NEFilk: Contata

07/21/2020

As an add-on to NEWhere, we're running an online song contest. Voting is now open.

1) Go to https://bit.ly/2CCzlXj to see (and in some cases hear) the entries. At the bottom of that document you will find a link to the ballot form.
2) Votes must be entered using the ballot form by 12:00 Noon EDT on Friday, July 24. We will announce the results no later than the morning of Sunday, July 26.
Many thanks to all our contestants.
--
Alex Wittenberg
Con Chair

NEWhere 2020 Song Contest Entries Song Title: Lost Dreams by: David Union Lyrics sheet Song Title: No Contest by: Karl-Johan Norén Lyrics sheet Song Title: Et Nolo Contendere by: Emily Lewis & JT Thomas Lyrics sheet Song Title: No Contest by: Bill Laubenheimer Lyrics sheet Audio Song Title: ...

02/14/2020

There may be an NEFilk, possibly in Connecticut, on the July 4 weekend.
Hotel negotiations are still in progress, but we figure we should start
getting the word out.

Updates will be posted onhttp://www.nefilk.us/ and you can subscribe to
the announcement list by following the link there.

We've also made an event here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1102629993413153/

06/16/2017

Hey, people -- we've had someone changing plans, so we have one room available for Friday/Saturday at the -original- rate of $129. Email [email protected] if you're interested.

We have some people we still don't have final rooms so do say if you're interested in taking in crashers; we'll certainly give preference to people who can help with this, particularly as these rooms (unlike the open market rooms) don't charge a per-person extra rate past two people.

06/14/2017

We never posted about this, but the hotel has freed up and if you want to go at the last minute, there -ARE- rooms available; not at our original rate, but at mostly-affordable rates for Friday Night, Saturday Night, and Sunday night. If you have any problems booking, email [email protected] and we'll see if we can figure anything out.

Also, we still have volunteers and new people who could use housing, if you're willing to have someone share with you do email [email protected].

Thanks! -- Josh.

05/19/2017

Call for Volunteers

The Contata Con Committee Needs YOU!

Any convention depends on a lot of hands to keep things running. This year at Contata, we’re calling for volunteers in advance so we can get a head start on scheduling, and so nobody has to spend too much time helping out before they get back to enjoying the con.

We need people to help out with:

Registration Desk -- putting together and handing out registration packets, tracking materials for pre-registered members and selling at-the-door memberships
Ops -- making and posting signage, going to places where people need help with things and helping them, hauling boxes and other items (but not at the cost of your back).
Security -- short shifts checking to make sure people are wearing badges, staying out of restricted or locked areas, and abiding by the convention’s Code of Conduct
Con Suite -- supervising the con suite so the staff can take much-needed down-time, preparing and arranging snacks, cleanup, assisting with a shopping run if needed.
Circles -- We need people to anchor circles. To be in the circle, moderating, and making sure people get a turn to perform. To draw out shy people, encourage people to take turns and be courteous, and to occasionally perform, or prompt others to do so.

Volunteers will get a shiny badge sticker and our undying gratitude. Volunteers who commit to assisting by June 14 will also receive an acknowledgment in the program book (unless you prefer otherwise) and a small care package.

If you’d like to help out, head over to our signup questionnaire form over here! If the form gives you any trouble or if you have any questions, email [email protected] and let us know.

05/19/2017

Announcement: Song Contest Topic

The topic for our song contest will be: “Socially Transmitted Earworm (or, I Got It From …)”

Entries must be new songs written since the end of last year’s NEFilk convention (i.e., after July 3rd, 2016). Songs set to original tunes and parodies of existing tunes are both acceptable.

All entries must be performed at the convention. If you cannot attend (or prefer not to perform), someone else may present your entry.

A copy of the lyrics should be provided at the time of performance for the use of our judges. Songs are judged on the quality of the lyrics and appropriateness to the topic, not on the quality of the performance.

05/19/2017

Programming Announcement: GOH Concert!

This year, Contata continues its proud tradition (on the principle that anything you do three times in a row is a tradition) of non-vocal guests!

2005: Guest of Honor Carla Ulbrich came down with laryngitis, so the GoH concert featured “Carla-oke” -- audience members requested songs for Carla to play on her guitar while they sang.
2008: Toastmaster Tom Smith injured his leg only weeks before the convention, so the Toastmaster concert became a “sing Tom Smith covers” benefit concert to raise money for his medical bills and recovery.
2011: Guest of Honor Judi Miller, sign interpreter extraordinaire, performed with all her usual non-vocal brilliance during everybody else’s concerts -- and also sang during her own show. (No accidents or illness interfered. We thought we might be onto something.)
2014: Guest of Honor Amy McNally, phenomenal fiddler, also sang some during her concert -- but mostly played to beat the devil. (We made notes. Definitely a trend worth pursuing.)

Which brings us to ...

2017: Guest of Honor Bob Kanefsky, filk’s premiere parodist! … who very seldom sings in public. So our GoH concert this year will be a Kanefsky Cabaret, or Kabarefsky, in which other filkers will sing Bob’s parodies on stage.

Interested in being a Kabarefsky performer? Contact [email protected], or reply here, or on dreamwidth here:

http://contata.dreamwidth.org/2285.html

Or on livejournal here:

http://contata.livejournal.com/10966.html

This year, Contata continues its proud tradition (on the principle that anything you do three times in a row is a tradition) of non-vocal guests! 2005 : Guest of Honor Carla Ulbrich came down with laryngitis, so the GoH concert featured “Carla-oke” -- audience members requested songs for Carla to…

05/15/2017

More hotel stuff!

1. The hotel is currently completely booked. This means that if you try to get a room, you probably won't get one.

2. Please email [email protected] if you would like a room and (now) can't get one. If a block of rooms opens up, this will give us an idea of how many to reserve. This is important even if you end up sharing a room and would rather not share a room, since the next time there's a filk convention in the area, it's good to know how many rooms we want to reserve.

3. This also means that, since we would love to make sure everyone who wants to make Contata can do so, that we are willing to facilitate room sharing.

a. If you have a room and would like to have more people in it to help split they cost, company, or just to help a filker out, email [email protected] saying who is in the room and how many people you would like to/prefer to share with, and any other relevant details (like if there are specific people you would never want to share with, specific types of people you would prefer to share with or prefer not to share with, etc).

b. If you -don't- have a room and would like to share one with a willing person or people, email [email protected] with pretty much the same information (how many people are you, how many would you like to share with, etc), and we'll try to match you up. But also include if you would -prefer- not to share a room so we can use that info to decide how many rooms to reserve if it turns out a block opens up.

We will also be posting the list of nearby hotels from three years ago, but as we found then, nearby hotels are universally a couple of miles away, so it's much more practical for drivers than pedestrians.

05/01/2017

So a further update on the hotel situation:

We are currently out of king rooms.
We are currently down to 1 room available on Sunday night.

This does NOT mean you can't get king rooms or a room on Sunday night, but it does make it more complicated.

To get a king room or a Sunday room, book a room of a type you can get on the nights you can get it, then email [email protected], and we'll do what we can to fix it for you (so far, the hotel has been accommodating on per-room requests, so so far, so good).

--JK

04/27/2017

We're currently out of Sunday night rooms for Contata (Sunday night rooms appear to still be available outside the block--for now!), and running perilously close to our Friday night limits. So tell me if you need those rooms and haven't/can't get them, and I'll see what I can do (and if we do get an opprotunity to expand the Sunday block, I need to know how many to add). Also, while we still have 9 (at last count) rooms available for our core nights, that's a number that can change quickly, so be aware.

-- Josh