12th annual South Eastern Laser Enthusiast's Meeting (SELEM 2018)
Tuesday, August 7th through Sunday, August 12th
at the Newton-Conover Auditorium in Newton, North Carolina.
Register via Paypal: selempayment@gmail.com
Be sure to include your shirt size! (Sizes: Small to 4X)
Early registration – now through May 31st (Guaranteed a shirt) $109 EARLY REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
Standard registration - June 1st through July 20th (Guaranteed a shirt) $149 STANDARD REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
Late registration or at the door – July 22nd through the end of the event (no guarantee of a shirt) $179
Please note that registration fees are non-refundable.
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Guests are free to attend. Generally, guests are family or friends of the people who attend and who may share some interest in lasers or laser shows. However, guests are not laserists themselves. If they are, they should register as attendees and not guests. Please do not abuse this policy.
Teenage children are allowed to attend if they are mature enough to follow rules and be responsible. Young children (under 13) are discouraged from attending, and may only attend if they are continually supervised by a parent or guardian. Note that all minors must have a parent present at the event.
Liability waivers (see attached) will be required for all persons (this includes registered attendees and all guests). Minors will need a parent or guardian to sign their waiver. When you arrive, go to the loading dock entrance first and sign your waiver at the sign-in table in the hallway.
Once your waiver is signed, you will be issued a lanyard with a name badge, and if you registered in time (before July 20th) you will receive your official SELEM shirt. (Extra shirts for yourself or your guests are completely optional and may be purchased in advance for $20.)
Also, just a reminder that ABSOLUTELY NO WEAPONS OF ANY KIND, ESPECIALLY FIREARMS, WILL BE PERMITTED AT SELEM. THIS INCLUDES ALL INDOOR SPACES AS WELL AS THE OUTDOOR AREAS SURROUNDING THE AUDITORIUM AND THE SCHOOL. If you have a concealed-carry permit, leave your weapon in your car and don't park it on the auditorium block. The auditorium is under the jurisdiction of the Newton City Police Department and they will be enforcing this policy.
Event schedule:
Tuesday, August 7th: Start at 10 AM, run until 9 PM. Load-in and set-up. We will be setting up 3 spaces again this year: in the Auditorium, the former Cafeteria, and the old Gymnasium. EDIT: We will not be able to access the gym, so "Club-SELEM" will be moved to the old Cafeteria.
Wednesday, August 8th through Saturday, August 11th: Start at 10 AM, run until Midnight. Typical SELEM activities running all day in multiple areas. Note: This year we can extend until 2 AM Friday and Saturday night if we want.
Sunday, August 12th: Start at 10 AM, run until 6 PM. Pack-up, load-out, clean-up, and say your goodbye’s.
Sunday night, August 12th: Special event starts at 8:00 PM - Free outdoor concert and laser show on the grounds in front of the Catawba County Museum of History in downtown Newton. Music by the Western Piedmont Symphony Orchestra and lasers provided by a few select members of PhotonLexicon. (Beams and graphics) This is part of a public outreach campaign to raise awareness among the town's leaders as to the impact SELEM has on the community. The hope is to build goodwill that will keep SELEM affordable for the foreseeable future.
General layout:
Auditorium will be used for running pre-choreographed graphics and abstract shows, along with pre-choreographed multi-projector beam shows. At least one Z-5 analog console will be in here, along with several solid state projectors (for both beams and graphics), a dedicated Kr/Ar mixed-gas whitelight laser with two scan heads for graphics, and possibly a pair of full color ion lasers on stage for beam effects.
Cafeteria area will be the "enthusiast display space", or as I like to call it, the show-off room! The focus will be on home-made projectors, laser modules, and other cool items (including non-laser projects). There may be a space for one or two commercial products to be displayed as well. (Note: this is not a trade show. Any commercial displays are to be low-key and in good taste, in keeping with the hobbyist/enthusiast character of this event, and will be approved on a case-by-case basis.) We will definitely have a Z-5 console in here, along with other interactive displays. Some of the interactive presentations will take place in the cafeteria, and the indoor drone racing demonstration will also be held here. General projector maintenance should be performed in this space as well.
Gymnasium will be used for “Club-SELEM” as in the past. This space will be dedicated to live beam shows. Open consoles will be available for those who want to try their hand at running a show "live". We may have one or two presentations in this space related to live show control, and we may also have live DJs playing in this space at times.
Stage area (behind the main curtain) will be the buy / sell / trade area. There may also be some quick projector repair going on here, but most of that should be done either in the cafeteria (for solid state) or the Men's dressing room (for ion lasers requiring 3 phase power and water).
Men's dressing room will be the ion laser work room, as before. Exposed high voltage and high-power beams in this room! Always ask before entering if the door is closed.
Woman’s dressing room will be used for drinks, food, and snacks storage.
Gallery area (lobby) will be used for training and some demonstration / presentations.
We have a group rate locked in at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Conover for the "SELEM Laser Group". You call call them at (828) 465-7070 or go on-line to reserve your room. Rates are good from Monday, Aug 6th through Sunday night, August 12th. Standard room rate is $103 per night, and a suite is $125 per night. Direct On-Line Booking Link For Group Rate (The rates are going up because they will have renovated all the rooms in the hotel by the time SELEM happens.) Note, however, that the conference room area will not be available for our use this year. That area is being retrofitted to provide additional seating for the breakfast section, and the work won't be finished in time for SELEM. The manager is willing to provide us another space (either an empty regular room or possibly a suite) that we can use for the evening gathering. Details to follow as we get closer.
More information concerning the special presentation schedule and sign-up information for show display time slots will be coming soon. If you have any questions or suggestions, please post them below. And remember, registration is now open. The longer you wait to sign up, the more it costs, so sign up early!
One final note: a few people have expressed an interest in repeating the ILDA Laser Safety Officer Course on Monday, August 13th after SELEM is over. We would need a minimum of 6 people to sign up for this class to make it happen. If you want to take the class, reply below and I'll start a list. As soon as we're sure we can get enough people, I'll contact Greg Makhov and set it up.
List of registered attendees:
Buffo
Bradfo69
Araugh
Rodman1369
Dkumpula
Swamidog
Telmnstr
SaltyRobot
Singlemode
HankLloydRight
Icecruncher
Chexmex
LazerJock
Baptist Bob (Rvto3)
Saltydog
532withEnvy
DiscothefunkyHippo
Firstlight_Mike Dad
LupineLaser
Firstlight_Mike
Hitekvoop
Bradstockdale
Flecom
BradleyJay
Whitcher88
Lumia
Countfunkula
Djeric68
10Fenny
Badscr
Lulighttech
Djtransistor
Kecked
ILDAdirect
Kang
Mattronium
StonewolfStudios
HardstyleToaster
Krztov
Maxcady
Mariomaster
Jeff (Jefferythe00)
Afturmath
DZ
Joe Hopkins
DanBarlow
Aberry
2018SELEMrelease.pdf