Supplies needed for Programming

Here are some supplies that programming needs:

• Milk and cookies, if Jane Yolen is doing Bedtime Stories
• A projector and laptop computer for artist slideshows
• A walkie-talkie or other means of contact for at-the-con emergencies. A cell phone may work for this purpose.
• Table tents, those stand-up cards with people's names on them to make it clear at panels who's who. Ideally, the front of a table tent should include the person's name in very big, easy-to-read script and the name of the panel in slightly smaller script. The back should ideally include the name of the panel, the description of the panel (for when you forget what exactly the topic is, anyway), who's on it (as a cheat-sheet for when you forget your fellow panelists' names) and a schedule. Printing these can be tricky, as it means printing with a 180° rotation (between the front and back sides, so it's right-side up on both sides of the fold).
• Badge labels, little sticky labels that have every programming participants' schedules (and names) printed on them. This is a very nice thing to have, if you possibly can. These can either be directly affixed to people's badges during the registration packet stuffing process, or left for participants to affix however they want in the Green Room. Which course you take is essentially a political question.
• Wall-sized copies of the programming grid. People like to have big versions of the grid to refer to. Recently, these have been the Pocket Program grid, blown up to about 3' x 5' or so. (As of early 2011, Kinko's charges about $0.75 per square foot for this sort of thing, or $11.25 per copy.) We've found that three copies works nicely: one for the Consuite, one for the Green Room and one to put up near Registration.
• Room schedules. Print a copy of each programming room's schedule to hang in the lucite holders in the halls. Generally, if you print only the title of each programming item, you can fit the entire con's schedule on one sheet of paper; if you include the programming precis, you'll need to print one schedule per day (and then remember to go switch them out each day, or ask someone to do it for you).

See also the pocket program and the question of how many easels Minicon needs.