Bento Making panel idea's/questions (Brainstorming mostly) 2013

[loki0349]

I don't know who all went to the 'What the Pho' panel hosted by The Slants (I think they were the ones who did the panel) but I was there for about five minutes before leaving because it was so unorganized and kinda boring. But because of this panel I have been thinking and talking to my mother and we both agree that we should do our own panel about food next year : ) The problem I am running into though is that I am kinda clueless about how I would go about doing it or what all I would want to include in the panel which is why I'm posting here to ask for some help.

So first of all to any staff members who may be reading this, is there a way to get a partial day pass for my mom so that she could help do this panel? I know its crazy but she doesn't like anime (At all) and so she does not want to attend the con but she wants to help me with my panel. This means that she would only need to be at the con for about an hour maybe two to help set up and then do the panel before leaving so I'm wondering if she could get a partial day pass or would she need to buy the day pass to be able to do the panel?

Next to other people who have done panels before what are some suggestions for the tech that I would need? I am wanting to do a short one hour panel about bento making and some fun facts/history on bento's. I will be making a short slid show and possibly bring some books that people can look at so I am pretty sure all I would need is a projector and a microphone to speak with can you think of anything else? Through doing panels yourself have you found things that help make the panel go easier? Please give me some advise : )

Now finally to ask everyone, would this be a cool panel to go to? Would anyone show up if I did a panel explaining the amazing bento? I am no expert and have had no real training but I love food and have done my research well enough to know what it is I'm talking about. I would be covering what a bento is, what all goes into a bento, how to make a bento, some techniques to make your own bento super cute and some alternatives you can use if you have allergies. For example I can not eat rice so I sometimes use cali-rice (Califlower turned into rice pretty much). My mother would be explaining more of the food nutritional aspects of the bento and what types of foods you can add to your lunch to make it beautiful and artistic. So does this sound like a cool panel? Please give me feed back and ideas because I am a little clueless on what I'm doing I just know that I want to do a panel about bento's so please help me.

[Tsukinya]

I LOVE this idea!  I'm always wanting more culture-type panels, and this is right up that alley.  I would, of course, say that this panel would be even better if you could do a physical making of the bentos (with it perhaps being a paid, ticketed event for materials), but I'm not sure on the logistics of having food at the hotel... I'm pretty sure it's not allowed, which is terribly unfortunate

Food aside, I've always loved the idea of bentos, and I've made a couple myself (very amateur..).  I'm fascinated by the super pretty/creative ones, and I'm very intrigued by your allergy/food-sensitivities alternatives (I'm paleo and allergic to dairy and egg, so I'm somewhat limited, myself.. cali-rice sounds like a great idea! might have done it myself, but never thought of it like that )

I'd go   Can't really offer you much guidance on your mother, though..  That's a bit above my pay grade

[veraca]

You know what, I've only ever seen them mention you can't GIVE out food at panel, as prizes or what-not. So, you might be able to have demonstrations and show what you're doing, kinda like a cooking show.


Which by the way, I don't know if con has it in their stock of equipment, but at college we used some kind of projector machine that was basically like a glorified light-board that projected onto the screen behind us- except that if we were cooking or doing a picture or something -- the light came from above and you could focus yourself -- and people could see it on the board. As long as you put a table cloth or something on it to keep the machine clean, they probably wouldn't mind people showing the bento step by step for the audience to see?

[loki0349]

That projector idea would be super useful but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to actually make a bento and stuff because of the food. I would love to be able to show people how to make a few bento's with actual food and even possibly make rice balls that people could eat but I don't think I'm allowed to unless I use the hotel catering which gets super expensive. Because of the cost of food I was thinking that I wouldn't use food for the first time though I could show some already made bento's and explain how I made them for the first year.

Any way thanks for showing interest! I was getting worried that this was a horrible idea when no one was posting.....

[veraca]

Send an email into panels or programming... Jamiche I think knows which. And ask about the food demonstration. It may or may not require you to use the hotel's catering. I would think not, considering you are not planning to and will not be serving this food to the attendees.

If you do have demonstrations, keep in mind to request for a 30 min set up and take down time. That'd be insanely helpful for you and any other panels coming before or after you. 

[Jamiche]

Typically, food is not allowed in panel space.  Your panel idea, however, is more of a demonstration than it is a "come in and eat".  We would have to run it by the hotel to see what their take on it would be.

It sounds like a very interesting panel, and even if the food is not allowed, I would think it would be still be of interest to our attendees.  You could discuss recipes, where to find info on the interet or books, etc.

Think about what it is you want to do for your panel, then do a quick write up explaining what and what it is you would need/bring in so we have a start for talks with the hotel.  You can email it, and any questions you have, to programming@kumoricon.org.

Best of luck