Phoenix Rising - Harry Potter Conference

Site Updates

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June 12, 2007:		Future Communications If you ever have any questions or concerns about Phoenix Rising, don't hesitate to contact us. info@thephoenixrises.org will stay open, even as we begin closing the message boards and other e-mail addresses later this summer. Pirate Gold In a poetic outcome worthy of Jean Lafitte himself, Lumién, the house of all tellers of tales and more than a few pirates, took the Pirate Gold competition in a come-from-behind victory. Professor Bolton, known to his comrades hereinafter as the Pirate King, advanced upon the Information Desk late Sunday night, drawing scads upon scads of House Points from his pockets. His cunning, combined with his students' outstanding efforts in the Firewalking, Horcrux Hunt and Dueling competitions, made for an impressive surprise victory in which the pirates pocketed the Pirate Gold. Congratulations to all knaves, rogues and scurvy dogs! Final points standings for the Pirate Gold: Lumién: 2440 Bellereve: 2232 Zodico: 1867 Pontalbòn: 1449 Congratulations also to Amy of Bellereve and Alyson of Lumién, who successfully tracked and defeated the Dark Lord through the twists and turns of the Horcrux Hunt. Finally, a round of applause goes to the following individuals, all of whom won one or more of the Firewalking challenges: Jamie, Jeff, Lauren, Veronica, Beth, IndyWitch, Magick, Ginni, Julie, Traci, Denise, Twinkie the House-Elf, Marginaliana, Mad Maudlin, Matt, Violante, Hummingfox, Fluffy, Cena, Adalia, Millicent, and Woodchuck. Downloads Phoenix Rising has uploaded the Horcrux Hunt puzzles, hints and solutions as well as our Remembrall Wall and our Final Theory Wall, both of which serve as a tribute to the creativity, the wonder and the sheer magic of the Harry Potter fan community. You may find them on our lagniappe page. Finally, we have uploaded all New Orleans editions of From Ash and Flame, which you may find at the following links: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. You will need Adobe Reader to view these files; a free download for the program can be found here. Thank you again to our intrepid band of reporters, photographers and editors for their work keeping the wizarding world abreast of Phoenix Rising's goings-on. Media Coverage Thank you to all the media who attended Phoenix Rising! Stories have appeared on MTV, NBC and Salon.com, and in the St. Petersburg Times, among others, and we expect more in the upcoming weeks -- so keep your wands lit and your eyes peeled! Links to the stories can be found in our news archive. New Orleans Library Fundraising We are thrilled to report that the fundraising effort for the New Orleans Public Library, spearheaded by Professor Conrad and Bellereve House, raised over $2,000 for the libraries! The library also happily claimed all leftover copies of the audiobook of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that Phoenix Rising had available, courtesy of Listening Library. Thank you again for your support of our libraries, and if you're looking for a way to provide further support, please visit the Rebuild New Orleans Public Library website. Compendium Thank you to all our presenters who chose to participate in our compendium! We will be lightly editing your submissions over the next month, and we hope to have the book in the hands of the publisher before the light of summer fades. How quickly we can get the book out will depend on the publisher, but we're hoping for later this year. Sponsor Appreciation Again, we want to recognize our sponsors for their support of Phoenix Rising! As the first event of Narrate Conferences, Inc., we are flattered and humbled by your support of an untested enterprise. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts! Thank You One last time, thank you so, so much to everyone who took part in Phoenix Rising. Whether you exchanged a banner with us or gave a presentation, were part of our vendor room or volunteers, sponsored an event or simply attended the conference, Phoenix Rising would never have been as magnificent, welcoming and wonderful as it was without your contributions. We hope to see you next summer in Chicago, but even if we don't, we hope you know that we are honored that you chose to join us - and you made our weekend in New Orleans simply magical.
May 17, 2007:		The Phoenix Rising staff is in New Orleans! Please visit us at the information desk on the fifth floor of the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel at 500 Canal Street beginning at noon on Thursday, May 17, to ask questions and buy registrations and tickets — or just stop by to say hello! If you missed Phoenix Rising, we invite you to Terminus, the next stop on your Harry Potter adventure, which will be held August 7-11, 2008, in downtown Chicago, Illinois. We hope to see you there!
