Portland Zine Symposium Update!

[Portland Zine Symposium]

Hello Portland Zine Symposium friends,

We've been hard at work trying to get everything up and running for this year's event! In fact, tables have sold out for both Saturday and Sunday for this year's PZS (August 11 and 12 at Refuge, 116 SE Yamhill). But don't despair! We've started a waitlist and hope to move some of those people off the waitlist as this year's set of tablers shakes out. Also, you don't have to have a table to have a great time at the zine symposium! We encourage people to sell and trade zines at the symposium regardless of having a table, and there will be plenty of workshops and activities taking place throughout the weekend for tablers and non-tablers alike. 

We've got lots of events coming up in June and July! If you are in Portland, please show your support for the zine symposium by coming and supporting us during some or all of our many fundraisers leading up to the Portland Zine Symposium! It's because of this community and your support that we are able to do this each year. 

First up, we're leading a Zine Bike Tour as part of Pedalpalooza on Thursday, June 21! We'll start at 5pm at Portland Button Works (1322 N Killingsworth St.). From there, we'll head off to In Other Words, then swing downtown to Reading Frenzy and the old IPRC. If you'd prefer a shorter ride, meet up with us there at 6:30pm for the second half of the tour. Next, we'll bike over to PSU (where many past zine symposiums have taken place), breeze by Refuge (current home of PZS), and end up at the new IPRC (1001 SE Division) at 9pm just in time for a bike-in movie! We'll have scheduled speakers and an open mic during the stops, so bring something to read and share!

The Bike-In Movie will be the culmination of the zine bike tour! (You are welcome and encouraged to join even if you can't join the bike tour.) We'll be playing The Goonies starting around 9pm on Thursday, June 21 at the IPRC (1001 SE Division). We'll have popcorn and drinks for sale as well as a raffle to help raise funds for this year's PZS. Suggested donation for the movie is $1-5. Bring chairs, pillows, and blankets to get cozy!

Please join us on Saturday, June 23, at the IPRC for the first-ever AmaZine Day! Starting at 2pm and going until 6pm. AmaZine Day is a new small press and mini zine fest taking place three times a year in the IPRC's expanded space! Celebrate zines and community with the PZS organizers at this farmer's market-like event. Our goal is to take the edge off of waiting all year for PZS, especially since we keep filling up each year! The event is FREE to attend, but you can also register for a little slice of table to sell and trade your zines for only $5! There are only 40 available spots, and you'll need to fit your zines in a tabloid-size area (11 by 17 inches). Sign up is in person only at the IPRC. All proceeds will go to the IPRC and PZS. In addition to zines, we'll also have live music, food, beer provided by Ninkasi, sodas from Hot Lips, and yetis.

We are currently looking for workshop and panel ideas for the 2012 Portland Zine Symposium! Do you have a skill you'd like to share? Is there an aspect of zining or self-publishing that you'd like to facilitate a discussion about? Do you want to get some of your friends together to do a panel about a certain topic? Awesome! Submit an online application! 

Are you an artist? We are looking for art donations for a PZS benefit show! Organized by Martha Grover, the art show will be in July at the Waypost (3120 N. Williams Ave). If you would like to donate art for our show, that would be rad! Email pdxz...@gmail.com for more details and information. The art opening will be on July 19th with lots of exciting speakers TBA!

Also, mark your calendars for the annual PZS 24-hour zine challenge, taking place at the IPRC on July 21! Get yourself one more zine finished for your PZS table, make some new friends over the dizzying madness of staying up too many hours, and help support PZS! We will be providing some supplies, snacks, and drinks, but anything you bring will help. Bring any supplies that you can't live without, and you might want to pack a pillow, blanket, and/or other snacks. It's $5 to register to help cover the cost of food and supplies. The IPRC has two copy machines on hand to help you create your fabulous zine, available for 5 cents per side for members and 10 cents for non-members. 

We hope to see you at the awesome events we have scheduled so far, and we'll be announcing lots more events taking place both before and during this year's symposium soon! 

-the 2012 PZS organizers