Consumer Electronics Show 2011

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Sunday, 09 January 2011 03:54

Written by Lynne Shannon

The 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is running January 6-9, 2011 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Some events are also being held at the Las Vegas Hilton, the Venetian and the Renaissance Las Vegas hotels.

This is the largest consumer electronics trade show in the world, and this year’s event spares no effort to be even better than ever, on a variety of levels.

For openers, the keynote speakers include such leaders in the field as:

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, who kicks off the show with his keynote address.
Gary Shapiro, CEA President and CEO
Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon CEO

This year’s show marks the debut of a new program, "Entertainment Matters," to address the needs of Hollywood's film, television and digital communities. Sponsored by Variety and Cricket, this program is intended to unite the interests of both technology and content.

Numerous "Conference Tracks" have something for everyone, and indeed more than one thing for all, such as:

Digital Hollywood – the enormously popular track with such sessions as:

• Hollywood and the Digital Consumer: How Technology, Content and Services Establish the Next Level of Consumer Entertainment Experience
• Advertising Strategy, Expenditure and Analysis: Broadcast and Cable vs. the New Platforms
• Venture Funding, Investment & Mergers - Leadership in the Entertainment & Technology Space

Home Entertainment and Lifestyle Technologies – the track that discusses the ever-more tech-savvy consumers as they vote with their dollars:

• In Search of TV's Next Big Thing
• The Great Slate Debate
• It's a TV. It's a Computer. No, It's a...

Media Money Makers – a matter of interest to all, especially at the nexus of Hollywood, Madison Avenue, Wall Street and Silicon Valley:

• Variety Presents: Tech You Can Take to the Bank
• Way Over The Top: Connecting TVs to Revenue
• Artists As Entrepreneurs

Silvers Summit – one of the biggest battle cries of the Boomers back in the 60's was “change”.  The new frontier for Boomers now is aging, and they are revolutionizing that as well, as they absorb tech tools into many aspects of their daily lives. Sessions include:

• What Boomers Buy and Why
• The Power Technology in Senior Health
• Creating the Smart, Aware Home

Smartphone and Tablet Conference – the tomorrow-is-here-today tools that are redefining mobile communications:

• The Smartphone and Tablet Platform: Establishing the Personalized Entertainment and Communications Experience
• The HyperConnected Consumer - Mobile Device and Mobile Network - Integrating the Full PC Experience into a Personal Communications Device
• Video on the Smartphone and Tablet - Programming, Content Relationships, Dealmaking and Commerce

The free "SuperSessions" feature panels:

• Hollywood Creative Masters: A Media Money Makers SuperSession
• Got Game? The State of the Games Industry: View from the Top
• CNET's Next Big Thing: After the Computer
• Big Thinkers and Disruptive Technologies – Today's Thought Leaders, Tomorrow's Technologies
• One-on-One With FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski
• Consumer 360 – Gadgets Everywhere and the Role of Wireless

Again, the show includes "Last Gadget Standing," a competition to see just who demonstrates a product that is "most likely to change the face of technology.”

Celebrity guests include Tim Kring (Heroes), Gale Anne Hurd (Terminator), 50 Cent, Olivia Wilde (Tron), Kevin Pollack and the producers of Lost, and Rick Fox (NBA).

The Exhibit Hall especially is not to be missed, as myriad companies display and demo their newest, cutting edge products.

For more details go to www.cesweb.org.  

2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
January 6-9, 2011

Las Vegas Convention Center
3150 Paradise Rd
Las Vegas, Nevada
(702) 892-0711

Las Vegas Hilton Hotel
3000 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada
Toll Free: (888) 732-7117
Main Line (702) 732-5111

Women of Sci-Fi at Sci-Fi Expo

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Friday, 07 January 2011 19:06

Written by Lynne Shannon

Presented by C2 Ventures, this year’s Sci-Fi Expo is being held January 29 - 30, 2010 in the Plano Convention Centre (2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway) in Plano, Texas -- north of Dallas.

C2 Ventures is a partnership of long-time Star Wars fans Ben Stevens and Philip Wise. Since 2001, C2 Ventures has been the most trusted name in Star Wars autographs, providing more authentic autographs to fans than any other provider worldwide. They presented the massive autograph program at the official STAR WARS Celebration II in 2002, Celebration III in 2005, Celebration IV in 2007, and Celebration Japan in 2008.

C2 Ventures continues to work closely with more than 100 celebrities from the Stars Wars Universe, including Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, Carrie Fisher, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels and Samuel L. Jackson, to provide or produce special appearances at conventions and retail stores, authentic autograph signings on your product or our licensed photos, special events, exclusives, and more.

And this year, for only the second time in its history, the special feature is “Women of Sci-Fi.” The actresses will discuss their careers and answer questions from the audience, as well as be on hand for autograph and photo ops.

