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How to BABSCon, 2016 Edition!

Con Map
(Click map to embiggen!)

The magical day has finally arrived, and BABSCon is about to begin. Well, you need to know a few things first!

  1. Da Rules™. Here's our Code of Conduct. Learn it, love it, live it.
  2. Our Schedule of Events. Click here to see what's going on when so you can plan the best possible BABSCon for you!
  3. Our Vendor Area. Plan where to spend all your bits…ALL OF THEM!
  4. Our story so far…BABSCon is under attack by Queen Quake and her minions. Only our heroic mascots can stop them! Read the comic, hear Queen Quake's ominously beautiful Villain Song, and hear Golden Gates' rousing and inspiring Hero Song. (And buy the CD Single at the con store!)
  5. View our 2016 Con Book in handy-dandy PDF form. Maybe download it and put it in your e-reader of choice for easy mobile viewing.
  6. 6-2-1. "What's 6-2-1?" we hear you ask. Simple…for every day of the con, every attendee (or staffer) should get at least: 6 hours of sleep, 2 nutritious meals, and 1 shower. AT. LEAST. No, a Red Bull and some Cheetos doesn't qualify as a "nutritious meal." People collapsing of exhaustion, low blood sugar, or dehydration don't have a lot of fun, and people who don't shower make things less fun for everyone around them. So…6-2-1, savvy?
  7. ENJOY BABSCon 2016!!
     

Let us tell you a story...

Once upon a time, at BABSCon...

Beware, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, bronies of all ages and types…

Beware the way the ground can shake underneath your feet, and most of all, beware the evil that is Queen Quake. 

It seems that all is not well in the San Franciscolt of the world of ponies. An old evil, now reawakened, may spill over into our world as well, with only Golden Gates, Silver Span, Copper Chip, and you to stop it.

Read on, if you dare...

Here's Our Schedule, Vendor Hall, Charities, ANOTHER Hotel Overflow Block, and the End of Pre-Reg Pricing *WHEW!*

Our Charities! LYRIC & Doctors Without Borders

Wow, do we have a lot to announce to you! After some last-minute good news from our freshly-renovated venue, we were able to put away some less-than-optimal contingency plans and do things like we’d been hoping to, even if it led to a bit of a scramble. So, onward!

End of Pre-Registration Pricing

Oh, noooooo! You don’t want to get bit by an increase in prices, do you? We know we wouldn’t. Go register for your BABSCon 2016 membership before pre-reg pricing ends at 11:59PM PDT Friday, April 15!

ANOTHER Overflow Hotel Block

You guys filled both our block at the Hyatt and the Holiday Inn Express. But we gotcha covered…just 5 minutes’ walk away is the swanky Crowne Plaza Hotel. Con-rate rooms start at $129/night. Book ‘em before they’re gone, tho!

Schedule is Up!

Our Schedule of Events is available for viewing! Now you can start planning your BABSCon experience! Go check it out.

Vendors, Artists, and Exhibitors

Our Vendor Area layout and listing is also available for viewing now. Stay tuned for some last-minute additions since the aforementioned good news let us open up some tables to our wait list!

Our Charities

BABSCon is proud to announce our 2016 Charity Partners are LYRIC and Doctors Without Borders (aka Médicins Sans Frontières). LYRIC has been providing services to at-risk LGBTQQ youth in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1988, and I think we all know about the great work that Doctors Without Borders does in disaster-afflicted and war-torn regions around the world. Please donate your best offerings to our charity auctions by contacting us!

So, don’t forget to register before prices go up!

(Art by SurgicalArts)

NEIGHhem Concert and The BABSquerade

NEIGHhem and the BABSquerade

After the panels wind down, and the whole bay area is lit up with majestic colors of the setting sun, our stage lights up for the one and only NEIGHhem. BABSCon wouldn’t be complete without Saturday night’s concert trying to bring the house down with 11 top acts from some of the fandom’s best musicians. Featuring the talents of...

Eurobeat Brony, Taps, Cyril the Wolf
Jeff Burgess, Tarby, StrachAttack
Garnika, Chang31ing, Additive Subtractive
Darselex, Psycosis

This year’s NEIGHhem is sure to be our best yet so you won’t wanna miss it. NEIGHhem starts Saturday at 8pm and jams long into the night.

