Welcome Weekend Warriors – RainbowCon 2015

That's right. Weekend warriors. Sometimes, there are just too many reasons that you can't extend your con­going fun into the weekdays. Hey, we understand! Most people have jobs, families, summer school, or a hundred other pulls on their time and energy over those hot, summer months. That's why RainbowCon has day passes available!
 
But wait, wait. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's introduce you to RainbowCon first. Then, those day passes will make a lot more sense and hopefully sound appealing!
 

Art Courtesy of Guests of Honor Adam DeKraker & Alex Woolfson

 
RainbowCon is a four­day conference filled with nothing but GLBTQ content. Four days of panels, workshops, activities, and a few nighttime events that celebrate the GLBTQ presence across various media in our varied artistic community. Our first RainbowCon was held in April 2014 and was a resounding success, but where 2014's con was centered around primarily GLBTQ fiction, 2015's content has been expanded to encompass television, movies, theatre, comics, fiction, and fandom. The con is very inclusive, and we hope that there's a little something for everyone, whether you're looking for fandom fun or to learn a little more about QUILTBAG content in our media and pop culture. The conference is for anyone and everyone who loves art with an emphasis on GLBTQ themes and characters!
 
Now, back to the weekend warriors! I'm happy to report that, while you can get a general registration to RainbowCon 2015 for just $75 (registration is STILL OPEN!), it's not the only option out there for you. The con will run July 16th through 19th just next month, so we know there are often a lot of things going on in the heat of summer. If you're planning on making your way down to Tampa, Florida for the conference but can't afford to take too many days off from your job, family, or other equally important obligations, we have day and (*gasp*) weekend passes!
 
Pre­Registration: $75 (four­day pass)
Day Passes (purchased at door):

• Thursday (July 16th) ­ $30
• Friday (July 17th) ­ $35
• Saturday (July 18th) ­ $35

Weekend Pass: $50 (Sat/Sun July 18th/19th)
 
I can hear you now. "Well, that's great. The price looks nice and all, but... what does that actually get me if I just grab a weekend pass?" Good question! Here are a few highlights from our weekend programming!
 
Panels:

• Fiction – Our fiction panels cover a broad range of topics throughout the con. On Saturday, you can sit in on craft­based panels about social media, handling criticism, or moving from hobby to career, or you can choose panels on paranormal romance, polyamorous fiction, LGBTQ ­punk fiction, or series/serials (This is the Story that Never Ends). Sunday is a half day at the con, but you can still find offerings on lesbian fiction, religion in fiction, historicals, and YA genre fiction.
• Fandom – Doctor Who, subtext, queer furries, supernatural characters, femslash, and even a fun panel aptly titled When Poly Would Have Solved Everything. All these and more can be found in our fandom panel offerings Saturday and Sunday!
• Multi­media – These panels address topics across various media. From LGBTQ in advertisements, the appeal of fairy tale retellings, LGBTQ on the CW, and LGBTQ & parenting in pop culture to everything about bad guys, 50 shades of fantasy, and pushing LGBTQ into the Mainstream. There's plenty to choose from.
• Educational – We pride ourselves on offering some educational topics throughout the con in addition to all the typical fun. On the weekend, we have panels about YA dystopian fiction, genderqueer identity and themes, how to be an ally, queerbaiting, and how to get kids reading LGBTQ­positive books.

Workshops: We have a couple rooms dedicated to workshops for new and seasoned writers alike! The following topics are available on the weekend (space will be limited)!

• Perspective and POV
• Queries, Synopses, and Blurbs
• Writing Believable Sex
• Integrating Kink
• Writing YA Fiction

Guests of Honor: Our Guests of Honor for 2015 are the incomparable pair of Alex Woolfson and Adam DeKraker, the creator and illustrator of The Young Protectors, an online comic mixing GLBTQ themes in with classic superhero/supervillain content. Never heard of them before? You can keep up with their comic online for free (start reading HERE)! Saturday is the day this pair will be featured with a panel or two about the craft of online comics as well as their Q&A session. They're also offering a special dinner opportunity to their supporters on Kickstarter/Patreon who are attending, and that's slated for Saturday night as well. You won't want to miss it!
 

 
Games & Activities: These are just for fun, the places you can hide out for a little quiet time or fun crafting to rest your brain during the conference. For Games, we have Book Title BINGO, Loaded Questions, QUILTBAG Memory, Cards Against Humanity, and Euphemism BINGO. On the activity side, you can enjoy an hour of bookmark making, painting rainbow pendants, or crafting a Masquerade Mask, which leads to our next section...
 
Main Events: On Saturday night, we'll be holding a themed ball, the Call of the Wild Masquerade, where guests are allowed to come in costume or simply show up for some light snacks and fun music and dancing. The ball is a premium event that has a surcharge to help offset the catering costs, but it's completely optional, so if you don't wish to attend, you don't end up paying a cent. ^_^ Raffle tickets will also be available for our charity raffle to benefit the Tampa Bay Big Cat Rescue, thus the theme of the event. On Sunday, our Closing Ceremonies will also be partnered with an informal Ice Cream Social, so be sure to stop by for some ice cream, raffle drawings, and fond farewells!
 

 
Whew! See? There's so much to experience, even if you can only make it to the con for the weekend! You can check out more about RainbowCon by visiting our website or keep up with current happenings by following our Facebook or our Twitter. We hope you'll consider heading down to Tampa next month to join us in celebrating artistic diversity!