April 21, 2007:		The WWN Participants page was added. All Borders Riverside Quidditch Classic teams have been added to the teams page.
April 11, 2007:		Phoenix Rising online registration closed on April 11 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern. Attendees and ticket holders may no longer add tickets or programs to their registrations. However, if you would like to pay your balance or you have updates to make to your contact information, please use the Change My Registration or Tickets option. Because our online system is already closed, if you wish to transfer your registration, you must sign and notarize the form, and mail it to your transferee. Then the transferee must present this completed form, along with a photo ID, at the Phoenix Rising registration desk. The Phoenix Rising staff will then release the transferor's registration packet to the transferee, which will allow the transferee to attend the conference instead of the transferor. Two of the keynote presentations for Phoenix Rising have sold out.There are no remaining tickets for Transformation: From Influence to Inspiration with Dr. Anne Heibert Alton, or for Transformation: From Fan to Fandom, which is a unique walking dinner at the Aquarium of the Americas that will be followed by a panel on the fan community and include Dr. Henry Jenkins of MIT, Melissa Anelli (The Leaky Cauldron), Simon Branford (formerly of FictionAlley), Jennie "Zsenya" Levine (The Sugar Quill), and moderator Catherine Tosenberger. If there are any unclaimed tickets, they will be available at the door.
March 26, 2007:		Phoenix Rising has announced the final line-up for the Borders Riverside Quidditch Classic, to be held on May 19, 2007, as part of the Phoenix Rising conference activities. The tournament will include the Alivan’s Winged Lions, the Knight 62442 Werewolves; the Whimsic Alley Sea Serpents; the Borders Potion Masters; the Shrieking Shack Marauders; the Owl Appreciation Society Fighting Owls; the World Confederation of Pirates and Ninjas Pontchartrain Pirates; and the Betas Anonymous Punctuation Pixies. All teams will play at least three matches of outdoor Quidditch, complete with spectators, and at the end of the tournament, the winners will take home the famed Delta Cup. Visit the Quidditch teams' page for more information about each team. (Note: Not all mascot downloads are yet available. Please watch over the next couple weeks as we add more teams to our website, complete with mascot icons and desktops.) Additionally, non-attendees may take part in the tournament by visiting <http://www.thephoenixrises.org/registration> and using the "purchase tickets only" option. Until April 10, anyone may purchase Quidditch tournament registration, tickets for the Storyville wizard rock event on Bourbon Street, and for the keynote events, presented by Susan Aikens of Borders, Inc., Danny Bilson of Electronic Arts, Jon Burlingame of the University of Southern California, and Dr. Anne Heibert Alton, as well as for a unique walking dinner at the Aquarium of the Americas.
March 6, 2007:		Schedule page has been updated with the programming schedules for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as the Artists and Authors Night schedule.
February 20, 2007:		Registration price jumped to $180. Individuals may now purchase tickets to keynote events or special events (Storyville and professional Quidditch) separately from a registration by clicking here. Attendees may also purchase any ticket for non-attendees.
February 6, 2007:		Borders, Inc. today announced its corporate sponsorship of the 2007 Phoenix Rising conference, presented by Narrate Conferences, Inc. Vendors and Sponsors pages have been updated. The Quidditch page has been updated to include the new logo for the Borders Riverside Quidditch Classic. The Final Theory Wall, an interactive art project on which attendees can record their predictions and speculation about the series one last time, has been added to the Lagniappe page. At this time all House Quidditch player slots have been filled; pickup Quidditch is still available to all conference attendees, but we highly recommend participating in the Borders Riverside Quidditch Classic instead, as pickup matches tend to be very brief. All of Phoenix Rising's squashy purple sleeping bags have been sold! We may collect one or two over the coming months as we delete registration.
January 31, 2007:		We're thrilled to announce that several Wizard Rock bands will be playing our Storyville event, a private evening on Bourbon Street that combines classic New Orleans revelry with the magic of Harry Potter. Attendees will be able to indulge in the essence of wizarding New Orleans: Cajun cuisine, the largest balcony on Bourbon Street and some of the world's best wizard rock! The Wizard Rock bands include Draco and the Malfoys, The Parselmouths, The Remus Lupins and The Whomping Willows. Tickets to Storyville are $30 per person. Each ticket comes with a full Cajun-style buffet dinner, one drink ticket and wristband in-out access to the private Bourbon Street event.