Some of the stars making an appearance includes:

• Morena Baccarin (Anna in TV’s V; Stargate, Firefly/Serenity)
• Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, Bionic Woman)
• Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica)
• Alaina Huffman (Stargate Universe)

Besides these contemporary personalities, they’ll be joined by the following veteran sci-fi divas:

• Nichelle Nichols (Uhura, Star Trek TOS)
• Erin Gray (Wilma, Buck Rogers)
• Yvonne Craig (Batgirl, Batman TV)
• Anne Lockhart (Sheba, Battlestar Galactica TOS)

Craig, a Dallas native, rarely appears at conventions these days. But she was happy to make an exception when invited by Ben Stevens because she considers him not only a personal friend but also a really good convention promoter.

Said Craig from her home in California, “I seldom do these shows anymore, but Ben’s shows are always good. The shows are so well organized and he always has a great line-up of guests who are intelligent and fan friendly, and I really enjoy myself when I’m there.”

Also expected is Nick Gillard, stunt coordinator for the original Star Wars movie trilogy. Mr. Gillard also did stunt work for the Alien Queen in Aliens.

Graphic Artists Russell Walks and Lawrence Reynolds also will be displaying their artwork at the event.

In addition, Expo attendees will have the chance to add to their collections of classic toys, t-shirts and other memorabilia in the Exhibitor Hall.

During this winter’s cranky weather, this is a great way to spend a weekend indoors.

For more information, visit www.scifiexpo.com.

Sci-Fi Expo
Jan. 29-30, 2011
Plano Convention Centre
2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, Texas
972-941-5840
www.planocentre.com

APAP NYC 2011 Brings Arts Focus to NY Hilton

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Friday, 07 January 2011 11:16

Written by T. Terry Maloney

The New York Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan will be alive with the sounds of music, the energy of dance, and the dramatics of theater this weekend as the Association of Performing Arts Presenters annual conference, APAP/NYC 2011, takes place there from January 7-11. Each year, the APAP/NYC conference together more than 3,600 music, dance and theatrical professionals from 49 states in the U.S. and 27 countries in what has been described as "the largest performing arts industry event in the world."

Based in Washington, D.C., The Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), is the national service and advocacy organization with nearly 2,000 members worldwide, dedicated to developing and supporting a robust performing arts presenting field and the professionals who work within it.

Its members represent the nation's leading performing arts centers, municipal and university performance facilities, nonprofit performing arts centers, culturally specific organizations, foreign governments, as well as artist agencies, managers, touring companies, and national consulting practices that serve the field, and a growing roster of self-presenting artists. As a leader in the field, APAP works to effect change through advocacy, professional development, resource sharing, and civic engagement.

A new ongoing feature of the conference, the Artist Fellows Program, is designed to integrate a talented group of 11 artists into the core of the conference by inviting the artist voice and process into central conference conversations. This program will involve fellows in the institutional dialogues that deeply impact how art is made and shared, while working to expand the ways in which artists connect to each other and their counterparts in the industry.

Said President and CEO, APAP Sandra Gibson, "Artists are at the core of our work and critical to the success of presenting live performances to engage communities in the performing arts across the globe. We're thrilled to launch the Artist Fellows Program as part of APAP/NYC and to bring an accomplished group of artists directly into the mix of exchanges and deliberations at the conference."

In announcing the first class of fellows representing a wide range of performing arts disciplines who illustrate the breadth and scope of our field, Meklit Hadero, Coordinator for the Artist Fellow Program at APAP/NYC 2011 and Resident Artist at the Red Poppy Art House said, "The Artist Fellows program is an innovative bridge-building force for the arts ecology, creating a platform to evolve the dialogue between Artists who create work, and Presenters who bring that work to public visibility. At the same time, it is an important step towards solidly integrating the perspective of artists into the APAP conference itself. We are enormously excited to welcome this inspiring fellows class and learn from their wealth of experience as leaders in their respective disciplines."

The eight APAP/NYC 2011 Artist Fellows from the U.S. are:

• Marc Bamuthi Joseph: Spoken Word artist, educator, curator, theater maker, community activist, www.lifeisliving.org
• Emeline Michel: singer, cultural activist, www.emeline-michel.com
• Jared Nickerson: bassist, www.burntsugarindex.com
• Prumsodun Ok: dancer, choreographer, founder of Natyarasa, www.natyarasa.org
• Brian Rogers: artistic director and co-founder of the Chocolate Factory, www.chocolatefactorytheater.org
• Somi: singer, songwriter, founder and director of New Africa Live, www.somimusic.com
• Dawn Stoppiello: choreographer, dancer, co-founder of Troika Ranch, www.troikaranch.org
• Jason Treuting: percussionist, SO Percussion, www.sopercussion.com

APAP is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, governed by a volunteer board of directors and led by CEO Sandra Gibson. In addition to presenting it's annual conference in New York City, APAP continues to be the industry's leading resource, knowledge and networking destination for the advancement of performing arts presenting.

For more info go to: http://www.apapnyc.org/Pages/default.aspx

APAP/NYC 2011
January 7-11, 2011
The New York Hilton Hotel
New York, NY