CNPC 2009: A Sneak Preview

Dear sisters and brothers in the Art Magickal,

The Vancouver in '09 committee had our first in-person planning meeting since Ottawa on Wednesday afternoon. We reviewed what has been accomplished so far, the assignment of tasks and progress along toward our goal of a tremendous conference that raises the bar for future events, and set some rough priorities for the next couple of months.

The space has been booked, some accommodation has been prebooked. When the website is revised, which it should be in a month or so, people will be able to book accommodation at a conference rate directly from that. The University of British Columbia hosts a number of conferences every year and their staff are a pleasure to deal with. Details of audio-visual and catering will be worked out closer to the conference - our priority right now is getting the broad outlines of activities settled and getting people firmly settled in charge of those areas. We also need to revise the website and set up the bank account (in co-ordination with the national Board).

Dan Miller will be co-ordinating the academic stream - details of the general structure of that to follow but it will be organized in past/present/future thematic blocks, priority given to Canadian academics and Canadian topics. Diane Morrison will be co-ordinating a panel on rural / urban Pagan issues and also the music and culture stream - we're looking into having an evening showcasing our local musical talent, possibly onsite. Jen Thrasher-Stroud will co-ordinate a Pagan Business panel. Sam Wagar will continue as Chair to do overall co-ordination and publicity, liaise with the national Board and with UBC, and look for potential co-ordinators and panel leaders.

We have approached some local Pagans to co-ordinate a polyamoury panel and a Pagan kink panel and details of those will be settled in a week or so. We also will be having a panel on Organizing In The Pagan Communities (and no bloody herding cats jokes - BC has several very successful long term organizations, which differ from one another in many ways but which have been proven to work). Other panel suggestions are appreciated, particularly by people willing to do some work to organize them. Outreach is continuing into other Pagan communities and we hope to broaden the representation on the committee over the coming months.

Kerr Cuhulain has agreed to be our keynote speaker - he's well qualified to speak to a number of issues of anti-defamation, the law, and the Warrior Path and details of his talk will be settled soon.

One of the three classrooms we have booked will be assigned as a venders room, except when it's in use for a panel discussion. Details to follow.

The conference's theme is "Left Coast Paganisms" and so British Columbia's ways of doing things will be featured. But this is the 5th anniversary - a positive milestone, and we will have gone Coast to Coast with the conference, which is also significant in our huge country.

Please, spread the word. And mark your calendars. May 15-19 2009, University of British Columbia.

And this, very preliminary, report is submitted in service,

Sam Wagar
Chair, CNPC '09