January 15, 2007:		The Podcasts page was added. As Phoenix Rising approaches, our staff has begun putting together conference-related podcasts. Each podcast will feature members of our staff, attendees, sponsors, vendors and supporters discussing different aspects of our upcoming conference. Listening Library, a division of Random House, has partnered with Phoenix Rising and has been named the honorary sponsor of the Overture Dinner. Unfortunately, though, Listening Library Vice President Tim Ditlow, presenter for the Keynote Presentation Transformation: From Book to Audiobook, will be unable to speak on May 19, 2007. Susan Aikens of Borders, Inc., has graciously agreed to speak in Mr. Ditlow's place. As she brings a very different perspective on the Potter phenomenon, we have renamed the keynote to reflect her particular expertise on the Harry Potter books. The Keynote Presentation was renamed to Transformation: From Boxes to Bookshelves and Beyond.
January 5, 2007:		Student Essay Challenge information was added to the Contests and Promotions page. Phoenix Rising invites high school students who reside or attend school within the limits of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, St. Tammany, St. Charles, and St. John the Baptist parishes to enter the Phoenix Rising Student Essay Challenge with a written or digital essay. Five winners of the challenge will each receive a full weekend registration to Phoenix Rising, as well as a registration for a chaperone.
January 1, 2007:		From Fan to Fandom Challenge information was added to the Contests and Promotions page. Phoenix Rising has partnered with FictionAlley, The Leaky Cauldron and The Sugar Quill — three sites that have excelled in creating interactive spaces for fans — to create a challenge around the keynote presentation, Transformation: From Fan to Fandom, and the amazing Harry Potter fandom.
December 11, 2006:		House avatars and desktops are now available and were added to the Downloads page and to the Houses page.
December 6, 2006:		The Newsroom Archive page, which contains mentions of Phoenix Rising in the news, was added. Wireless Web Network pages were added, including its history.
November 27, 2006:		Gift Certificate System opened.
November 14, 2006:		Accepted Proposals page was added.
October 16, 2006:		To accommodate some planned system upgrades, the deadline for submissions has been extended to 11:59 p.m. EST on November 4, 2006.
September 29, 2006:		A RSS feed of the Site Updates page was added.
September 17, 2006:		The faculty of L'Université page was added. Quidditch Teams page was updated.
September 1, 2006:		Registration price jumped to $160.
August 31, 2006:		Rhythm Revue promotion sold out. The houses of L'Université page was added.
August 29, 2006:		Sponsors and Vendors pages were added. The CaféPress store has opened.
August 22, 2006:		Bayou Quidditch League page was added. Quidditch Rules page was updated.
August 9, 2006:		Special Event and Keynote Presentation tickets are on sale and may be purchased through the online registration system. Keynote Presentations page was updated to include menu descriptions.
July 17, 2006:		The L'Université des Arts Magiques and the history of L'Université pages were added.
July 5, 2006:		The Latest News page has been updated. Artists and Authors Night pages were added, including information about the Call for Participation and Elements. Gallery pages were added, including the Prospectus. The Exploratory Programming submissions system has opened. The Keynote Presentations page has been updated with the final two presentations. The Guests of Honor page was updated.
June 28, 2006:		Amazon Associate page was added.
June 26, 2006:		Rendezvous and Rendezvous Instructions pages were added.
May 14, 2006:		Keynote Presentations and Storyville pages were added. Venues, Events, and Quidditch pages were updated.
May 5, 2006:		The Press Kit, Sponsorship Kit, and Vendor Kit were added.
April 18, 2006:		Guests of Honor page was added.
April 12, 2006:		Vetting boards was updated with information about review board members.
April 5, 2006:		Masquerade Ball page was added. Tell a Friend feature was added.
March 31, 2006:		Submission system opened.
March 29, 2006:		Change My Registration system opened. Registration price jumped to $140.
March 6, 2006:		"Step Off" early registrant t-shirt promotion sold out.
February 28, 2006:		Registration system opened. The initial price was $115.
January 29, 2006:		Website opened.