If you’ll be at Skepticon tomorrow morning or early afternoon, don’t miss your chance to be part of the workshops. Skepticon added these for the first time last year. The sessions were crowded, even on Friday as many people were still traveling, and the reactions to them were so enthusiastic that I stole the idea for the Minnesota Atheists regional convention this summer–where the reactions were similarly enthusiastic.
These workshops are time for audience participation, and they allow time to be given to “niche” topics, ideas that don’t necessarily command main-stage attention. For example, there’s atheist music with Ashley Miller, Dave Muscato, JT Eberhard, and Shelley Segal. Rebecca Hensler will lead a session on how to manage grief, just before I lead a session on handling being criticized in public. Dave Muscato will talk about becoming a professional atheist, and Amanda Knief about using your activism on your résumé. Monette Richards will lead a session on swearing as an atheist, and there are two sessions on comics.
If you think workshops are a way to kill time before the main speakers, you couldn’t be more wrong. Check out the schedule, find the ones that interest you, then plan to be there a little early. Even last year, these things filled up quickly. Now that everyone knows how good they can be, seats will go even faster.* Don’t worry, though. There’s still plenty of good stuff going on on the main stage if you can’t get into a workshop.
*Workshop rooms are small and set up to hold as many people as possible. Please be aware of accommodation issues as you’re queuing up for the sessions. Getting wheelchairs and people with limited mobility in and out of the rooms can certainly be done as long as everyone else is willing to hold back a little in the crush.
