Ticketing Time Change
To ease the rush in the mornings, Ticketing will begin at 8:30am each day, instead of 8:45am.
Housing Changes
Well, as usual FIT has some changes in store for us. This year they're doing construction on the Co-Ed Building, which houses the shared-bath dormitories. Suites will still be available. We have made arrangements with the Hotel Pennsylvania for a guaranteed rate of $169 for a room with one double bed, and $189 for a room with two double beds. You can call 800-223-8585 to reserve, and mention the OrigamiUSA group, or make your reservation here. Note that there are a limited number of rooms at this rate, and the special rate will expire May 30th. There are many other hotels in the immediate area. FIT has preferred rates at these hotels, and there are several other hotels in the area.
Teaching Skills Class
If you've signed up to teach and are even slightly unsure of your skills, or if you've always wanted to teach but want to learn more about it, we're here to help! There will be a Teaching Skills class on Friday at 9pm in the Katie Murphy Amphitheater. Please consider attending, even if you're an experienced teacher.
Source Order Drop-Off
Last year we let people order in advance of the convention, and just pick up their order when The Origami Source opened on Friday. Unfortunately, our new website has some trouble allowing us to place orders without charging shipping, so we won't be able to do that this year. However, we'll have a drop-off box at the Information Area whenever The Source is closed. Leave your order form, and go to The Source when it opens to pay and pick up your order. When the Source is open, the drop-off box will be located next to the registers in the Source so that you may drop-off an order during a busy time and pick it up later that day.
Saturday Night Novelty Competition
Last year we tried to make origami storytelling a part of our Saturday night, but we realized we didn't tell people early enough for them to form teams and make plans. So this year we'll have the sign-up sheets and word packs available at the Information Desk on Friday night. Sign-up and collect your pack of words early, so you can work with your team to write a story using the words, and fold models representing some of them. Full rules will be available with the word packs, and teams should be no more than four people.
T-Shirt Changes
This year we'll have additional sizes of t-shirts available. In addition to our usual Unisex sizes Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, 2X Large and 3X Large, we'll have Youth sizes Small (6-8), Medium (10-12) and Large (14-16), and for pre-order only, we'll have Ladies Fit in sizes Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large. (Note that if you normally wear a Medium in Unisex t-shirts, you should order a Large in Ladies Fit.) In addition, the prices for pre-orders will be the same as last year ($17). On-site sales, however, will now be $20.
Reference Library Access
We're arranging to bring some of the books in our Reference Library to the convention so that you can do your research, but the books must be reserved in advance. If you're interested, check the list of books in the library, and write to convention-library [at] origamiusa.org to reserve your book(s).
This is the final list of titles we'll be bringing along:
2012_con_Mobile-Library-Catalog.pdf (PDF format)
Use of the materials will be by appointment, specific location to be announced at Convention.
Model Menu and Teacher Priority Ticketing
We need to have the Model Menu ready for Friday evening's Open House which starts at 7pm, but in the past many people have brought their models well after that time. This makes it difficult for attendees to plan their schedules, and so for the past few years we added a time limit to Teacher Priority Ticketing requirements. As with last year, all teachers are required to provide their models by 5pm on Friday, or they will not obtain Teacher Priority Ticketing. Models should be brought to the Model Menu intake area at the Information Desk in the Great Hall.
If your plans do not allow you to deliver your model by 5pm Friday, please mail your model to the OrigamiUSA office so that it arrives by the Monday before Convention. Mark the box "Model Menu" and mail it to OrigamiUSA, 15 West 77 Street, New York, NY 10024. Make sure you include your name and the name of the model you are teaching.Annual Meeting Schedule
As we have for the past two years, the Annual Meeting will take place in two parts, with the earlier session used for voting only.
- The Annual Meeting will begin at 12:15pm in the Great Hall.
- From 12:15pm – 1:45pm the only agenda item will be voting.
- If you want to vote in person, you must vote then.
An Election Committee member will be at the Information Desk to confirm your eligibility to vote and give you a ballot. The voting section of the Meeting will be closed at 1:45pm.
At 1:45pm there will be a break in the Annual Meeting (so that people can attend classes) and we will resume at 5:30pm in the Katie Murphy Amphitheatre for the rest of the agenda (which includes all of the reports and Q&A that typically take place at the meeting). The results of the voting will be announced at the end of the 5:30 session.
It is always easier for our vote counter to use the proxy ballots that are mailed in and so we encourage members to vote using them, but if you want to vote in person, you should be aware that we will not take votes after 1:45 or during the second part of the meeting.
The proxy ballot by mail will work the same way that it has done in past years; if you mark and send in a proxy ballot, it will be cast on your behalf by the designated proxy at the Annual Meeting.
If you have any questions, please visit the elections page or contact the Elections Committee at elections [at] origamiusa.org.
Non-Folding Parents
Sometimes it's not clear where non-folding guardians can go, and some expect to join their child in class. This is not a great idea for several reasons – students in each class should be able to fold independently; there are sometimes limited seats; and parents and other guardians can be distracting. We ask that non-folding guardians wait in the Hospitality Area or outside the classroom. If a guardian wishes to join their child in class, they must register as a folding Attendee with Classes. If there are cases of handicaps or other restrictions where an aide is indeed necessary, please let the convention organizers know ahead of time, and we'll make special arrangements. Guardians: please consider volunteering while you wait for your child. We'll make sure that your assignment is in a centralized location where your child can find you easily. If you wait in the Hospitality Area, please make sure that you and your child identify a specific location in the room to meet.