CloverCon is Less Than a Month Away…
There’s less than a month before we do the “thing” we call CloverCon. It’s been happening since 2011, so this will be the 12th year (barring the missing years of Covid; if only we could forget).
Now, Clover Baby Baby knows how to run amok in their pre-teen years trying to act like a teenager? Am I their parent, their patient kind mentor, or just a wise old friend? Lots of musings inviting themselves into my mind as I try to get back to sleep at 1:30am. Do my musings amuse you? While working on the words for our printed con program, I see that I’m not reinventing any wheel there. If it works, why fix it? But there are some new or re-newed areas to look forward to:
A Photo Booth will be set up in the alcove beyond the gym curtains. Have fun with getting some candid photos of you in your cosplay outfit. No worries if you haven’t come in costume, there will be some choices on a nearby coat rack thanks to our club members sharing some bits and pieces from their own closets. Try some on for your phot op, then return it to the rack, so others can enjoy their new “look”!
Here’s something really new for the con. FANGS game (fandoms, associations, and genres survey): Are you interested in psychology? In genre preference? How you might score in creativity or openness? Well, we have the game for you! Please join us for a quick game style psychological survey to help broaden the depth of our knowledge on genre preferences. Take short assessments and win stickers and other goods! Complete all 4 surveys for a chance to win a bigger prize!
If the quiet of the Manga Library is not your idea of fun, go outside to play some games like volleyball. Let out your inner child to just soak up the sun as you run about chasing the ball. The weather may just well cooperate with this plan. Wouldn’t that be nice for all of us inside and out?
The Clover Labyrinth has gotten a “facelift” thanks to the efforts of the club members & leaders. Almost every brick was pried out, then its grassy footprint was trimmed to stop the lawn from swallowing the labyrinth. Since it’s always hungry must it be fed? The nearby benches’ patio was also tended to with more gravel, so now the whole area looks loved and again. So go and seek out the labyrinth to walk its sweet grassy path to its center and then out again. Recharge your “batteries”, then return to the wonder that is CloverCon!
I look forward to seeing members past and present as they step up to help with this great effort to show you all a good time as we get the Clover out! Go Team Otaku!
With much love and caring,
Betty Sensei
Spring Has Sprung?!?!!!
March is almost done with us by getting the jump on April showers. Last weekend the club went up to LG Cook 4-H Camp, where we happily survived the all-day rain on Saturday despite our disrupted sleep routines. Surprisingly we didn’t talk much about CloverCon, but kept snug & dry in the Winter HQ cabin laughing, eating, watching anime, & playing Smash Bros. Some of us did a lot of crafting with beads & sewing. One of our leaders brought his sewing machine to finish most of his Jedi tunic for a future cosplay. Bring it on! CloverCon! Here are more highlights to shine:
The Artist Alley Waiting List is now at 7 with one who got bumped up to join the Alley due to an artist’s cancellation.
Dealers Area is now also full with 5 vendors including a new one offering cosplay props & collectibles. See the complete list under About the Con: Artists/Dealers.
A returning guest is Lex Winter with his fabulous panel on Godzilla, King of Monsters, telling its life story by highlighting the good & bad plot lines depicted in films starting with its Japanese roots.
A new table-top game demo upstairs is BattleTech using detailed minatures of the 12- meter tall BattleMechs to introduce this exciting sci-fi adventure.
Magic the Gathering plays their cards thanks to Retro Lotus.
Other clubs in 4-H getting into the action: Chinese Culture continues in the Clover Café, Photobombers roam around with permission cards for cosplayers’ info, Clover Ensemble present improv games, Drawing & Sketch help with the Drawing Workshop, & Game On! hands out games from the mountain of choices upstairs.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Clover Baby Baby grows & expands into its preteen years.
But it’s not just about the con, other future events include a Ren Faire & a Table Top Game Day!
Wheels with wheels!
-Betty the sewing sensei
Spring is in the Air!
Today Spring seems to be promised again with temperatures in the upper 40s, yet yesterday it dipped in the 20s overnight. Weather in New Jersey is a see-saw & so is my expectations of progress of my personal yokai, a.k.a CloverCon. Maybe I should give it a chibi nickname to make it sweet & simple. Hmmmmm…. maybe “Clover Baby-baby” (a tribute to my recent binging of Resident Alien)? To get me & everyone else in the loop (Is this a trap?), here are the present highlights:
Artist Alley is FULL with 13 newbies out of the 32 total number of these creative artists. As of now, the waiting list has 5 hopeful artists.
Dealers’ Area is almost full again with the same dealers as last year bringing their amazing bounty of goods for sale.
Our Guest Presenters include:
Adam Hennessey & Jaime Bonsignore with “How the Music Evokes” reveals the emotional responses to the music scores in several anime & video games.
Jon Turner with “40 Years of Nausicaä” examines its backstories of Miyasaki leading his team in this tale of war & peace.
Tyler Barth with “What’s with the Mask? A History of Kigurumi” presents why these silent masked cosplayers are who they are.
Watch for more guests to come as we wait for their confirmations & descriptions of their presentations.
The website features new photos provided by 4-H Photobombers. As of now only our own members in cosplay are included, but I expect other cosplayers will be highlighted after their permission is secured at this year’s CloverCon for future inclusion on our website.
Look here & elsewhere on the website for more news & updates as they happen.
So it goes (as Vonnegut liked to say),
Betty sensei
Coordinator and/or friend of Clover Baby-baby