SiglerFest 2012
SiglerFest 2012, the second SiglerFest, took place October 12 through 13, 2012, at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although official programming was Friday and Saturday, SiglerFest was bookended by some pre-fest frivolity and some post-fest football camaraderie.
Contents
Theme
The theme of SiglerFest 2012 was Notorious S.I.G., a play on the rapper Notorious B.I.G.
Agenda
| Time | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 5:00 pm | Junkie meet & greet | Brendan's Irish Pub, Main Floor |
| 7:00 pm | Dinner | Orleans Food Court, Main Floor |
| 9:50 pm | Movie: Looper (1 hour, 59 mins) | Century Orleans 18, Second Floor |
| Time | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 am | Morning Benediction from Pope Siglericus XXX | Most blessings! |
| 9:10 am | Welcome! | Overview, hotel rules, notes on the day, schedule adjustments |
| 9:15 am | Young Author's Showcase: Monster Under the Bed, by Scott Sigler | Scott will read this story from high school, A will read teacher's notes |
| 10:15 am | Break | |
| 10:30 am | 2Ø Questions: Ask Us Anything | Scott & A make with answers! |
| 12:00 pm | Lunch | Orleans Food Court or Coasta Cantina Express |
| 1:45 pm | Board bus for afternoon excursions | Meet at Front Desk Waiting Area, Main Floor |
| 2:00 pm | Depart Orleans | Transit to Atomic Testing Museum |
| 2:15 pm | The National Atomic Testing Museum | Entrance Fee = $10 per person. Scott will guide the tour. |
| 3:30 pm | Depart museum | Transit to Discount Firearms LV |
| 3:45 pm | The Vegas Machine Gun Experience | No entry fee, shooting packages start at $40 per person. |
| 4:45 pm | Depart gun shop | Transit to Zombie Apocalypse Store |
| 5:00 pm | Zombie Apocalypse Store | No fee for entry, no purchase required |
| 5:45 pm | Depart Zombie shop | Transit to The Orleans Hotel |
| 6:00 pm | Break | |
| 7:30 pm | Dinner | French Market Buffet, Main Floor |
| Time | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 am | Updates (if any) for Day 2 | A has the info! |
| 10:15 am | PANDEMIC sneak peek | Scott will read a bit of Draft 2 |
| 11:00 am | Create a FIRE IS ORANGE story | We'll outline a tale to go in FiO |
| 12:00 pm | Lunch | Orleans Food Court or Coasta Cantina Express |
| 1:30 pm | Cards Against Siglerism | Group game, with prizes, NSFW |
| 3:00 pm | Break | |
| 3:15 pm | Impending DØM and open Q&A | Recording for podcast feed |
| 4:00 pm | Orangeslaught/BlackOut Photos! | Bring your game face! |
| 4:15 pm | Break before evening activity | |
| 5:30 pm | Bowling and pizza with the FDØ | DØM buys your bowling, shoe rental, pizza & pop. |
| 7:30 pm | End of programming day | Bar hopping/roaming/VEGAS! |
| Time | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 10:30 am | Casual meet-up for brunch | Courtyard Café |
| 12:00 pm | SiglerFest 2K12 ends | |
Swag
As with every SiglerFest, each registered attendee received some swag.
Shirt
Badge
Other
In addition, registered attendees received:
- A box of Reeses Pieces
- A length of beads to wear
Notable Events
- First Vegas SiglerFest
- First SiglerFest at The Orleans Hotel and Casino
- First movie night
- First SiglerFest cake
- First field trip
- First bowling
Thursday Night Activity
Early arrivers met at Brendan's Irish pub for some drinks and a bit of meet and greet. Many junkies met face-to-face for the very first time, and A Kovacs and Scott Sigler joined to rub elbows with the assembled masses. After a quick dinner at Coasta Cantina Express, many junkies went to the onsite movie theater to watch Looper, a science-fiction movie featuring Sigler's least favorite trope, time-travel.
Friday Programming
Friday morning's programming kicked off with a guest appearance by Pope Siglericus XXX, who gave his benediction in Latin, with translation by linguistic powerhouse Josh Athanas. After a brief overview of the house rules, Sigler read a story he wrote in High School, Monster Under the Bed, while A Kovacs read his teacher's notes.
After a break, Scott and A hosted an open forum during which junkies could ask questions about pretty much anything.
After lunch, the SiglerBus™ boarded and took junkies for an off-site excursion to The National Atomic Testing Museum for a tour guided by Sigler himself. From there, the group traveled to The Vegas Machine Gun Experience, where Scott and a few junkies shot live rounds at targets in preparation for the last stop on the tour, the Zombie Apocalypse Store. After some shopping in the store, the bus returned to the Orleans for a quick break before a large-scale dinner at the buffet with other attendees.
Saturday Programming
Saturday's programming began with Sigler reading some of the second draft of his work-in-progress, Pandemic. This was followed by a audience-participation exercise where many different story elements (plot, characters, setting, etc.) were solicited from the attending junkies with the plan of combining the elements into a cohesive story to be published in the forthcoming Fire is Orange short story collection.
After lunch, everyone reconvened and broke up into groups of six or so to play Cards Against Siglerism, a version of Cards Against Humanity with extra cards added in featuring characters and content from the Siglerverse.
After a break, Scott and A held a Q&A session coupled with "Impending DØM," where they outlined some of the forthcoming activity expected from Dark Øverlord Media in the upcoming months. The next event was the Orangeslaught and BlackOut photos. The Orangeslaught is a picture of junkies wearing their Ionath Krakens away jerseys, which are colored orange. The BlackOut photo is a photo of junkies wearing the Krakens home colors, black.
After pictures, everyone retreated for a break prior to meeting up at the onsite bowling alley for the inaugural bowling celebration. Scott stayed in his hotel room, recovering from the day's activities, while his cousin Francis Dominic Olivieri showed up to bowl.
Sunday Football
On Sunday morning, junkies gathered in Brendan's to watch their favorite football teams prior to saying their goodbyes and beginning their journeys home.
Cake Theme
Junkie Stephanie Harvey, whose namesake character is in the book Ancestor, coordinated with local bakery Las Vegas Custom Cakes to create a cake in the shape of the titular monsters from the story. The surprise was funded by junkies and coordinated with A Kovacs without the knowledge of Scott Sigler, so he was completely taken by surprise. His priceless reactions can be seen in Bruce Press' photographs of the goings-on.
Field Trip
The field trip for SiglerFest 2012 was a three-parter. First, the SiglerBus™ went to The National Atomic Testing Museum for a tour, followed by a trip to The Vegas Machine Gun Experience for a lively time shooting live rounds. After practicing proper firearm technique, the SiglerBus™ went to the Zombie Apocalypse Store to shop for post-apocalyptic sundries.
Live Readings
Sigler did a few live readings during the Fest. He read one of the stories he wrote while still in high school, Monster Under the Bed. He also read from the second draft of Pandemic.
Photos
- The official SiglerFest photographer is Bruce Press. You can see the beautiful photos he took at his Bruce Press Photography SiglerFest 2012 page.
- The official SiglerFest 2012 yearbook, featuring many of the photos taken during the weekend, is available at Bruce Press' Blurb page.
External Links
- Junkies hit the gun range
- Baby McButter, Interviewer Extraordinaire Part 2 (There does not appear to be a part 1)
- FridayFix™ SiglerFest2k12 photos (Come to Vegas for 2k13, suckas!)
- What SiglerFest means to me, an essay by Sigler
