing the route between the Hyatt and the Conference Center, which is 0.1 miles in a straight line. Source: Google Maps.
Looking for more to do while you’re in town? Check out the Hyatt’s list of sights, attractions, wineries, breweries, and sports stadiums that call Seattle home to start planning your geeky adventure in style.
As you’ve probably noticed, we’re now accepting programming submissions for GeekGirlCon ‘19. That means panels, workshops, performances, and other kinds of events—we want it all! We’re also, as always, accepting submissions for panelists/moderators who are not yet associated with a specific programming proposal.
We have a little over two months until the deadline of May 31 at 11:59 p.m. PST, and we’re here to support y’all as you put together your teams of geeks, experts, creators, and performers and we all gear up for what will probably be the most epic con yet.
We’re planning to roll out more submissions-related content in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, I’ll direct you to one of my favorite places on the internet, the GeekGirlCon Contributor Forum on Facebook. We’re processing requests to join super regularly, so please jump on in! This is a great resource to find everything from co-presenters to feedback on programming ideas to proposal troubleshooting from GeekGirlCon staff and our wider community. Additionally, here’s our web page detailing the submission process in more detail for your reference.
And, do remember that this year’s theme is Share Your World. Our community is founded in collaboration, coming together in a physical place to collaborate and celebrate. What media is important to you? What is your community’s relationship with geek culture or pop culture generally? What are you creating that you’re excited about? If you have programming ideas that respond to one or more of these questions, we want your proposal!
As always, feel free to reach out to programming@geekgirlcon.com with questions or concerns, but until next time, SUBMIT!
[Image Description: David Tennant as the Doctor looking down and moving his arm to point towards the camera. The caption reads, “I want you.”] Source: Tenor
Is there anything more ripe for geekiness than food? It’s both the simplest, starkest element of our lives – necessary to our very survival – and the most lush, decadent pleasure. Somehow – for me at least, and, I suspect, for all of the other eager consumers of food and food media – the omnipresence of food somehow makes it less prosaic rather than more so, an empty plate (so sorry…) on which we can heap our artistry and desire, our insecurity and joy, often in equal measure.
For me, there is something inherently calming and satisfying about food media. At its best, it replicates the complete sensuous joy of a delicious meal, the just-right feeling of eating the food you’ve been craving for so long.
Nigella Lawson eats a grilled cheese sandwich, pulling the sandwich away from her face to create a long cheese pull. Source: Giphy
But the inherent satisfactions of food media are also balanced by the complicated relationships we each have to food itself. In Rosianna Halse Rojas’ gorgeous and thoughtful “Backburner” series of YouTube videos – in which she films herself cooking and eating from different cookbooks over a period of several months – food is a conduit for complex feelings of gluttony and overindulgence, fraught body image, control and restriction. It is a map of her emotional state, her time in the kitchen reflecting the extent to which she is or is not able to nurture her body and mind. At the same time, food is joyful, playful – an escape and a comfort.
My favorite food media jumps wholeheartedly into this uncomfortable dichotomy. Food as sustenance, food as destruction. Food as, ultimately, a reflection of us and all of our deepest, strangest, basest needs. And in this passionate, geeky way, consuming media about food mirrors the consumption of food itself, and all the wonderful, difficult, and wholly human emotions that conjures within us.
Samin Nosrat nibbles on a piece of food and laughs at something someone off-camera has said. Source: Giphy
Since the rise of the #MeToo movement in October 2017, a shift has occurred in the way the media talks about and addresses sexual abuse allegations. Until the expansion of this movement, the taboo subject went largely avoided by the media and in all industries, except in the most high-profile cases, as it made readers, viewers and listeners uncomfortable. However, the hashtag movement, started by Tarana Burke and popularized by Alyssa Milano, has opened this conversation to the masses as a subject that can and should no longer be ignored.
One of the large and essential consequences of this movement has been the critical reflection on the behaviors we, as a society, deem acceptable and promote through the forms of media we commend and popularize. Those who are affected by discrimination, as well as allies, have begun to speak out about problematic messaging. From songs that promote rape culture and misogyny with their language, as well as some classic, critically acclaimed films whose dialogue and humor has not aged well with the times, our perceptions of media have been refined to notice the dangerous concepts we are reinforcing as the norm in our society.
GeekGirlCon ‘19 is happening on Saturday, November 16 and Sunday, November 17 at the Conference Center in downtown Seattle. You can purchase passes right now at these early bird prices. Don’t delay, as prices will go up after April 15.
