Stay tuned for more developments, and join the Facebook Page.

Get Animated! is a Canada-wide series of free screenings and activities from the National Film Board, to mark October 28th, 1892:  The date the first animated film was shown, by Emile Reynaud at the Musée Grévin in Paris.

Details for all events: http://films.nfb.ca/get-animated/

Monday October 26th:

A rare opportunity to see a program of some of the most exciting new animated films from around the world.  Curator Ron Diamond, of Acme Filmworks in L.A., will be in attendance at the shows and will be selling his compilation DVDs of these animated gems at the break.

Please note that we can only accept cash at the sales table.

For details: http://films.nfb.ca/get-animated/international-films.php

Tuesday October 27th ­ again at the wonderful Pacific Cinematheque!:

Here’s a link to this event on Facebook:

“The Animation Feast” will be screened following Bruce Alcock’s presentation.

————————————————————————-
Sep 19, 2009 SECOND LEVEL WIZARDS NEWS UPDATE
————————————————————————-

In this update:

1. Thanks!
2. Cthulhupalooza II
3. Volunteers Needed
4. Related Nerdy Events

————————————————————————-

1. SUCCESSFUL CARTOONS & ASTRONOMY

Thanks to everyone who came to BLAST! And especially to Chris Wiebe, Galen Marsden, Ed Chapin and Mark Halpern, the scientists who worked on the telescope and were gracious enough to donate their time to answer the many excellent questions after the screenings. If you missed the film you can sign up for news about the upcoming DVD at http://blastthemovie.com/

Thanks also to Jody Kramer of the NFB for helping us make the Saturday Morning Cartoon Party a sugary sweet memory to treasure. Don’t forget to check out Get Animated! Screenings & workshops in October http://films.nfb.ca/get-animated/event.php

2. SON OF CTHULHUPALOOZA

Second Level Wizards are now accepting submissions for Son of Cthulhupalooza, a Cthulhu convention featuring short films, a live performance by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, and other weirdness.

Please submit your Lovecraftian short films to Toren Atkinson at thickets@uniserve.com (email subject “Cthulhupalooza film”)

We’re also considering other special events to have on stage so if you’re a Lovecraftian artisan/performer please contact Toren. Ideas that have been discussed: costume contest; Cthulhu cake bake-off; trivia contest.

And no doubt we’ll have a vendor or two on hand so you can get the newest Lovecraftian games, toys and comics!***

Sign up to the Facebook group

3. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Volunteers are at the heart of association work, and the Second Level Wizard Events Society is no exception. Our strength is a result of the time and effort provided by those who volunteer to serve their colleagues and to further the mandate of Second Level Wizards.

Second Level Wizards is a non-profit society; Our mandate is to bring the awesome level in Vancouver up a minimum of 2 notches and fill the nerd gap. If you want to become part of the 2LW volunteer team, now is the time to let us know. We have volunteer opportunities in almost all fields of event organization. If you have a passion and a willingness to share and to make Vancouver a city known for fun and unusual events, we hope that you will consider participating as a volunteer with us. Our goal is to have volunteer groups that represent the diversity of backgrounds, experience and demographics of our community. Becoming a volunteer will give you the opportunity to go behind the scenes and work as an integral part of organizing vibrant, exciting and novel events such as film festivals, live acts, and conventions. This priceless experience gives you the opportunity to meet and learn directly from industry professionals while assisting special guests and supporting programmes and events. As a volunteer, you have admission to all related Second Level Wizards events.

To learn more about the available opportunities, and to tell us how you’d like to be involved, contact Chris Slater at
volunteers@secondlevelwizards.com

4. NERDY EVENTS OF NOTE:

The Vancouver Comic Jam is tonight at the Clubhouse Restaurant

http://tinyurl.com/vancomjam

The BLIM Community Market is Sunday the 20^th @ Cambrian Hall

http://blim.ca/events/

The SPARK Animation Festival continues through Sunday at the Vancouver Int’l Film Centre.

http://siggraph.ca/festivals/information.php?fest=SPARKA09

Word on the Street book festival is Sunday September 27 at Library Square. It’s free, and don’t forget to visit the local comic book creators on the lower floor of the library for Word Under the Street!

http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver

V-Con, Vancouver’s Science Fiction Fantasy & Gaming Convention, is October 2-4, 2009 at the Marriott Pinnacle Hotel. This includes a gallery & ‘artists alley’ from local fantasy & comic book artists, dealers room, panels, and a gaming schedule that includes D&D and lots of indie games some of which are designed by members of the Vancouver Gaming Guild.

http://www.vcon.ca – note the Games & Exhibits Only pass is available at a reduced rate.

