Potlatch 23 Review

Potlatch 23 happened on February 21-23, 2014 in the Sainte Claire Hotel. As the chair, I’d like to thank everyone who attended the conference. It was great to see how it was in full swing even before opening ceremonies.

The program was a success. I didn’t see as much of it as I wanted, because I was running around, but I liked what I saw, all the panels were well attended, and I heard a lot of discussion continuing between panels and on into the evening. The program ideas were suggested and voted on by members of the conference, who also volunteered to be on the program. This was an experiment in self-organization. My thanks to everyone involved for making it work so well.

The Clarion West Benefit Auction was a big success. It raised over $1700, which is above average and particularly impressive given that Potlatch 23 had fewer members than most. Only two unsold items were left at the end. Thank you to Dawn Plaskon, Cindy Scott, Linda Deneroff, and Peggy Rae Sapienza for organizing, and to auctioneers Ellen Klages and Tom Whitmore for a very entertaining performance.

There were many positive comments about the consuite. We have to give a huge thanks to Karen Schaffer who had to overcome many obstacles including key staff members who could not attend, and not even having a room for the consuite until a week before the con. Thanks also to Rich McAllister, Mike Ward, Ruth Leibig and Donya Hazard White for their help in making the consuite such a welcoming and comfortable place.

Randy Smith organized at-con registration. Unfortunately, because of a funeral that came up at the last minute, Randy was not able to be at most of the con. Thanks to Glenn Glazer and Amy Martin for putting in a lot of extra hours at the registration table and making it work.

Thank you to Lucy Huntzinger for the program book and David Bratman for the monumental local restaurant guide.

The dealers room had Other Change of Hobbit, Cargo Cult Books, and PM Press, offering books, books, and more books. It went over very well with the Potlatch crowd. Thanks to David Gallaher for organizing it.

The writers workshop was well attended, with eleven participants. Thank you to Jude-Marie Green for organizing, and to David D. Levine, Rachel Holmen and Cliff Winnig for serving as critiquers.

The Potlatch 23 T-shirts featured another stunning design by Freddie Baer. There is one shirt hasn’t been sold yet, so it now is a rare collector’s item. Look for it at the Clarion West Benefit Auction at a future Potlatch.

There will be a Potlatch 24. Watch this space, and subscribe to the Potlatch [announce] mailing list for information. See you next year in Seattle!

Potlatch 23 Progress Report #8

The Tiptree Bake Sale is on! Ruth Leibig is running the traditional Tiptree bake sale on Saturday at 3:00pm in the con suite. Bring your baked goods to the con suite on Friday and Saturday, bring your money to buy some of the delicious treats we’ll have available. Proceeds support the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender. The 2013 winner and books of honor have just been announced.

Need directions to get to the con? They’re up on the website now!

There is still one Con or Bust sponsored membership/banquet ticket left.

See you at the convention!

Potlatch 23 Progress Report #7

AN ADDITION TO THE WRITERS WORKSHOP
Cliff Winnig will be joining David Levine and Rachel Holmen as critiquers for the workshop. His short fiction appears in many places, including the forthcoming When The Hero Comes Home 2 (Dragon Moon Press) and The Aether Age: Helios (Hadley Rille Books). He is a graduate of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop.

OVERLAPPING INTERESTS
Stitches West, a fiber experience for knitters and crocheters, will be taking place in nearby Santa Clara, CA, over the same weekend as Potlatch. They start a little earlier than we do, so some of our knitting members might find this a rewarding way to pass the pre-con hours on Friday. http://www.knittinguniverse.com/WEST

HOTEL RESERVATIONS DEADLINE FEB. 6TH
The Sainte Claire Hotel is beautiful and it’s in a great location in downtown San Jose. You’re going to want to stay there. The deadline for reserving a room is this Thursday, February 6th. Reservation information is at http://www.potlatch-sf.org/hotel/.

T-SHIRT DESIGN
Freddie Baer has created a fabulous T-shirt design for Potlatch 23. Check it out: http://www.potlatch-sf.org/posts/potlatch-23-t-shirt-design/. Quantities will be limited, so if you want one (you really do want one, this is superb art), you can pre-order it at http://www.potlatch-sf.org/registration/.

MEMBERSHIPS
Join now to participate in the discussion! Potlatch 23 memberships are $50. Youth memberships are $25. Children 6 and under may attend free. The banquet brunch on Sunday morning is $25. And you can order a T-shirt for pick up at the con. http://www.potlatch-sf.org/registration/.