Kids 0-5: Free
Kids 6-12: $10.00
Sunday Pass: $25.00
Saturday Pass: $25.00
Weekend Pass: $40.00
Each year, we strive to make GeekGirlCon a super-cool experience filled with excitement, education, and fun for all. It’s a mix of meetups, panel discussions, fun science experiments, gaming demos, and a lot of cosplay. I’m getting excited just writing about it! Save a few dollars for the Exhibitor’s Hall, and buy your passes right now at the early bird price.
We are 252 days away from the con. Are you excited?
I’ve been dealing with a persistent case of burnout over the past couple of months. Although it’s been frustrating from relational and productivity standpoints, staying home and hiding from the world has left me with a lot of good tv-watching time. I’ve been checking out new shows and catching up on old ones, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the portrayals of women in several of them. Here’s a snapshot.
Nadia Vulvokov from Russian Doll
Nadia, standing in a bathroom, adjusts her shirt before swaggering toward the door. Source: Giphy.
Feeling the mid-winter blues? My fellow Seattlites are thrilled that the worst of our weather is (hopefully) behind us, but I’ve got something to warm up this chilly afternoon: did you know that the photo booth pictures from #GGC18 are up on our Flickr?
Taken by photographer and GGC veteran Sayed Alamy, there’s no better time than now to find inspiration for your next cosplay or get yourself a little hyped for this upcoming November.
I was feeling a little under the weather this week, but scrolling through these photos did wonders for my mood. Here are some of my favorites (with absolutely no bias towards my favorite characters, I swear!) Plus, I don’t think there’s anything cuter than a mini cosplayer. Prove me wrong.
When Super Mario Brothers first came out, my brother and I spent hour after hour trying to save a princess trapped behind Goombas and those weird-looking duck-turtle hybrid things. I never thought about the premise behind the game—that women characters were delicate flowers in need of rescue. To my young mind, I accepted that mindset in the same fashion I accepted fairy tales featuring damsels in distress.
Early video game manufacturers definitely catered to a certain audience, namely young men, many of which probably enjoyed escaping into gaming to create strong alter egos. Over the years, more women have joined the ranks of heavy-duty gamers, but has this influx of women players changed the way women characters get treated in the gaming world?
The “Madonna/Whore” Paradigm
Early game designers included women characters not as equal players, but rather as either innocent little princesses or sultry seductresses. This Madonna-versus-whore treatment of women in video games reinforced the false belief that women only exist in terms of their relationships with men. Any personality traits a unique woman character might possess were often overlooked.
As time progressed and more women began gaming, video game manufacturers began including more women characters to choose from in role-playing games and the like. Allowing gamers to select women avatars appeared to be a step in the direction of gender equality, and in some ways, it was.
However, serious gamers soon discovered that selecting a woman character often meant losing the game. For example, in the fighting game Dead or Alive, the woman protagonist must engage in battle with her much larger, stronger, and more powerful father in the second half of the game, putting the players who chose the woman character at a distinct disadvantage.
Even something as basic as the way game designers attire their women characters leaves these characters at an additional disadvantage. It’s a bit difficult to run very fast in high heels! No man video game protagonist has to go into battle clad only in his Fruit of the Loom boxer briefs, but women characters often wage war in skimpy bikinis or are otherwise scantily-clad.
How Video Games Impact Behavior
The issue of the gender divide between the treatment of characters in video games has implications beyond just the gameplay itself. Multiple studies suggest that while frequent exposure to violent video games doesn’t necessarily lead to criminal activity, images still do influence behavior. The consequences of how a fictional avatar treats women characters could potentially translate into the way the player interacts with women in the real world. At best, exposure to violent video games that also objectify women normalizes the objectification of women in real life. At worst, it may lead to more actual violence against women.
About four out of five victims of intimate-partner violence are women. One in six women have been the victim of a rape attempt, and one in five women will be raped at some point in their lives. With harrowing numbers like that, we should be looking at any and every way we can to prevent furthering the violence against women that is unfortunately so prevalent in society.
Perhaps the solution is as simple as parents taking more of an active role in preventing their children from playing violent games that send the wrong messages about how to treat women. For example, should a child tell of playing a violent game at a friend’s house, a parent should take time to talk with them to help them process what they saw and explain its full context.
Changing the Game for the Better
Video game manufacturers likewise should take responsibility for the way their creations portray women. While many video game manufacturers have shied away from using women protagonists in the past, they should realize women gamers prefer entertainment that portrays them complexly. Even if sales of a game with a woman protagonist dip among men, women could more than make up their slack!
