9:00 AM
9:00 AM
- Registration Gateway Center - Rotunda
- 9:00 AM - 11:45 PM | 14 hours 45 minutes
- Admin
10:00 AM
10:00 AM
- Gaming DoubleTree - Collinsville - Madison A & B
- 10:00 AM - 12:00 AM | 14 hours
- Feature
- Hospitality DoubleTree - Collinsville - Clinton A & B & Madison D
- 10:00 AM - 2:30 AM | 16 hours 30 minutes
- Feature
11:00 AM
11:00 AM
- Art Show Gateway Center - Ballroom B
- 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM | 13 hours
- Feature
12:00 PM
12:00 PM
- Gaming Gateway Center - Ballroom B & Salon 3
- 12:00 PM - 12:00 AM | 12 hours
- Feature
- Star Wars - Is It What We Hoped It Would Be? Gateway Center - Salon 6
- 12:00 PM - 12:50 PM | 50 minutes
- With Episode VIII only months away, how do we feel about what we've gotten so far? Have Episode VII and Rogue One lived up to our dreams - and did...
- Panel
- Happily Ever After: Writing Satisfying Endings Gateway Center - Marquette A
- 12:00 PM - 12:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- International Costumers Guild Archives Roadshow Gateway Center - Cahokian
- 12:00 PM - 1:50 PM | 1 hour 50 minutes
- Panel
1:00 PM
1:00 PM
- Gauging Your Own Success Gateway Center - Marquette A
- 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
2:00 PM
2:00 PM
- Art Demo with Eddie Wilson Gateway Center - Salon 4
- 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Reading / Signing / Art Demo
- Worst Ending Ever: Why Does Hollywood Always Ruin the Last 10 Minutes? Gateway Center - Salon 6
- 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Hollywood always seems to have a way of ruining even the best of stories. What are some of our favorites that have cringe-worthy endings, and how ...
- Panel
- Religion in Science Fiction: Why Does it Seldom Exist? Gateway Center - Marquette B
- 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Religion has been around since time began and is still important to society, so why do few SF novels even acknowledge its existence? Will it disap...
- Panel
- The Stand-Alone Novel: A Thing of the Past? Gateway Center - Marquette A
- 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Series are where the money is, but not all stories need to be extended into 3-7 volumes. Will the stand-alone novel make a comeback, or are we doom...
- Panel
- Dressed to Impress: What Masquerade Judges Look For Gateway Center - Cahokian
- 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
3:00 PM
3:00 PM
- Author Readings with Cole Gibsen, Marella Sands, and Lloyd Kropp Gateway Center - Ballroom A
- 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Reading / Signing / Art Demo
- Godzilla vs. King Kong: A Tale of Collateral Damage Gateway Center - Salon 4
- 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Cardboard Minecraft Armor Contest (Children's) Gateway Center - Salon 5
- 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Do you like MineCraft? Do you think you can craft that diamond armor in real life? Come make and show off your best armor or even make yourself int...
- Panel
- The Dark Tower Movie: A Review Gateway Center - Salon 6
- 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Stephen King's magnum opus, The Dark Tower, made its debut on the silver screen. Did it miss the mark or did the creative team remember the face o...
- Panel
- Doctor Who - The Future and the New Doctor Gateway Center - Lasalle
- 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Filmmaking 101 Gateway Center - Illini A
- 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- This Story Changed My Life Gateway Center - Marquette B
- 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Writing YA Fantasy Gateway Center - Marquette A
- 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- How to Draw for Costumers/Costuming/Cosplay Gateway Center - Cahokian
- 3:00 PM - 3:50 PM | 50 minutes
- You don’t have to be an artist to draw your own original designs or render recreations to better understand them. Tips for using croquis or crea...
- Panel
4:00 PM
4:00 PM
- Hucksters Room Gateway Center - Center Hall A
- 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM | 4 hours
- Feature
- Meet the Masquerade Staff Gateway Center - Center Hall B
- 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Looking For Life In Our Solar System Gateway Center - Ballroom A
- 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Life requires 3 things: Energy, nutrients, and a solvent like water. These ingredients can be found on scattered worlds all around our solar system...
- Panel
- What If?: Your Child is Marrying a Space Alien. How Do You React? Gateway Center - Salon 4
- 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Nerf Gun Shooting Range (Children's) Gateway Center - Salon 5
- 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Are you a gunslinger or an expert marksman? Come show off your skills with a Nerf gun and try and shoot as many targets as you can. Prizes will be ...
