Decongestant 2 Programming Schedule — October 6–8, 2017

Friday October 6

Noon — Consuite opens.

2 p.m. — Registration opens. [Consuite]

3–5 p.m. — "Crafty Time"— A time to work on your art or craft projects. [Teen Room]

Up to 5 p.m. — Dinner ordering. See the main webpage for details. Coordinated by Scott and Irene Raun. [Consuite]

6 p.m. — Gaming Room opens. The Gaming Room will be open continuously throughout the convention until 11:59 p.m. Sunday night. We’ll provide tables and chairs and some games and puzzles. Feel free to bring your favorites. [Gaming Room]

6:30 p.m. — Dinner Break. Go out to a nearby restaurant or opt in to a group order of food (see above).

7:30 p.m. — "Opening Ceremonies"—Greetings, announcements, etc. [Programming Room]

8:30 p.m. — "Astrophotography slideshow". Rachel K. has managed to take some halfway-decent astrophotos in the past few years. Come see some of the cool shots she's gotten! Rachel Kronick [Programming Room]

10 p.m.–late — Programming room open for a music circle or other spontaneous activities. Music gets first dibs. Bring your instruments and a copy of Rise Up Singing and/or Rise Again if you want.

Saturday, October 7

Morning — Cartoons. We'll watch some Saturday morning cartoons like you used to. Kevin Austin [Programming Room]

12 noon — "Minnstf board meeting". Come be bored with the board. Learn how the business that brings you this con is done. Aaron Vander Giessen, Lydia Nickerson, Scott Raun, Matt Strait & Hershey Harris [Programming Room]

1 p.m. — "Nature Walk" in Hyland Lake Park Reserve. You may want to bring a camera, hat, walking stick, sunglasses, water bottle, etc. Or go on a "Poké-walk" in the area if you play Pokémon Go. Meet in the lobby to join a group and carpool if necessary.

2 p.m. — "Crappy Magic Draft". Get rid of some Magic The Gathering cards that never really fit in with your other decks, and maybe gain something useful (probably not). Bring 30 lands (six of each color) and 45 other cards, approximately half spells and half creatures (You can tell if an artifact is closer to a spell or a creature by reading the card). We'll shuffle them all together, then build a 60 card deck with a draft style allocation, and then play. Do not bring cards that you expect to get back. Emily Stewart [Gaming Room]

4 p.m. — Minicon 53 programming brainstorming meeting. Let's storm our brains for what to talk about at our annual springcon. Sharon Kahn [Programming Room] — A Decongestant membership is not required to attend this event

5 p.m. — "Learn to hectograph". This is the most obsolete of the obsolete fannish duplicating technologies. Is it fun? We'll find out as the novices lead the novices in this hands-on workshop! Matt Strait [Gaming Room]

6 p.m. — Programming Room closes for dinner setup.

7 p.m. — Dinner Break. See the main webpage for details. Coordinated by Emily Stewart and Aaron Vander Giessen [Programming Room]

8:30 p.m. — "Eclipse Stories" Come share and hear stories about this year's eclipse (and maybe other ones, if time allows)! Kelly Strait [Programming Room]

10 p.m.–late — Programming room open for a music circle or other spontaneous activities. Music gets first dibs.

Sunday, October 8

Morning — Cartoons. Even though it's Sunday, we'll watch Saturday morning cartoons. Kevin Austin. [Programming Room]

Noon–2 p.m. — "Needle felting with Bonnie" Bonnie will demonstrate her technique for 3-D needle felting, including constructing pipecleaner armatures. Supplies for about ten people will be provided. More can participate if they bring a foam pad or brush to felt upon. Kids are welcome, but the needles are sharp! Bonnie Somdahl. [Programming Room]

2–4 p.m. — "Gaming with Rachel Kronick". Rachel will be joining us via videochat from Taiwan. Let's play some games with her that are reasonable to play that way, like Code Names, Spyfall, Taboo, and/or EPYC. [Programming Room]

4 p.m. — "Closing Ceremonies"—Should we do this again? Do you have ideas for next year? Will you volunteer to run things? [Programming Room]

5–8 p.m. — Dave Romm memorial. Dave Romm was a dedicated member of Minnstf for longer than some of us can remember, so we’re going to tell Dave stories at Decongestant II. Come and share your stories of kindnesses and arguments, photos and microprogramming, mix tapes and mansplaining. Demonstrate your mastery of those weird noises. Vent, laugh, cry, eat pizza. Toni Brust [Programming Room] — A Decongestant membership is not required to attend this event

8 p.m. to whenever — "Dead Dog Party." This three-day con keeps going on the third day until it can't go anymore. Hosted by Ctein. [Consuite]

8 p.m.–midnight — Programming room open for a music circle or other spontaneous activities. Music gets first dibs.