In addition, video game manufacturers should embrace diversity and eschew rigid gendering that treat women as secondary in importance to men. Likewise, manufacturers should eliminate the practice of making men avatars automatically stronger or more talented than their women counterparts. Featuring more trans and nonbinary characters would also be an excellent addition to gaming.
Furthermore, primary and secondary schools alike can encourage women to explore the amazing opportunities of STEM fields, including video game design. The interest definitely exists. In Australia, for example, women make up 46 percent of all gamers, but only 15 percent of all of those working in the video game industry. Many researchers consider educator bias as a contributing factor, as many schools encourage boys to enter science and math career fields whereas young girls are steered into nurturing positions such as nursing or teaching.
Endgame
In the end, few people believe that women have reached total equality in all areas of life, the lives of gamers included! Works of art such as video games serve as powerful tools in creating an alternate reality that can be more, not less, inclusive.
About Kate: Kate Harveston is a young writer from Williamsport, Pennsylvania. She enjoys topics related to culture, feminism, and women’s health, and how those elements intersect and act upon each other. If you like her writing, you can follow her on Twitter or visit her blog, So Well, So Woman.
It’s almost March, and you know what that means! Celebration! Besides Holi and St. Patrick’s Day, did you know that March is not only National Women’s History Month, National Peanut Month, and National Craft Month?! The more you know…
Image Description: A gif of the words “The More You Know” on top of a rainbow that is shooting through the sky. This graphic was originally used for a series of NBC public service announcements. Source: Giphy
So get out there (or stay inside—it’s still pretty cold out, after all) and enjoy this month of merriment and green clothing!
Read on to see what’s happening in March.
Image Description: A gif of a crowd of people dancing and throwing colored powder in the air to celebrate Holi. Source: Giphy
Hing Hay Park 423 Maynard Ave S, Seattle, Washington 98104
It’s time for the QRC’s annual Drag Show! On Friday, February 1st, join us in the Performing Arts Center Concert Hall for a night of great music and even better performers! The show starts at 7pm and goes until 9pm, and will feature both drag queens and drag kings. Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for non-students.
All money collected goes to benefit Lifelong and the Sean Humphrey House, local organizations that support LGBT+ people in our community.
Please bring cash to tip the performers! Since this is a benefit, the performers are not being compensated, so please show them your love and tip heavily!
Tickets will be available in the PAC box office very soon, we will comment in the discussion when tickets become available for purchase!
For disability accommodations, please contact as.disability@wwu.edu
UW Center For Urban Horticulture 3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle, Washington 98105
Come celebrate spring a little early while helping support our local plant growers! The annual NHS Spring Ephemeral Plant Sale will take place on Saturday, March 2nd, 2019 from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle.
Lynnwood Convention Center 3711 196th St SW, Lynnwood, Washington 98036
NerdFaire is NOT a craft fair or handmade fair, it is a MINI CON for ALL THE THINGS Nerdy and Geeky. Our focus is on supporting local Shops, businesses, and handmade items, in addition to creating community for all of Nerdery and Geekdom. This is our first year, but we hope to make this a long standing event.
Enjoy Cosplay contests and Fandom Meetups, Story Time and Meet n Greets with Our Princesses and Heroes.
Check out our show floor for some Trading Card Game duels OR learn how to play TCG Games, Board Games, and Miniatures Table Top Games. You can even take some time to paint a Miniature to take home.
Don’t forget to check out our Exhibitors! Some of the best Local Businesses, Artisans, Hand crafters, Authors, Artists, and more, the PNW has to offer!
Kids 15 and under are free, but they need a badge and accompanied by an adult. Come out, buy some Nerd trinkets to add to your collection, participate in our activities, and most of all HAVE FUN!
Delancey’s on 3rd 810 S 3rd St, Renton, Washington 98057
Join us for a raw and unfiltered experience as we address our black men by way of spoken word and live painting. There will be a full bar available to purchase drinks. Music by DJ Bankhead. Full Bar. Spoken Word. Live Painting.
Benaroya Hall 200 University St, Seattle, Washington 98101
International Women’s Day, celebrated around the world for 111 years, is coming back to Seattle. Join us to hear from inspirational speakers how together we can accelerate equality.
Holocaust Center for Humanity 2045 Second Ave, Seattle, Washington 98121
TWO WORKSHOPS: “Teaching Tolerance” and “Facilitating Critical Conversations” Register for one or both! $25 for one | $40 for both | Includes lunch and clock hours
The Holocaust Center for Humanity is proud to offer these workshops in partnership with Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
860 Terry Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109-4330, United States
On the first Thursday of each month, general admission to the Museum of History and Industry’s permanent exhibits are free all day long! The museum is open from 10a-8p.
Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! Come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon (http://www.geekgirlcon.com/) game nights with our friends at Wayward (http://www.waywardcoffee.com/)? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!
Our group is inclusive and totally newbie-friendly. We play a wide range of modern board and card games as well as some classics.
The Seattle Public Library Central Library, 1000 4th Ave, Seattle, Washington 98104
As our world burns, injustice festers around the globe. Patriarchy, racism, and capitalism are bringing us to ruin. In the face of this brutality, we need to elevate voices from the grassroots. And not just any voices. We need radical voices that take no prisoners, that speak the truth, that rip down the fantasies of the powerful and inspire us to fight like our lives depend on it.
On March 8th, 2019 (International Women’s Day), an event will be held featuring two of these powerful voices: Dominique Christina, the author of four books and the only person to EVER become a two-time world champion in slam poetry, and Cherry Smiley, warrior hero, feminist activist, scholar, and artist from the Nlaka’pamux (Thompson) and Diné (Navajo) nations.
The evening program will inform, educate, empower, inspire, and strengthen our spirit for the injustices we face: male violence, objectification, sexual exploitation, and racialization.
The event will take place at the world-famous Seattle Central Library in downtown Seattle, Washington, and is being organized by Asian Women for Equality and Fertile Ground Institute for Social and Environmental Justice.
Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial 4192 Eagle Harbor Dr NE, Bainbridge Island, Washington 98110
Originally scheduled to be on February 19th – the Day of Remembrance anniversary when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on Feb. 19, 1942 – snow and uncertain weather conditions forced the cancellation and rescheduling to March 9th., 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Inspired by the unique legacy of a community that welcomed their Japanese American friends and neighbors home after World War II, everyone is welcome to gather for “Service and Community” at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, offering landscaping maintenance and improvements to the National Historic Site, located at Pritchard Park, 4192 Eagle Harbor Drive, Bainbridge Island.
Hosted by the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community and generous support from the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park and Recreation District, everyone is invited and welcome to pitch in and help. Please wear appropriate clothing for work and weather, bring gloves and your own gardening tools.
Celebrate every inch of yourself at this Aquarius/Pisces season cusp pop-up shop just in time for the beginning of Seattle’s spring. Indian Summer owner Adria Garcia, ex-IS manager Kim Selling, and current IS shopgirl Abby Cooke will be selling racks on racks on racks of plus size vintage clothing. We’ll have pieces of many style varieties from size 12 to 32, especially pertaining to the encroaching (hopefully) sun-soaked seasons. Come get swathed in mesh, silk, velvet, faux fur, leather, pleather, lace, and all of your other favorite textures with us ♥
Emerald City Comic Con 800 Convention Pl, Seattle, Washington 98101
Emerald City Comic Con is the destination comic and pop culture show for the Pacific Northwest. ECCC delivers the best that the comics and pop culture industry has to offer directly from the creators, bringing super fans exactly what they crave: interaction with quality content and guests and an inclusive space to celebrate their fandom.
Lindy West will be here to join us as we binge watch her new adapted series, Shrill, debuting on Hulu March 15th. Based on her 2016 memoir Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman, the 6 episode comedy stars Aidy Bryant, “A woman who seeks out ways to change her life without changing her body.”
We’ll have special cocktails and on-theme snacks for your viewing pleasure! 21+
Time to get your Irish on and celebrate this fun community tradition. Sponsored by Olympic College Foundation. Parade steps off at 11am at 6th and Pacific. Heads south on Pacific to Fourth Street. Turning Right to head down to Park Avenue. At Park Ave turning Right to 5th St. Right on 5th St back up to Pacific Ave.
Block 41 115 Bell Street, Seattle, Washington 98121
Join us for our Harry Potter inspired Beer Festival as we transform the Iconic Block 41 into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter complete with Hogwarts Great Hall, Diagon Alley, and the Leaky Cauldron. The event will hosts a beer tasting of over twenty winter, pumpkin, and holiday ales including Snape’s Lair of Secret Cider Potions and Adult Butter Beer. There will be a Hagrid Photo Op, plenty of characters, food from Mac Shackk, and live music from the Slytherin Sisters and DJ Dumbledore. 21+
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall 301 Mercer Street, Seattle, Washington 98109
It’s not just big, it’s huge! Over 100,000 items will be for sale with over 50 categories of nonfiction including art, cookbooks, crafts, gardening, history, music, performing arts, pets, nature and travel.