Potlatch 23 Progress Report #6

TIME TO VOTE ON PROGRAM IDEAS:

There are thirteen excellent ideas for programs, suggested by the members of the convention, and now it’s time to pick your favorites. We have time for seven or eight program items, though if more topics get a lot of votes then we’ll try to squeeze those in as well.

We also hope you’ll participate in the program by volunteering to speak or moderate a panel. But no matter what, please let us know what you’d like to see. The deadline for voting is January 31st.

http://www.potlatch-sf.org/program-survey/

LOCAL MUSEUMS:

Here’s a taste of the many museums located near the convention.

The Tech Museum of Innovation
201 S. Market (1 block north of the hotel)
Open daily
Special exhibit: “Star Wars: The Exhibition”
408-294-8324, www.thetech.org
(Discount for Potlatch members on admissions to the museum gallery, the Star Wars exhibit (priced separately), and the gallery/IMAX combo. Just show your Potlatch membership badge to the cashier.)

San Jose Museum of Art
110 S. Market (2 blocks north)
Closed Monday
Special exhibits: “Around the Table: food, creativity, community” and “What’s Your Angle?”
408-271-6840, www.sjmusart.org

San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
520 S. First (3 blocks south)
Open Wednesday-Sunday
Special exhibits: “Metamorphosis: Clothing and Identity” and “Tasty, too!”
408-971-0323, www.sjquiltmuseum.org

San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art
560 S. First (3 blocks south)
Open Tuesday-Saturday
Special exhibit: “Toriawase”
408-283-8155, www.sjca.org

Children’s Discovery Museum
180 Woz Way (2 1/2 blocks south and west)
closed Monday
Special exhibit: “Imagination Playground”
408-298-5437, www.cdm.org

Japanese American Museum
535 N. First (1 1/4 miles, on light rail)
Open Thursday-Sunday, 12-4 PM only
Sunday, 5 pm: photojournalist Darrell Miho speaks on recovery in Japan’s disaster areas
408-294-3138, www.jamsj.org

For the complete list, please go here: http://www.potlatch-sf.org/local-museums/

MEMBERSHIPS:

Join now to participate in the discussion! Potlatch 23 memberships are $50. Youth memberships are $25. Children 6 and under may attend free. The banquet brunch on Sunday morning is $25. And you can order a T-shirt for pick up at the con. http://www.potlatch-sf.org/registration/.

HOTEL:

The Sainte Claire Hotel is beautiful and it’s in a great location in downtown San Jose. You’re going to want to stay there. Reservation information is at http://www.potlatch-sf.org/hotel/.

BANQUET:
Potlatch will have a banquet brunch on Sunday morning, catered by Il Fornaio. They do a really good brunch. Banquet tickets are only $25 at http://www.potlatch-sf.org/registration/.

POTLATCH PARTY AT FOOLSCAP 2014:
Last year, Potlatch 22 was held in conjunction with Foolscap 2013. It was fun. This year, I’m coming back to Foolscap and hosting a Potlatch party. Foolscap 2014 is January 31st – February 2nd. in Redmond, Washington. Check out http://foolscapcon.org/ for info. I hope to see you there!

Potlatch 23 Progress Report #5

BECOME A MEMBER:

Join now to participate in the discussion! Potlatch 23 memberships are $50. Youth memberships are $25. Children 6 and under may attend free. The banquet brunch on Sunday morning is $25. And you can order a T-shirt for pick up at the con. .

GET A ROOM!

The Sainte Claire Hotel is beautiful and it’s in a great location in downtown San Jose. You’re going to want to stay there. Reservation information is at .

BANQUET:

Potlatch will have a banquet brunch on Sunday morning, catered by Il Fornaio. They do a really good brunch. Banquet tickets are only $25 at .

POTLATCH PARTY AT FOOLSCAP 2014:

Last year, Potlatch 22 was held in conjunction with Foolscap 2013. It was fun. This year, I’m coming back to Foolscap and hosting a Potlatch party. Foolscap 2014 is January 31st – February 2nd. in Redmond, Washington. Check out for info. I hope to see you there! – Tom Becker

PROGRAM:

Right now, we are actively soliciting ideas for the program. Please go to the Program Ideas page at and suggest topics.

Potlatch is coming up soon. Here is the program timeline: The deadline for getting in program ideas is Friday, January 24th. Starting on Saturday the 25th you can vote on program ideas and suggest panelists (including yourself). Voting will close on Friday, January 31st. Then there will be one week for the panelists to finalize their program topics. Their deadline for getting their final descriptions into the program book is Friday, February 7th.

