Worldcon Masquerade MC’s Announced

Phil and Kaja Foglio, creators of Girl Genius, will serve as the Masters of Ceremony for the 2011 Worldcon masquerade. And while the judges deliberate, Paul Cornell will entertain with his Worldcon edition of the BBC Radio 4 game show Just A Minute.

Masquerade Directors Kevin Roche and Andrew Trembley have named the first members of the panel of judges. Karen Dick (founder of Costume-Con) and Lindsay Tallman (producer of the Anime Los Angeles masquerade) will be backstage for close-up workmanship judging, with Toni Lay and John O’Halloran judging the entries as presented on-stage.

The full press release follows the jump.

Renovation, The 69th World Science Fiction Convention,

Reno, Nevada – August 17-21, 2011

[email protected]

www.renovationsf.org

Postal queries to: RCFI, PO Box 13278, Portland, OR 97213-0278

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Reno, Nevada, USA – Renovation is pleased to announce that the Masters of Ceremony for the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention Masquerade will be Hugo Award winners Phil and Kaja Foglio, creators of Girl Genius (www.girlgeniusonline.com). Always convivial hosts, the Foglios are joined by multiple-Hugo nominee Paul Cornell, who will be entertaining the audience while the judges deliberate with his special Worldcon edition of the BBC Radio 4 game show Just a Minute. The Masquerade will take place on Friday, August 19, in the Tuscany Ballroom at the Peppermill Hotel.

Masquerade Directors Kevin Roche and Andrew Trembley have also selected the first members of the judging panel charged with the formidable task of selecting award winners from the panoply of talent that will cross the Masquerade stage: Karen Dick and Lindsay Tallman will be backstage for close-up workmanship judging, with Toni Lay and John O’Halloran out front to judge the entries as presented on-stage to the Renovation audience. Assisting as Judges’ Clerk will be Aurora Celeste.

All talented costumers, the panel combines a wealth of experience on and off stage in international masquerade competitions. Ms Dick is the founder and owner of Costume-Con, the annual international costuming convention. Ms Tallman has been ably producing the always-packed Anime Los Angeles masquerade since 2007. Ms Lay has directed numerous Costume-Con masquerades and is one of the founding members of the New Jersey/New York Costumers’ Guild. No stranger to the masquerade stage, Mr O’Halloran is most familiar to costumers behind the scenes, making sure they get across the stage safely and successfully. Ms Celeste has years of experience organizing the costume program track and the Costume Parade at Dragon*Con.

The Masquerade Directors are also pleased to announce that online entry is now available at www.renovationsf.org/masquerade/ for Renovation members who wish to appear in the Masquerade. While advance registration is not required to enter the competition, the Directors strongly urge anyone considering entering to do so, so that their staff and crew may better prepare to show all entries to best advantage. Once registered, competitors may return and update their details as necessary. The online entry system will be available until the Masquerade registration table opens at the convention on Wednesday, August 17.

ENDS

Renovation is the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”). The first Worldcon occurred in New York City in 1939 and Worldcons have been held annually since then except for 1942-45 when there was no event due to World War II. Renovation’s Guests of Honor are Ellen Asher, Charles N. Brown (in memoriam), Tim Powers and Boris Vallejo.

For more details about the convention or to purchase memberships, visit www.renovationsf.org. has Send press questions, or requests to be removed from the Renovation press release mailing list, to [email protected]. Send general queries to [email protected].

“World Science Fiction Society”, “WSFS”, “World Science Fiction Convention”, “Worldcon”, “NASFiC”, “Hugo Award”, and the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Rocket are service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.