- Panel
- The First Doctor Who: the Acting, the Writing, the Ideas and the Production! Gateway Center - Salon 6
- 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- What If?: Leia from Tatooine and Luke from Alderaan? Gateway Center - Lasalle
- 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Are Conventions Still Necessary? Gateway Center - Illini A
- 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM | 50 minutes
- SF conventions were created as a safe place to meet others that shared a love of science fiction and fantasy. With the internet, people can now eas...
- Panel
- Young Adult Literature For Everyone Gateway Center - Marquette B
- 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM | 50 minutes
- YA Lit today is in no way lesser than regular literature of any genre. Come share your favorites and discuss how it meets the needs of readers acro...
- Panel
- Creating Dynamic Characters Gateway Center - Marquette A
- 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- The Future Isn't What It Used to Be DoubleTree - Collinsville - St. Clair A & B
- 4:00 PM - 4:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- The Annual Mad Scientists' Tea Party: High Tea With The Doctor DoubleTree - Collinsville - Madison C & D
- 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM | 2 hours
- This year we honor the best Mad Scientist of all time; THE DOCTOR! WHO do we mean? Well, who is YOUR favorite Doctor? Will there be fish fin...
- Event
5:00 PM
5:00 PM
- The Woolly Mammoth "De-Extinction" Project: Haven't These People Seen Jurassic Park? Gateway Center - Ballroom A
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Chainmaille 101: Basic Armor Gateway Center - Salon 4
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Pottery (Children's) Gateway Center - Salon 5
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Kaiju Movies Gateway Center - Salon 6
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Comic Books: Modern Mythology Gateway Center - Lasalle
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- The Changing Face of Cons Gateway Center - Illini A
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Twenty years ago, it was pretty much about Authors and Artists. Now it's Media, Anime, Costuming, and Gaming. How have conventions grown, and where...
- Panel
- Science Fiction and/or Fantasy: Genres in Conflict of Synergy Gateway Center - Marquette B
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- How Movies, TV, and Novels Get Journalism Wrong Gateway Center - Marquette A
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Entertainment media tends to portray journalism as a job with high adventure, glamor, and sometimes suspense. In fact, it can be hours of research,...
- Panel
- Costumes Are Clothing! Gateway Center - Cahokian
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | 50 minutes
- The first rule of cosplay: Costumes are clothing! Chat with some seasoned cosplayers about finding a place for pockets, sitting down in...
- Panel
- Creator Copyright and Legal Issues DoubleTree - Collinsville - St. Clair A & B
- 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
- Opening Ceremonies Gateway Center - Center Hall B
- 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM | 1 hour
- Event
- SLUGs LARP - Pre Game Meeting Gateway Center - Salon 4
- 6:00 PM - 6:50 PM | 50 minutes
- For some time Aquilonia was the the mightiest and most prosperous kingdom of all the Hyborian age. But in recent years it has fallen upon hard tim...
- Game
- Pac-Man Challenge Gateway Center - Salon 5
- 6:00 PM - 6:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Everyone loves the game, but are you up for the live action challenge? Come play the game with real ‘ghosts’ and you get to be the iconic legend. C...
- Panel
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
- Leslie Hudson in Concert Gateway Center - Mississippian
- 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM | 1 hour
- Filk Concert
- Trivia Thunderdome Gateway Center - Ballroom A
- 7:00 PM - 8:50 PM | 1 hour 50 minutes
- Game
- Models & Miniatures Contest Entry Check In Gateway Center - Ballroom B
- 7:00 PM - 12:00 AM | 5 hours
- Feature
- What If?: Superpowers Gateway Center - Salon 4
- 7:00 PM - 7:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- My Life at Wizards of the Coast Gateway Center - Salon 6
- 7:00 PM - 7:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- In Conversation with Seanan McGuire Gateway Center - Lasalle
- 7:00 PM - 8:50 PM | 1 hour 50 minutes
- Panel
- Game of Thrones: The Beginning of the End Gateway Center - Illini A
- 7:00 PM - 7:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Choosing Wisely: What Do You Look For In Your Next Good Read? Gateway Center - Marquette B
- 7:00 PM - 7:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Make It or Break It With Conflict Gateway Center - Marquette A
- 7:00 PM - 7:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- You Are Not Alone: Cosplay as Therapy Gateway Center - Cahokian
- 7:00 PM - 7:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panelists Marz Stardust and Alex Tom share their stories about how cosplay and the cosplay community has helped them overcome anxiety, deal wi...
