Otherkin

Registration for Shining Hearth closes in 10 days

2026-03-16T22:55:57Z

Posted by: arethinn

General registration for Shining Hearth will close in 10 days, on March 26th. Nothing formal is planned for that evening, but it is a low-key "lobbycon" as people check in, take a look around, and say hello. Arethinn may stream a mythic- or fae-themed game around 8-10 PM Pacific time or so. Register here to attend the gathering!

https://www.shininghearth.net

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Shining Hearth staff sign-ups close today; ~3.5 weeks left to register

2026-03-02T18:42:54Z

Posted by: arethinn

Staff sign-ups for Shining Hearth are closing today. We're pretty well supplied with staff for the Americas and Europe, but are still seeking someone from the Australasia region. You can apply here.

General registration has just 3.5 more weeks to go -- closing March 26th! Register to attend here.

We are still also seeking someone who would be willing to run a game session of Cards Against Humanity (we can set you up to do this), Jackbox, Gartic Phone (available within Discord), or something similar that is multiplayer and free to play, on Sunday March 29th from 14:00 to 16:00 Central European Time. If you're interested in doing that, reply to this post or email staff (at) shininghearth (dot) net.

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 27-29, 2026). The server and event are 18+ only. There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and plenty of time just to hang out and chat. For more information, see our website.

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Shining Hearth schedule posted; Staff and general registration still open

2026-02-15T01:47:56Z

Posted by: arethinn

Shining Hearth schedule posted; Staff and general registration still open

The schedule for this year's Shining Hearth has been posted to the website! We have presentations on fairy glamour, memories, music in relation to magical systems, otherkin plurality, faery art, dream interpretation, color magic, fairy genealogy, two journeys to places of refuge and healing, and a recipe swap.

Staff moderator signups are still open through March 2nd. We're particularly seeking at least one staff member who would be available in the afternoon and early evening in the Australasia region. Sign up here.

General registration continues to be open through March 26th. Register to attend here.

We are still also seeking someone who would be willing to host a game session of Cards Against Humanity (we can set you up to do this), Jackbox, Gartic Phone (available within Discord), or something similar that is multiplayer and free to play, on Sunday March 29th from 14:00 to 16:00 CET. If you're interested in doing that, reply to this post or email staff (at) shininghearth (dot) net.

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Shining Hearth Staff sign-ups are open

2026-02-01T00:25:21Z

Posted by: arethinn

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 27-29, 2026). The server and event are 18+ only. There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and plenty of time just to hang out and chat. For more information, see our website.

Sign-ups to be Staff at Shining Hearth are now open! Our Staff moderators watch chat on the server to make sure everyone is abiding by our Code of Conduct, deal with any conflicts that may arise, and may be asked to assist with Presenter check-ins. We are well-staffed for the Americas this year, so are particularly seeking staff from UK/Europe and Australasia (or other places that align with those time zones) to support events happening at those times of the day. Applications will be accepted through March 2nd or while space is available. Sign up to be staff here.

Late Presenter sign-ups will be accepted for two more weeks, through February 13th. The Australasia block is still mostly open and there's a few slots open for UK/Europe. The Americas block is full at this time, but we also accept applications as backups in case someone has to cancel between now and March. (Please note that while you can apply with a brief description, that the deadline for final titles/descriptions is also February 13th. We recommend entering your final text into the form if you can.) Sign up to present here.

General registration is still open through March 26th. Register to attend here.

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Late Presenter sign-ups for Shining Hearth accepted through February 13th

2026-01-16T22:11:17Z

Posted by: arethinn

Our event schedule is taking shape, and a quick preview of the workshops that have been submitted for Shining Hearth so far is now available at the top of the schedule page on our website.

Not all slots have been filled, so we are accepting late Presenter sign-ups through February 13th or while space is available. There is plenty of space in the Australasia block and Europe is 50% filled. We currently have a full schedule in the Americas block, but you can still apply to be a backup in case someone has to drop out. Please note when applying late that while you can fill out the form with a brief description, the deadline for final titles and descriptions is coming up soon, so you may be asked to supply that information on short notice, especially if you are a backup who winds up actually on the schedule.