We have an extensive selection of fiction including science fiction, graphic novel, classics, and short stories. Our children’s selection covers every reading level you can imagine plus several special categories such as folk & fairy tales, history and nature.
We’ll have over 15 languages represented in our foreign languages section plus a vast selection of DVDs, CDs, audio books and records. Don’t miss it!
Sartori Elementary School, 332 Park Ave North, Renton WA
On March 18, education researchers and practitioners will discuss how teachers, students, administrators, parents, communities and researchers are coming together to renew and meaningfully improve how young people experience school during EduTalks: A Place Called School.
During the fast-paced program, presenters will have five minutes and one image to share their unique take on practices and policies that can invigorate and improve the experience of school for young people, educators and communities—and in particular for historically marginalized students. The event is free and open to the public. Advance registration is required to ensure seating: http://events.uw.edu/EduTalks2019.
Seattle First Baptist Church 1111 Harvard Ave, Seattle, Washington 98122
The Moth Presents the GrandSLAM, the culmination of ten open mic StorySLAM competitions. The champions of ten previous StorySLAM nights return to the stage to compete with brand new stories for the title of GrandSLAM champion. Take a seat ringside at the ultimate battle of wits and words, and witness a storytelling showdown that ranges from fierce to hilarious to heartbreaking, and all points in between.
Each ticket purchase includes a copy of The Moth’s new book, Occasional Magic: True Stories About Defying The Impossible!. Due to be published on March 19, 2019, this collection is drawn from the best stories ever told on The Moth stage.
Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! Come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon (http://www.geekgirlcon.com/) game nights with our friends at Wayward (http://www.waywardcoffee.com/)? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!
Our group is inclusive and totally newbie-friendly. We play a wide range of modern board and card games as well as some classics.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center 440 5th Ave N, Seattle, Washington 98109
It Starts with Youth!
Celebrate youth-driven change at #TeenActionFair 2019. Connect with youth and organizations working to make a difference in their local and global communities through volunteering, art, social justice campaigns, and more.
Free and open to all. The celebration features powerful performances, a youth-led open mic, an art showcase, give back activities, and over 30 youth-driven and youth-focused organizations.
Office of Arts & Culture Seattle 303 S. Jackson Street, Top Floor, Seattle, Washington 98104
Join us for the grand opening of ARTS at King Street Station, our new arts and cultural space in the heart of Seattle. This space is dedicated to increasing opportunities for communities of color to:
– GENERATE and CREATE work – DISPLAY and SHARE their work – RECOMMEND PROGRAMMING through the King Street Station Advisors
In recognition of the Coast Salish peoples on whose land the City of Seattle is built, we are honored to open ARTS at King Street Station, with yəhaw̓, an indigenous-centered inaugural exhibition that will run March 23 – August 3, 2019.
This opening celebration will have performances, song, and storytelling all day. Join us! More details coming soon.
Moore Theatre 1932 2nd Ave, Seattle, Washington 98101
STG Presents & Live Nation Welcomes Maria Bamford – Live to The Moore Theatre on Saturday, March 23, 2019. Reserved Seating on Main Floor & in First Balcony General Admission Seating in Second Balcony All Ages / Bar with I.D. Tickets are $25.00 – $30.00 (not including fees).
1,311 steps | 69 floors | 788′ of vertical elevation | March 24, 2019
Each year the Big Climb hosts 6,000 participants to climb the stairs of the Columbia Center in Seattle, Washington. We want to maintain our fundraising focus to fight blood cancers thus all participants, are required to fundraise a minimum of $150. This $150 is in addition to the registration fee.
During the 2018 season, $3,007,080 was raised by 6,000 passionate participants – all for a cure. Join us on Sunday, March 24, 2019 as we CLIMB. CONQUER. CURE.
Brouwer’s Cafe 400 N 35th St, Seattle, Washington 98103
It’s that time of year again where we try to give back to the community and give the Badass Women of Craft our stage to try and raise funds for on organization that’s near and dear to us – Planned Parenthood.
That’s right! Drunk HERstory, now in its third rad year, will once again be held at Brouwer’s Café on March 27th. After the success of the past two years, we couldn’t keep the train from rolling on. This year, we’ll have 9 women representing 9 breweries and they will regale you with tales of awesome women throughout the ages. The night will begin at 6 pm with an introduction by a representative from Planned Parenthood and then move into 4 unique skits to educate and entertain our guests.
It was a persevering Mars rover, one who would inspire countless memories for those who worked with it and analyzed its data. Right up until NASA scientists lost contact with it, Opportunity (or as many called it, Oppy) drove far and beyond what we thought capable on the Marian landscape.