- Panel
- Book Launch Party: The Exodus--Saga Of Davi Rhii by Bryan Thomas Schmidt DoubleTree - Collinsville - St. Clair A & B
- 7:00 PM - 7:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Come discover the trilogy Barnes and Noble named a Year's Best and Jonathan Maberry, Mike Resnick and others said captures the feel of classic...
- Event
7:30 PM
7:30 PM
- Artist Reception Gateway Center - Ballroom B
- 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM | 2 hours
- Event
8:00 PM
8:00 PM
- Matthew Morrese and Alexander James Adams of Canticles in Concert Gateway Center - Mississippian
- 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM | 1 hour
- Filk Concert
- Science Fiction or Literary Fiction: Where It Should Go? Gateway Center - Salon 4
- 8:00 PM - 8:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Archon's Got Talent (Children's) Gateway Center - Salon 5
- 8:00 PM - 9:50 PM | 1 hour 50 minutes
- So you think you can sing? Come join us for a fun time and your favorite songs. There will be no judges, just come enjoy yourself and pick out you...
- Panel
- Marvel Cinematic Universe: Update! Gateway Center - Salon 6
- 8:00 PM - 8:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- The Cinematic Wonder Woman's Badass Predecessors Gateway Center - Illini A
- 8:00 PM - 8:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Urban Fantasy: What Would You Like to Read? Gateway Center - Marquette B
- 8:00 PM - 8:50 PM | 50 minutes
- The urban fantasy subgenre has been everywhere in the last few years! What themes or supernatural beings would you like explored in an urban fantas...
- Panel
- Incorporating Fairy Tale Structure Into Your Writing Gateway Center - Marquette A
- 8:00 PM - 8:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Once upon a time, a writer got seriously nerdy with her study of how fairy tales were put together. This workshop is a discussion of structure, cha...
- Panel
- Lord of the Rings Murder Mystery Demo Gateway Center - Cahokian
- 8:00 PM - 9:50 PM | 1 hour 50 minutes
- Wardric of Arnor was not a powerful man. He was a blacksmith, working to support his beautiful wife. In ages past, he was a lord in his land, but t...
- Panel
- Storyboard Jam DoubleTree - Collinsville - St. Clair A & B
- 8:00 PM - 9:50 PM | 1 hour 50 minutes
- Ready, set, draw! Hone your storytelling skills while learning this important tool for making animated films. In this fast-paced workshop you’ll le...
- Panel
8:30 PM
8:30 PM
- Hallway Costume Contest DoubleTree - Collinsville - Lobby Foyer
- 8:30 PM - 11:00 PM | 2 hours 30 minutes
- If you would like to enter the contest, come to our photo area in the foyer of the DoubleTree on Friday night between 8:30 and 11:00pm in your c...
- Event
9:00 PM
9:00 PM
- Seanan McGuire in Concert Gateway Center - Mississippian
- 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM | 1 hour
- Filk Concert
- Comic Book Movies: Have We Reached Critical Mass? Gateway Center - Ballroom A
- 9:00 PM - 9:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Author Readings with Deborah Millitello, Steve Lopata, and Kasey Mackenzie Gateway Center - Salon 4
- 9:00 PM - 9:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Reading / Signing / Art Demo
- In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream: Horror Beyond the Stars Gateway Center - Salon 6
- 9:00 PM - 9:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Some of the scariest stories take place in space. Some of our favorites are Alien, Event Horizon, Pandorum, and Riddick. Come discuss the best an...
- Panel
- Cosplay Runway Gateway Center - Lasalle
- 9:00 PM - 10:50 PM | 1 hour 50 minutes
- Panel
- Lucifer: Just for the Hell of It Gateway Center - Illini A
- 9:00 PM - 9:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- The Annual Mad Poet Reading Gateway Center - Marquette B
- 9:00 PM - 9:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Panel
- Fantasy World-Building: Not Just a Copy of Medieval Europe Gateway Center - Marquette A
- 9:00 PM - 9:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Learn about creating a setting that lives and breathes and is believably consistent. Fantasy worlds are much more than physical surroundings and n...
- Panel
- Dance DoubleTree - Collinsville - Madison C & D
- 9:00 PM - 4:00 AM | 7 hours
- Event
10:00 PM
10:00 PM
- Zombie Squad Presents: Practical Survival for Everyone Gateway Center - Ballroom A
- 10:00 PM - 10:50 PM | 50 minutes
- Swarms of the walking dead, earthquakes, house fires, other unnamed global catastrophes. Are you prepared for all of these? How about any of these?...
- Panel
- Open Filk DoubleTree - Collinsville - St. Clair A & B
- 10:00 PM - 5:00 AM | 7 hours
- Event