Kumoricon will be hosting a silent auction fundraiser on Friday, April 8, to benefit the Oregon Japan Relief Fund at Mercy Corps. We will be auctioning a limited number of high quality donated items and art.

The Kumoricon ♥s Japan auction will be held at:

Clark College
Gaiser Student Center (Gaiser Hall)
1933 Fort Vancouver Way
Vancouver, WA 98663

Friday, April 8, from 6pm to 9pm

Campus Map [PDF]
Parking Map [PDF]
Google Maps

Voice actor Todd Haberkorn has graciously donated a chance to play a best 2 out of 3 Magic: The Gathering game with him at Kumoricon 2011. Yes, Todd is coming back! Please note that you must be a 2011 attendee to redeem this prize. Todd Haberkorn plays Italy in Hetalia, and was a huge draw at our convention last year even though the dub of Hetalia had not even been released. You may also know him from his roles as Watanuki in xxxHOLiC, Death the Kid in Soul Eater and Hikaru in Ouran High School Host Club. We are very excited that he will be joining us again in 2011 and that he is helping us with our fundraiser.

Our friends at Copic are donating for auction two copies of the book Shadows & Shading: A Guide to Lighting Placement, and two Copic gift packs each containing a fancy Copic Marker carrying case and four markers of different colors.

We will be running three mini-auctions through the evening, so you don’t need to stay to the very end to win something. You will need to be present at the end of an hour to win. We can only accept cash and checks. If you would like to help with this event or donate items to be auctioned off, please email vicechair@kumoricon.org.

Please visit this forum thread for the latest information as details are planned.

Please help us make this event be successful. Even if you can’t attend, you can help us by spreading the word. You can join our Facebook event or invite your friends to go via Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=142393812493015 [account required]

We would like to thank Clark’s Manga & Anime Club for partnering with us to get space for this event.

Some of the items being auctioned:

Article by Ellen Klowden, with special thanks to GameStorm 2011 Hotel Liaison Debra Stansbury for providing the play-by-play in Kumoricon’s karaoke and gaming room at Oregon Asian Celebration.

GameStorm is a four-day con, starting on a Thursday: Thu-Sun, March 24-27—conveniently right during many schools’, colleges’ and universities’ Spring Break! And it’s at one of the 2011 Kumoricon hotels, the Hilton Vancouver Washington, so, a good opportunity to acquaint yourself with its layout (or refresh your memory from 2007) before we take it over Labor Day weekend.

Now in its 13th year, GameStorm is a project of OSFCI, the same 501(c)3 non-profit that runs OryCon. Like OryCon, GameStorm has a “sibling” relationship with Kumoricon, which is very reciprocal: GameStorm staff provide Kumoricon with Tabletop Gaming content and staff, while Kumoricon provides GameStorm with Console Gaming content and staff.

In addition to console and table-top gaming, GameStorm features board games, card-collecting games (CCGs), live action role-playing games (LARPs), and 3 “flavors” of role-playing games (RPGs):

1. an area for general RPGs, from old favorites to new offerings;
2. the official titles by Wizards of the Coast; and
3. materials provided by Indie Hurricane.

Indie Hurricane are a group of folks who independently publish RPGs. They provide workshops for those who are actively developing tabletop RPGs. (Presently these workshops do not address those modeling new software-driven RPGs.)

In fact, part of what makes GameStorm so unique and valuable to the gaming community is its fully-realized specialty track for game producers: Game Lab. Game Lab welcomes designers of new board, card, and dice-based games to have their materials play-tested. Developers can receive critiques from their fellow developers and from game publishers, as well as from beta testers. Game Lab has its own Guest of Honor, workshops, one-on-one sessions with industry professionals, and more! Spaces are limited, and pre-registration is strongly encouraged. For more information on Game Lab, see GameStorm’s web site.

Miniatures have a vibrant role at GameStorm, as well. For its 3rd year, GameStorm is holding a Miniatures Contest. Pick up your miniature on Thursday or Friday, paint it over the weekend, and turn it in Sunday. There are prizes for top 3 showing best workmanship.

While one room will be open 24 hours, and LARPing tends to run later, most areas of GameStorm will be open 8am-midnight. Sunday will specifically feature some “family-oriented” games and would be the day most suitable for bringing younger kids.

Whether you’re there as part of Kumoricon’s crews, for feedback on games you’re developing, or to get your tourney fix, it’s sure to be a splendid time!

Our friends at ANCEA (the people who bring you Sakura-Con) have coordinated with SeattleJapanRelief and several other organizations to provide support to those in Japan affected by the tsunami and earthquakes.

Please join us in donating what you can to help Japan. Visit http://seattlejapanrelief.org/ to give back to the country (and people) who give us our fandom!

Our next general meeting will be held on Saturday, March 19, at 1:00 PM, at:

University of Oregon
Classroom 123, Living Learning Center North

The closest intersection to the building is E 13th Ave (or E 15th Ave) and Agate St in Eugene, OR. The building is located midway between Onyx St (to the west) and Agate St (to the east), and midway between E 13th Ave (to the north) and E 15th Ave (to the south). Classroom 123 is on the west side of the building.

Parking is available in both metered spaces, and in spaces marked as permit spaces. As the meeting is on a Saturday, you may park in any permit space except spaces marked “at all times”. Parking is available in the yellow, purple, and green shaded areas in the image below (click the image for a larger size version), subject to posted restrictions. Parking is available along E 15th Ave and also in two lots on the same block as the building (but check posted parking restriction signs to make sure).

Maps are available in the following formats:

• Google Maps
• University of Oregon Campus Map [Adobe Flash required]
• University of Oregon Printable Campus Map [PDF, 3.1MB]
• University of Oregon Printable Parking Map [PDF, 9.1MB]
• University of Oregon’s app for Apple’s iOS devices named UOregon contains a campus map

General meetings are open to the public. Meet and plan with other staff, find out about joining staff or become a volunteer, and learn about open staff positions. Bring interested friends!