Friday
12 noon  -- Registration open
1 p.m. - 5 p.m. -- Open hospitality suite
2 p.m.  -- Roundtable discussion, "The Role of the Independent Press in SF & F"
3 p.m.  -- Roundtable discussion, "Elements of Self-Promotion"
3 p.m.  -- SFWA Board of Directors Meeting (closed)
4 p.m.  -- Roundtable discussion on SF/F Publishing in Russia hosted by Russian literary agents Alex Korzhenevsky and Tania Korzhenevskaya
5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.  -- Mass Autographing in the Crown Center Atrium
7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.  -- Reception, SFWA Suite
8 p.m.  -- Expedition to Harrah's Casino
10 p.m. - very late -- Open hospitality suite

Saturday
10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Registration open
10 a.m. -- Expedition to "Eternal Egypt" Exhibit, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art
11 a.m. -- Geoff Landis presentation, "NASA - Current Interstellar Flight Technology"
1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. -- SFWA General Business Meeting
3:30 p.m. -- Panel, "The State of Short Fiction"
7 p.m. -- Pre-banquet Reception
8 p.m. -- Banquet 
9:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. -- Awards Presentations
 
 

Sample Kansas City Jazz 

A group of us will be going to the place where Kansas City jazz began: 18th & Vine. 

Today the area is being revitalized and houses two museums (worthy of a visit during the daytime.) the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum. The Jazz Museum also houses The Blue Room, a small bar which contains some exhibits and has classic jazz 4 nights a week. Because of the exhibits, this is a rare "no smoking bar," but the music is also piped outside for those taking a break. 

Thursday nights the music starts early and there is no cover charge. We will probably be leaving for the club about 7:30PM on Thursday, April 25th. The group playing that evening is the James Ward Ensemble. You can listen to the group on MP3 at http://www.jameswardmusic.com/html/discography1.asp/

Reserve your space with Keith Stokes at sfreader@sff.net. Mention if you will be able to drive if more spaces are nedded. (note Keith will be out of the country March 23-31 so he may be slow responding to your email. 

American Jazz Museum: http://americanjazzmuseum.com
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: http://www.nlbm.com/

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Try your luck at Harrah's Casino

 For those who enjoy gambling and would like to visit one of Kansas City's several riverboat casinos, Dave Truesdale will host a run to Harrah's Casino on Friday evening, April 26th. 

As well as offering the usual assortment of slot machines, card, and dice games, Harrah's also sports several excellent restaurants. We will leave the hotel for Harrah's at 8 PM for those wishing to dine at Harrah's. All others may proceed directly to the gaming area. 

If you are interested in joining us please email Dave Truesdale at dtruesdale8@comcast.net. 

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Take a Tour of Eternal Egypt at the Nelson-Atkins Museum

Mike Higgins, a writer with NobleFusion and docent trained for this event, has offered to lead a group to the Nelson-Atkins Museum for a special tour of "Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from The British Museum." 

Many of the works on display were created as gifts to the gods or objects to accompany the dead on their journey to the afterlife. More than half of the 144 objects that comprise this spectacular exhibition have never been presented outside the British Museum. It's an intriguing portrait of Ancient Egypt and the lives and beliefs of its people, including pharaohs such as Tutankhamun, Sety and Ramesses. 

Tickets are $12 from us (please contact me soon!) and $14 from the MuseumTix Website. Our tour group will start at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday--if you choose to purchase your own ticket, make sure you select the right time-slot. Transportation details will be available at registration. 

Links with more information:
Eternal Egypt: http://www.nelson-atkins.org/eternalegypt/ticketing/index.htm
MuseumTix: http://www.museumtix.com/venue/program.asp?vid=170&pid=1820518

Contact Mike at mhiggins@noblefusion.com for reservations and more details.