But before that madness shakes the dust from the ceiling, it’s time to dress up and get refined in our Friday night cosplay dance, The BABSquerade. No need for fancy moves, the music is here for you to just sway to if you want. Dress up as your favorite pony, griffon, changeling or other character at this masquerade party. But if cosplay isn’t your strong suit, then suit up or lace up that ball gown and don a mask and get your groove on. The BABSquerade starts at 8pm on Friday and lasts until someone turns into Pumpkin Cake.

But there’s only one way to enjoy NEIGHhem and the BABSquerade: you have to register now!

BABSCon Rolls Out the Red Carpet for the #HorseFamous (and Gets More Hotel Rooms!)

Fabulous Community Guests!

Fillies and gentlecolts, prepare your yourselves for 3 days of San Franciscolt-style adventure at this year’s Bay Area Brony Spectacular. Joining our massive Show & Comic staff Guests of Honor, are celebrities of fandom, the #HorseFamous, none other than our Community Guests.  Master producers FiMFlamFilosophy and ShadesofEverfree join us as this April 22-24 for all things animation! From the realm of YouTube we bring you the multi-talented Dustykatt, ILoveKimPossibleAlot, Catie “Boxxy” Wayne, Your OC Sucks and Solrac. Analysts Silver Quill and Dr. Wolf will break things down for everypony and the full troupe of Blog Ponies from Equestria Daily will be here to tell you Trixie is best pony and how to never go to bed. Dynamic Duo Saberspark and ACRaceBest are guaranteed to shake things up and The Lost Narrator, Pegasus Pitch and Magpiepony will spin some wild tales.

But we’re not done yet! The talented hands behind our exclusive Golden Gates plushes, Equestria Plush returns this year, as do the shadow box master minds, The Paper Pony. You’ll be able to lend an ear to none other than Kira “Rina-Chan” Buckland to hear all about voice acting and The Brony Chef will be mixing up a good time for all. Last but not least, the one and only Chelis joins us for a spin of the yarn and bit of drama and Everfree Motorsports is sure to excite with their Forza 4 racing rig.

Be sure to catch your favorite bronies at the one and only Bay Area Brony Spectacular, April 22-24, 2016. They’ll be with us for all the festivities and friendship we have to offer, so come be a part of the action. Meet your favorite stars here at BABSCon! You can join us and get your membership at registration.babscon.com. Hurry, April is closing in fast and you don’t want to miss your chance!

A bit of sad news, Katie Cook unfortunately will be unable to attend due being too darn awesome and being given just so much work to do. She has to take some time to knock out a ton of fresh new comics!

And for anyone having trouble getting a room at con hotel, we have a room block just opened up at the Holiday Inn Express next door that you can get here!

(Art by slifer the sky dragon)

BABSCon Finds Friendship & FIENDship with Jeremy Whitley!

Jeremy Whitley

Are you ready to get your comix on, BABSCon? Rounding out our 2016 selection of IDW Comics My Little Pony creators, BABSCon is pleased to present the one and only Jeremy Whitley!

Jeremy’s quickly become a star on the various My Little Pony IDW titles. On the main series, Friendship is Magic, he wrote issues #23-24 and #34-37 (the well-received “Siege of the Crystal Empire” arc). For Friends Forever, he wrote issues #2, #7, #13-14, #16, #20, #26, and #28, and in the FIENDship is Magic miniseries, he gave King Sombra his origin story in issue #1.

When not writing comics about pastel ponies, Jeremy’s also the primary creative force behind the award-winning Princeless (on which he’s currently collaborating with fellow BABSCon Guest of Honor, Jenn Blake!). If you haven’t checked it out yet, what are you waiting for?

Jeremy joins Guests of Honor Lauren Faust, Andrea Libman, Nicole Oliver, Terry Klassen, Josh Haber, GM Berrow, Denny Lu, Kora Kosicka, Steph Mahoney, and IDW cohorts Andy Price, Katie Cook, and Jenn Blake.

Don’t wait for prices to go up at the door…pre-register now with promo code S6HYPE10 (Season 6 is almost here!) and get 10% off our normal pre-registration prices!