Sign up to present here.

General registration to attend is open through March 26th.

Staff sign-ups will begin at the end of this month. We are well-staffed for the Americas, but are especially seeking staff from Europe and Australasia, to support presentations and movies/games happening at those times of day!

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General registration for Shining Hearth is open -- Still seeking Presenters

2026-01-01T21:27:24Z

Posted by: arethinn

General registration for Shining Hearth is open! Register to attend here. If you are already a member of the server, you do not need to register again.

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 27-29, 2026). The server and event are 18+ only. (If you are completely new to Discord, we have a newcomers' guide here. PDF, 3.37 MB) There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and plenty of time just to hang out and chat. For more information see our website.

"Do I have to be Elf/Fae/Sidhe/Tuatha?" No; others are welcome. However, those kinds are our target audience, and we stick to that theme as much as possible.

"When will the schedule be posted?" We aim for mid-February. So far we've received proposals about fairy genealogy, alterhuman LARPing, fairy glamour, soundscapes for meditation and other 'kin-related purposes, intuitive faery art, and color magic. We will likely see the return of the perennially popular Realm of Refuge, and possibly have a ritual working on Bringing Home the Balefire.

We are still seeking Presenters! Currently there are a few slots open for the Americas block, three for Australasia, and the Europe block is still entirely open. Presentations can be on any topic that would be of interest to elfae folk and can be in any format: lecture, panel, group discussion, demonstration, ritual, meditation, performance, etc. Timeslots are 1 hour long, but you don't have to fill up the whole time. Sign up to present here.

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Many presentation slots still open for Shining Hearth; general registration begins soon

2025-12-16T20:53:46Z

Shining Hearth Presenter sign-ups ongoing

2025-12-01T02:18:06Z

Posted by: arethinn

We're about two weeks into the sign-up period to present at Shining Hearth, and have already received four proposals. There's still plenty of timeslots available through the weekend for all three regions outlined in the schedule - Americas, Europe, and Australasia.

Presentations can be on any topic that would be of interest to elfae folk and can be in any format: lecture, panel, group discussion, demonstration, ritual, meditation, performance, etc. Timeslots are 1 hour long; you don't have to fill the whole time, but should use at least 30 minutes. Solo and group presentations are both accepted. (If you want to sign up as a group, choose one person to be the contact and only fill out the form once. All members of the group must be over 18.)

Interested in presenting, but need inspiration for a topic? Check out the schedules from our past events, or see this compilation of workshop descriptions from various otherkin gathers.

Ready to sign up? Fill out the form here!

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Shining Hearth presenter sign-ups are open!

2025-11-14T22:40:18Z

Posted by: arethinn

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 27-29, 2026). The server and event are 18+ only. There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and plenty of time just to hang out and chat. For more information, see our website.

Presenter sign-ups are now open for next year's Shining Hearth! Presentations can be on any topic that would be of interest to elfae folk and can be in any format: lecture, panel, group discussion, demonstration, ritual, meditation, performance, etc. Timeslots are 1 hour long. (You don't have to fill up that whole time, but should use at least 30 minutes.) There are time options available for those in the Americas, Europe, and Australasia. If you want to present as a group, choose one person to be the primary contact and only fill out the form once. (All members of the group must be 18 or older and must agree to the Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct.)

Presenter applications will be accepted through January 16, 2026, or while space is available. The signup form is here.

Interested in presenting, but need inspiration for a topic? Check out the schedules from previous years here, or see this compilation of workshop descriptions from otherkin gathers of yore.

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Shining Hearth 2026

2025-11-01T03:09:06Z

Posted by: arethinn

Announcing the sixth annual Shining Hearth, a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk! It will be held on March 27-29, 2026, the fourth weekend in March, on our Discord server. (If you are unfamiliar with Discord, we have a guide for newcomers here. (PDF, 3.37 MB) As always, we plan to have workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and of course plenty of time just to hang out and chat. You can get all the details and sign up for our newsletter on our website.