The NFB’s Get Animated! Free screenings & animation workshops run from Oct 23-31.

http://films.nfb.ca/get-animated/event.php

ABOUT SECOND LEVEL WIZARDS:

Second Level Wizards Awesome Events Society is dedicated to making Vancouver a richer place for nerds, geeks and even dorks. Are you interested in coordinating your nerdy event with Second Level Wizards? Want some cross-promotion? Involved with a nerdy charity? Contact us at info@secondlevelwizards.com

Like what we’re doing so far? Suggest your own event ideas on our Facebook group or email us!

Important links:
info@secondlevelwizards.com
www.secondlevelwizards.com
Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=96115711613#/group.php?gid=37018764443&ref=ts
Twitter page http://twitter.com/2lw

Second Level Wizards will be helping to promote the NFB’s “Get Animated” series of events at the next Saturday Morning Cartoon Party (September 12 @ The Rio Theatre), and as part of that we’ll be showing a couple of classic NFB cartoon shorts from the 1970’s.

Stay tuned here for more news about the Saturday Morning Cartoon Party as it develops.

Learn more about Get Animated! at

http://films.nfb.ca/get-animated/

————————————————————————-

1. Ghostbusters 25th Anniversary Gala – June 20 @ The Rio Theatre from 10am-4pm.
We are currently in the planning stages for our Ghostbusters Gala celebrating 25 years of not bein’ afraid of no ghost. We’ll be showing the original film and mad stacks of never-before-seen tidbits.
As usual, we’re looking for sponsors so if you work for a toy, comic, video store or something that makes sense for providing prizes for Ghostbuster fans we’d love to hear from you.
Contests we’re considering in between film features include:
- Trivia/quote contest
- “And the Flowers Are Still Standing” – three tables on stage with dressing, whoever pulls the tablecloth off leaving the most amount of dressing standing wins. The only way we can pull this off is if we can find three inexpensive tables with dressing so if you have a line on such things please send an email to info@secondlevelwizards.com
Extra points for costumes.
Event page: http://tinyurl.com/rioghostbusters

2. CampyCon 2009 – July or August
Take your basement games out onto the campground. Dungeons & Dragons in the wild; Magic the Gathering on a picnic table; Pirates of the Spanish Main on a lake – imagine the possibilities! Head onto a campground during the day, game until dark and then keep gaming, snooze in your tent, wake up for more gaming, throw a hike in there somewhere, and head home. Best for a Saturday/Sunday outing.
Let us know if this is the sort of thing that interests you – if we get enough people involved we’ll start thinking about where and when to do this.

3. KhanCon – hailing frequencies closed (until the next movie)
KhanCon was a great success for all concerned. We have select photos courtesy of Taylor Latour’s on the Second Level Wizards site but you can see them all on Taylor’s flickr account.

Thanks once again to the cast of “Chains of Betrayal” for letting us screen their amazing home-made Next Generation episode, and to our sponsors Hothead Games, RX Comics, Videomatica, Elfsar Comics & Toys, Vancouver Gaming Guild, Arc Dream Publishing, & The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets.

4. Of Interest to Second Level Wizards:
Tuesday May 26 as part of DOXA the Vancity Theatre in concert with Elfsar Comics will be screening the film “The Dungeon Masters.” It’s “an exploration of the subculture of role-playing games, specifically Dungeons & Dragons, which for over 30 years has offered gamers the chance to escape their mundane lives and participate in a world they might otherwise never experience.” More info and tickets here.

ABOUT SECOND LEVEL WIZARDS:
Second Level Wizards Awesome Events Society are dedicated to making Vancouver a richer place for nerds, geeks and yes even dorks. Are you interested in coordinating your nerdy event with Second Level Wizards? Want some cross-promotion? Involved with a nerdy charity. Contact us at info@secondlevelwizards.com