(Art by slifer the sky dragon)

BABSCon Gets Animated With Director Denny Lu & Steph Mahoney!

Denny Lu & Steph Mahoney

The first West Coast pony con during season 6 invites you to get hype for for the March 26th premiere of Friendship is Magic and our latest Guests of Honor, two people who have been working on the series since Day 1 and who are going to make Season 6 the bomb: Director Denny Lu and Layout Supervisor Stephanie Mahoney!

Starting today, BABSCon, April 22-24, is rolling out the red carpet, announcing the latest wave in our array of My Little Pony staff, community guests, and special events over the next couple weeks. The amazing Denny Lu and magnificent Steph Mahoney join our already massive guest list of Lauren Faust, Andrea Libman, Nicole Oliver, Kelly Sheridan, Terry Klassen, Josh Haber, G. M. Berrow, Katie Cook, Andy Price, Jenn Blake, and Kora Kosicka, in our 3rd year of rocking the Bay Area.

Denny Lu was the Director of the last half of Season 5 and continues that roll into the just announced Season 6. On Friendship is Magic, he has also been credited as a Layout Supervisor, and Animation Director. Other career highlights include, Layout Supervisor on Equestria Girls, Animation Revisionist on Pound Puppies, Animation Director on Kid vs. Kat, and Animation Posing Supervisor on George of the Jungle.

Steph Mahoney, currently Layout Supervisor, has also been an Animator, and Key Layout Artist on MLP:FiM and has been animating on other children’s shows such as Martha Speaks, Ruby Gloom, Kid vs. Kat, Littlest Pet Shop and Pound Puppies. She’s also been a Layout Supervisor in your favorite pony turned human movies, Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks and Friendship Games.

And to build even more excitement for Season 6, use code S6HYPE10 during registration to save 10% off any membership for BABSCon 2016. Join Golden Gates, Silver Span, and Copper Chip in 47 days for one of the largest My Little Pony fan conventions in the world. Be warned though Golden gates and Co. may have trouble keeping Queen Quake and her henchies at bay.

(Art by slifer the sky dragon)

Dynamic Duo Andrea Libman & Terry Klassen Team Up With BABSCon!

Andrea Libman & Terry Klassen

Are you ready for a crossover of epic proportions, True Believers? Well, BABSCon is bringing it hard with the star power of voice heroes Andrea Libman and Terry Klassen.

Andrea Libman hardly needs an introduction, seeing as she’s the award-winning voice of both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls. But she’s been a star since she got her start voicing characters like the titular Madeline in The New Adventures of Madeline and the young AndrAIa on ReBoot. Not content with merely being an amazing vocal talent, Andrea also holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia, plays and teaches the piano, and engages in running & cycling events for charity.

Terry Klassen is best known to fans of MLP as the Voice Director for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and the voice of Pinkie Pie’s father, Igneous Rock, among others. But his resume is simply vast, going all the way back to voicing both Krillin and Master Roshi in the Ocean Group dub of Dragon Ball Z. His voice directing and acting credits include: Ed, Edd, ‘n’ Eddy, Littlest Pet Shop, Class of the Titans, and Nerds and Monsters, and he co-created Canadian cartoon Yvon of the Yukon with a familiar face for regular BABSCon attendees, Ian James Corlett. He’ll also be the final judge on the panel for BABSCon’s own The Voice: Equestria. (Fan VAs, this is your chance to get feedback directly from the man himself…don’t miss it!)

Andrea and Terry join Lauren Faust, Nicole Oliver, Kelly Sheridan, Josh Haber, GM Berrow, Katie Cook, Andy Price, and Jenn Blake as BABSCon 2016 Guests of Honor. Don’t miss out—register now!

Reminders: Entries for BABSCon’s The Voice: Equestria and Iron Artist competitions wrap up on Leap Day, 2/29. Don’t miss your chance to prove you’re the best!

And, finally, we have one piece of sad news to share: Due to being cast in a new staging of the play, Mr. Wolf, running this spring in Los Angeles, Mr. John de Lancie has had to cancel his appearance at BABSCon 2016. He sends his deepest apologies to everyone at BABSCon and his best wishes for a great event despite his absence. But don't worry, we still have plenty of amazing guests just waiting to be announced!

(Announcement art by LoloPan)

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