As with last year, we're starting out with an expanded schedule framework, hoping to have more offerings at times of the day that are more accessible to those attending from the eastern hemisphere. To do so we will need to have presenters willing to present at suitable times, staff to do presenter check-in duties and moderate chat, and streamers to host video watch parties or run games!
If you are a member of any otherkind spaces that are focused on those regions (or just have a high population of non-North-Americans) where you could assist with outreach, or have any other brainstorms, we welcome any suggestions and advice. If you're in Europe/Africa/Asia/Australia/wherever yourself, we encourage you to consider applying to present or be staff, or volunteering to stream a movie (or similar item) or host a game session.

Please note that the event and server are 18+ only. For more information about our policies, see the FAQ.

Important dates:
Presenter sign-ups: November 14, 2025 - January 16, 2025
General registration: January 1 - March 26, 2026
Staff sign-ups: January 31 - March 2, 2026
Schedule posted: mid-February 2026
The gathering: March 27-29, 2026

Feel free to ask any questions here or email staff (at) shininghearth.net. We hope to see ye elfae folk there!

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Ye Auld Glamourbombs

2025-06-15T01:27:16Z

Posted by: arethinn

I was going through old LiveJournal memories links, as I'm thinking of finally deleting one of my LJ accounts... I had a whole category for posts in the community glamourbombs. This is just a selection. (Some, I was kinda "meh" on reading them just now; and a couple were like... yeah, in 2005 you maybe could have done that without getting shot, but you'd be taking your life in your hands, now.) Some are more about general philosophy/technique than specific prompt ideas.

Glamour vs. Glitter
Fae trees on maps
Tailoring to your audience
Faerie treasure maps
The Glamour Bomb Squad
Engaging with the chemically enhanced outside of clubs
Catching Robin Goodfellow
Faerie Forum, Downtown
Save Pixies!

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Shining Hearth post-gathering report

2025-04-07T05:49:46Z

Posted by: arethinn

This year's Shining Hearth wrapped up two weeks ago, so it's time for our post-event summary.

This was a bit of a crazy year! 86 people attended, which is over 1.5x last year, and closing on triple our first year (2021). Most surprising to us was that many new registrations said they had heard about the event on Tumblr, despite the fact that we have never made outreach posts there, so word must have gotten around in a more organic way. Other than the Opening Ceremonies, the most-attended presentation reached 45 people, which is also more than 1.5x the largest from last year, and a big enough leap that we need to start thinking about how to accomodate larger crowds in the future!

We will put up some more detailed information from our anonymous demographic survey on the website eventually, but briefly:

We had mostly fae and elves, but there were also significant numbers of therians and dragons.

Median age of those attending was about 30.

Most were from North America, but about a fifth were from Europe, and a few of us were from Australia/Aotearoa and South or Central America.

This year we tried to expand our schedule for the benefit of those in Europe and Australasia. We had limited success, but did manage to have two movie/game sessions and one workshop placed in the afternoon European time. The schedule is entirely dependent on who volunteers to present or stream, so hopefully we will get some more takers from those areas of the world next year!

Our event dates next year will be Friday, March 27th through Sunday, March 29th, 2026. If you joined the server this year and would like to attend next year, you won't need to register again; just stay a member, and you'll be able to check in again next March. Announcements about next year's event will begin in October.

Be well, everyone, and you will hear from us again in about six months!

https://www.shininghearth.net

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Last chance to register for Shining Hearth 2025

2025-03-20T19:15:44Z

Posted by: arethinn

Registration for Shining Hearth closes today! We're a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk. 18+ only. Full information is available on our website. Register to attend here.

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Registration for Shining Hearth closes in 5 days

2025-03-16T02:54:45Z

Posted by: arethinn

General registration for Shining Hearth will close in just 5 days, on March 20th. "What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 21-23, 2025). The server and event are 18+ only. There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and plenty of time just to hang out and chat. For more information including our policies and this year's schedule, check out our website.