Now is the time to get involved! If you’d like to be on the program, please let everyone know that you’ll be attending. The simplest and best way to do that is to join. Memberships are still only $50 at . They will be higher at the con.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON (nearby entertainment):

If Potlatch is not quite enough for you, downtown San Jose is full of
theatrical events. Here’s a list of the shows performing downtown while the convention is going on. Check their websites for performance times, ticket prices, and other details.

California Theatre
345 S. First (just around the corner & down the block from the hotel)
“Madama Butterfly” by Giacomo Puccini
Opera San Jose
408-437-4450, www.operasj.org

San Jose Stage Company
490 S. First (2 1/2 blocks south)
“The Threepenny Opera” by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
408-283-7142, www.thestage.org

City Lights Theater Company
529 S. Second (3 blocks south & east)
“The Smell of the Kill” by Michele Lowe
408-295-4200, www.cltc.org

San Jose Repertory Theatre
101 Paseo de San Antonio (3 blocks east & north)
“R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe” by D.W.
Jacobs
408-367-7255, www.sjrep.com

Olinder Theatre
848 E. William St. (1 1/2 miles)
“Educating Rita” by Willy Russell
Northside Theatre Company
408-288-7820, www.northsidetheatre.com

Hoover Theatre
1635 Park Ave. (2 1/4 miles)
“The Whipping Man” by Matthew Lopez
Renegade Theatre Experiment
408-493-0783, www.renegadetheatre.com

And here’s some musical concerts going on downtown over the weekend. This
does not include night clubs, dance clubs, etc., with which the neighborhood is also well-supplied.

Civic Auditorium
135 W. San Carlos (1/2 block from the hotel)
The Pixies, plus Best Coast
Saturday, 7 pm
408-792-4111, www.sanjosetheaters.org

Erna Gulabyan, piano
Le Petit Trianon, 72 N. Fifth (9 blocks from the hotel)
Sunday, 1:30 pm

Civic Auditorium
In the Mood: 1940s Big Band Musical Revue
Sunday, 3 pm
408-792-4111, www.sanjosetheaters.org

Theatre on San Pedro Square
29 N. San Pedro (5 1/2 blocks north & west)
Nineteen Jazz Orchestra
Sunday, 8 pm
408-679-2330, www.tabardtheatre.org/TOSPS/

WRITERS WORKSHOP

The workshop is open to all speculative fiction writers, regardless of experience. It’s a place to get feedback on your writing and decide what you need to work on next. You’ll have the chance to hear a professional writer critique your work, along with several of your peers. Critiques will be done in a round-robin Clarion West style. This workshop style allows all the participants to read and critique everyone’s work.

Hugo-winner David D. Levine has volunteered to be the guest professional for our workshop.

Please submit a 2,000 to 8,000 word story in .rtf or .doc format to workshop@potlatch-sf.org by midnight PST on February 1, 2014. You may send your story ahead of time. Formatting for your story should follow the guidelines at http://www.sfwa.org/writing/vonda/vonda.htm

The stories will be rounded up and emailed to the participants. Please let me know if you would prefer hard copy mailings. Please bring hard copy notes or marked-up manuscripts to the workshop.

The workshop will be held Saturday during the lunch break. Lunch will be provided. Please let me know of any dietary restrictions.

Check the website (http://www.potlatch-sf.org/workshop/) for updates as the convention approaches. To attend the workshop, you must purchase a membership to Potlatch.

Any questions? Send them to Jude-Marie Green at workshop@potlatch-sf.org

CLARION WEST AUCTION:

The Clarion West Auction will be held on Saturday evening from 8-10 pm. Auction proceeds benefit the Clarion West Scholarship Fund and directly assist in developing the talent of aspiring writers. Your donations help create an amusing and profitable event. Your bids at the silent and voice auction gain you possession of odd, unusual, or entertaining artifacts. If you are attending Potlatch, you may send a photograph and description of your donations via email to auction@potlatch-sf.org. Donations may be delivered at the convention. If you are not attending Potlatch but would like to send a donation, you may ship it to:

Dawn Plaskon
1474 Avila Court
Hayward, CA 94544

SEE YOU IN SAN JOSE!

Local Guide Preview

A preview of the Potlatch 23 Local Guide is now available, covering restaurants, shows and museums closest to the hotel. Check it out. This a great location for a Potlatch.

The complete Local Guide will cover the downtown area within easy walking distance from the hotel. If you have thoughts or suggestions for local restaurants and things to do in downtown San Jose, we’d love to hear from you. You can post a comment here, or email our intrepid local guide, David Bratman at local@potlatch-sf.org.