By Aaron M. Cohen

Kumoricon is just around the corner, but there are plenty of geek events happening in Portland to keep you busy in the meantime. Here are just a few highlights to add to your schedule over the next few weeks.

Ok, admit it. It's pretty rad to see Sonic the Hedgehog's crooked grin plastered on the OMSI home page. The exhibit Game On 2.0: More than Just a Game invites you to "play your way through the past, present, and future of global gaming". The interactive exhibit runs until September 18.

Among the many, many gaming events that are perpetually happening at Guardian Games, there's a little something called Pokemon Poke-Gym @ the Thunderdome that takes place Saturdays from noon-3pm. Beginners are welcome, and it's $1 to participate. (Thursdays from 4-6pm is the Yu-Gi-Oh! hobby league, which is $5 to participate.)

The all-ages Northern Oregon and Vancouver Anime club meets twice a month on Saturday evenings (newbies welcome). August's meetings take place on the 6th and 20th from 5-10pm in the Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Community Room attached to the fire station on SW Burnham Street in Tigard.

On Friday August 12, kaiju will do battle in Sewallcrest Park. Gamera vs Guiron is being shown as part of the Portland Parks and Recreation's Summer Free For All Movies in the Park series. FILMUSIK will be on hand to perform an orchestral soundtrack and live voice dubbing. Unleash your inner Tom Servo or just sit back and root for everyone's favorite giant flying tortoise.

Elsewhere in the 'verse, the PDX Browncoats are holding a charity screening of their epic D-I-Y fanfic film "Can't Stop the Serenity" at the Hollywood Theater on August 20. For more information, including tickets, visit their web site.

And finally (as if all that wasn't enough), Geek Trivia Night happens every other Tuesday at the Kennedy School from 7-10 pm. It's free to attend, and those under 21 are welcome if accompanied by an adult. (Brought to you by Things from Another World.)

By Ellen Klowden and Ash Butler

(1) How did you first hear about KC? What got you interested in participating?

I first heard about Kumoricon while I was helping around a gaming store in Portland. I was very excited about the fact that Kumoricon even existed. Attending an anime convention was a goal of mine for a while, because Asian cultures, anime, and manga had all been major interests of mine for a long time at that point.

(2) When did you first become staff? If you had been involved as an attendee and/or volunteer first, how did you decide to make the leap to become staff?

I actually just became staff for Kumoricon this year, even though I've been coming for a few years now. I was staff for other conventions, such as OryCon, beforehand and decided that I'd try my hand at helping Kumoricon, since it never seems to get enough help.

(3) What are your roles as staff this year? What are you most looking forward to about them?

I am helping Con Suite and the Yojimbo out this year. I am greatly looking forward to trying my hand at being a Yoji. I've helped Hospitality at GameStorm before, and I know Con Suite will be fun as well.

(4) What would you say to anyone who is considering whether or not to make the leap and become KC staff? Pros and cons, considerations?

I'm very happy to support all the conventions that I help. There are definitely a few good things to keep in mind when you are considering become staff for a convention. There's a lot of satisfaction in knowing you're helping make the convention you enjoy so much better for everyone. So if you like helping people, it's a great way to do it on a large scale. As staff, you can have a lot of input on the convention. It's been proven to look good on most resumes. And it's also cheaper to be staff for Kumoricon than it is to merely attend—which is some great motivation for those of us who are strapped for cash. If you're not sure what you want to do for the con, there are a lot of jobs, so you should look them over and find one that suits your interests.

(5) What would you like to see KC do to provide an even more comfortable and empowering work environment for staff?

I haven't been staff as long as a lot of the people I know, and I don't have enough experience to more fairly answer this one. But Kumoricon listens to it staff really well, though, and seems to consider a lot of its staff's needs, which is absolutely fantastic. It's another reason I plan to staff the convention for many years to come.

(6) What specifically would you say to encourage others to become Yoji, particularly other girls?

Becoming a Yoji was a decision I made after meeting several already, who had told me about being one and how it works. It sounded fun, so I decided to try it out. Other Yoji are very welcoming to newcomers, no matter who you are. And Yoji are an incredibly large part of whether or not people enjoy the convention, because we help make sure it's going smoothly for the attendees. Kumoricon always needs more Yoji, especially when it spans multiple hotels like this year. If your heart isn't set on a different job, I would definitely recommend considering a Yoji position.

Our next general meeting will be held on Sunday, August 14, at 1:00 PM, at:

Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay
100 Columbia St
Vancouver, WA 98660

West Rivers Room

Google Maps

This general meeting is the staff registration deadline for Kumoricon 2011. After this date, people who have not completed their staff registrations may volunteer at the convention but won’t be listed as staff.

All Artists Alley applicants will receive an email stating whether they were accepted or not by Monday, July 11. We apologize for the delay. There were far more applicants than expected and extra time was needed to properly look at each and every submission.

If you are planning to apply or register as staff for Kumoricon 2011, the final deadline to register is at the general meeting on August 14. Also, to be guaranteed to be listed as staff in the program book, you must register by the general meeting on July 16.

After August 14, although staff registration will be closed, you can still volunteer at the convention.