Ascendio 2012

Did you see our giveaway on Tumblr? Click here to see a post you can reblog, to win the Infinitus umbrella signed by many StarKids including Lauren, Darren & Joe Moses!

Haven’t gotten your tickets to see Team StarKid at Ascendio yet?  It’s not too late!!

Totally Awesome StarKid Deal

For $185 you can attend all the StarKid Sessions.  This includes  a 2-day Ascendio pass for Friday and Saturday, the Panel ticket, and the “A Very Potter Musical” Live Commentary ticket ($200 value).

With this package, we’re also offering a special sale price for the StarKid Meet & Greet.  Get your ticket now for only $80. At the Meet & Greet you’ll be able to hang out with Team StarKid and meet them up close and personal.  Just think:  90 minutes, 5 StarKids, 124 fans, and you!

Register or add on to your existing registration here:  http://hp2012.org/?page_id=131

Click to jump to our handy-dandy “How much StarKid can I get for my money?” planning chart!

To register for Ascendio and/or add StarKid tickets to your existing registration, jump to our registration portal! (if you are already registered, click “view or change your existing registration”)

They performed in the round at Azkatraz. They premiered A Very Potter Sequel at Infinitus 2010. And they’re coming back for Ascendio!

Yes, on Friday and Saturday (July 13/14) members of Team StarKid be participating in panel discussions, special viewings of their shows, signing autographs and hosting a special meet & greet for about 150 Ascendio attendees!

All panels, discussions, autograph sessions, photo ops and the Meet & Greet are open to Ascendio registrants only! Click here for information about the different types of registration. Please note that if you are Merlin’s Circle, you will need to RSVP for ticketed events and to get an autograph ticket. More information will be sent to you via email.

Read More…

Ten years ago this month, we booked our very first special guest for an HPEF event – Judith Krug, the Director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, the division behind the annual commemoration of Banned Books Week, which is being marked around the world this week.

Dr Krug’s talk at Nimbus 2003 in July was our first Keynote Luncheon, and at it, she spoke about misconceptions people had about the Harry Potter series, which led to censorship of the books in schools and libraries around the United States.

Some people believe that just the act of reading Harry will actually
automatically convert readers into witches[. Another] major
complaint is that the books glorify evil. When this charge is hurled,
I patiently explain that these books are about good and evil.

She also noted that while parents should be able to decide what their own children read and watch, censoring a book by removing it from a school or library imposes one person’s will on the entire community.

Ever since HPEF’s founding in 2002 and our first event in 2003, we have strongly believed that our events should include a wide range of perspectives and viewpoints about the Harry Potter books, films, fandom and impact on people around the world. And so, HPEF marks the 2011 Banned Books Week by celebrating the freedom to read, because it’s reading books – specifically the Harry Potter books, that brings all of us together online and for events like Ascendio.

Keep the tradition going by proposing a panel, presentation or group discussion on a subject inspired by censorship or book banning, or later this fall, propose a meet-up discussion of one of the books on the ALA’s List of Frequently Challenged Books; here’s last year’s list:

1) And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson; 2) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie; 3) Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley; 4) Crank, by Ellen Hopkins; 5) The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins; 6) Lush, by Natasha Friend; 7) What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones; Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich; 9) Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie; 10) Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

Come meet Team Ascendio as we take a break from our site visit/planning meeting to check out City Walk! We’ll be at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sunday, October 9 from 7 PM til about 9.We’ll be talking about our plans for Ascendio, recruiting volunteers and introducing most of Ascendio’s Senior Staff. We may have a few sneak previews of Ascendio news, too!
Appetizers are on us! (But, like at our Feb. 2010 get together, everyone pays for their own drinks & dinner if you order some). Parking at Universal City Walk is expected to be $3 if you come to the parking lot after 6 PM.
If you’re on Facebook, please RSVP on our event page; if you’re not on Facebook, just post a comment on this post.
Looking forward to seeing a bunch of you soon!