OSFES' January '08 Game Day

It was a cold and stormy day on the Great Plains and those looking for relief from the frigid temperatures and chronic boredom of keeping warm had a place to go. OSFES had found a warm den and equipped it with the finest in console gaming and most excellent Game Masters and christened it a Game Day.

Saturday, January 19th, at the Skutt Student Center on the campus of Creighton University, OSFES organized both video and tabletop games for those brave enough to venture forth through the artic cold front that was gripping Omaha. This time we realized that the two types of gaming had to be separated to keep their respective noise levels from interfering with each other. And it worked. While some of the gamers got quite loud, it was never enough to disrupt the other side.

One of the members of the 501st Legion stopped by to interrogate the usual suspects, err, pose for pictures. Mason Hatfield as Boba Fett, Imperial ID number BH-9545, made his way through the crowd searching for rebel scum.

There is one more Game Day scheduled before the Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival this July and that will be on the Ides of March; March 15 at the Skutt Student Center on the campus of Creighton University.

We also plan to sponsor events at the local game shops over the next few months, though not as grand as our Game Days. To keep up on all our gaming activities, bookmark: www.osfes.org/GameDay.htm. Be there or be the round peg in that square hole.

May ye always roll a natural 20; John

Media Guest of Honor: Denise Crosby

I am pleased to announce that The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival again has a Media Guest of Honor. Denise Crosby, who created the role of Lt. Tasha Yar on one of the most popular TV series ever, "STAR TREK, THE NEXT GENERATION" and later returned to play Tasha's daughter "Sela," a role she helped create, will be coming to Omaha.

Denise’s contributions to the genre are not limited to her work on "STAR TREK, THE NEXT GENERATION”, which by itself is impressive. She has been on such genre television series as: THE FLASH, THE ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY JR., THE X_FILES, and the internet series STAR TREK: NEW VOYAGES. As well as the following films: THE ELIMINATORS, PET SEMATARY, MUTANT SPECIES, and DEEP IMPACT. She has also provided the voice of Sela in the STAR TREK: ARMADA video games.

Denise joins Aaron Allston, Mike Cole, and Rusty Hevelin to help us celebrate all the various aspects of this genre that we love. So get a membership, book a room, and join us for three days of non-stop fun.

Happy New Year

Well, it’s finally 2008 and that means we are only a few short months away from the first Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival. This may be the first convention some of you have gone to. For others, you know what to expect because you’re a veteran of the Midwest convention circuit. But whether you’re new or experienced OSFest will have something for you.

To help smooth the way for new convention fans, we have as our Toastmaster a member of First Fandom. Someone who has been around since the early days of the World Science Fiction conventions and has honed a presentation called; “How to Enjoy Your First Convention.” He will leave you with a good understanding of what this SF con thing is all about.

I remember when I showed up at my first convention; the 1976 Worldcon: MidAmericon or Big Mac in Kansas City, I had no idea what to expect. I attended some of the periphery functions without ever knowing what was really going on. I missed the main activities that weekend. But there was so much going on; the peripheries were so exciting, that I never knew I was missing anything until much later.

So how do you choose? Well the first thing to do is download the schedule from the website as soon as it gets posted, usually about two weeks ahead of the convention (www.osfes.org/osfest.htm). Check out the descriptions of events in the program book once you get registered and have your copy. And always keep your pocket program handy, mine’s always in my back pocket. Rusty normally runs his panel early Saturday morning. But you don’t have to be on your own Friday night. Just walk up to someone wearing a con badge and ask, “Is this your first convention?” At worst you’ll be able to double team the next person the two of you ask.

OSFest will be a lot of fun, with a lot of activities going on. As we get them planned out, I will blog them your way so you can know what to expect. I’m looking forward to seeing you in July.