Register here to attend the gathering!

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Shining Hearth staff sign-ups close today; ~3 weeks left to register

2025-02-28T20:34:13Z

Posted by: arethinn

Staff sign-ups for Shining Hearth are closing today. We're pretty well supplied with staff this year, but if you wish to be considered as a backup in case someone drops out in the next couple of weeks, you can apply here.

There's now a little less than 3 weeks to go for general registration for the gathering -- closing March 20th! Register to attend here.

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 21-23, 2025). The server and event are 18+ only. See this year's schedule here!

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Shining Hearth schedule posted; Staff and general registration still open

2025-02-14T21:01:58Z

Posted by: arethinn

The schedule for this year's Shining Hearth has been posted to the website! This page now shows dates and times in your local time, so hopefully there will not be much confusion over when something is taking place.

Staff moderator signups are still open through February 28th. Because we are using one of the UK/Europe timeslots (Saturday 15:30-16:30 CET/UTC+1), although we think we can handle it if necessary with our staff based in the US, it would be nice to get a staff member who is based in that part of the world. Sign up here.

General registration continues to be open through March 20. Register to attend here.

We are still also seeking someone who would be able to stream a movie or similar content at some point on Saturday or Sunday between 10:00 and 22:00 CET, since our other movie slots are not accessible for people in that area. If you're interested in doing that, email staff (at) shininghearth (dot) net.

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Shining Hearth Staff sign-ups are open; late Presenter sign-ups close next week

2025-01-31T20:05:07Z

Posted by: arethinn

Sign-ups to be Staff at Shining Hearth are now open! Our Staff moderators watch chat on the server to make sure everyone is abiding by our Code of Conduct, deal with any conflicts that may arise, and may be asked to assist with Presenter check-ins. Applications will be accepted through February 28th. Sign up to be staff here.

Late Presenter sign-ups will be accepted for one more week, through February 7th. There is still plenty of space in the Europe/UK and Australia/Asia blocks. The Americas block is tentatively full at this time, but we accept applications as backups in case someone has to cancel between now and March. Sign up to present here.

General registration is still open through March 20th. Register to attend here.

We are also seeking someone who can stream a movie (or similar content) or host a free-to-play game between approximately 10:00 and 22:00 UK/European time on Saturday 22 March and/or Sunday 23 March. If you have something you can offer, please fill out the Presenter form and indicate this is what you are interested in doing in the place where it asks you to describe your presentation; or email staff@shininghearth.net.

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Late Presenter signups still open for Shining Hearth; request for EU movie/game stream

2025-01-22T02:18:38Z

Posted by: arethinn

There's a couple of presentation timeslots still available in the Americas block and plenty still available in the Europe and Asia/Australia blocks. We also like to have several backups on hand in case of last-minute cancellations. Late presenter signups will close on February 7th. (Please note that the later you sign up, the sooner you will be asked to complete reading the Presenter documents, have your final workshop title and description prepared, and give final confirmation your timeslot!) Presenter signup form

Also, there has been a request to have an officially scheduled game or movie slot in a timeframe that would be more accessible to European members. We'd love to do this, but much of the desired time is late at night or very early in the morning for the current staff who are all in the US, and the other half of it overlaps the workshops we are helping run (or in some cases presenting). If you would be available to stream a video or host a free-to-play game between approximately 10:00 and 22:00 UK or European time on Saturday 22 March and/or Sunday 23 March, please fill out the Presenter form and indicate this is what you are interested in doing in the place where it asks you to describe your presentation; or email staff@shininghearth.net.

General registration is open here through March 20th.

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 21-23, 2025). The server and event are 18+ only. There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and plenty of time just to hang out and chat. For more information, see our website.

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Late Presenter sign-ups for Shining Hearth accepted through February 7th

2025-01-10T22:26:04Z

Posted by: arethinn

A quick preview of the workshops that have been submitted for Shining Hearth so far is now available at the top of the schedule page on our website.

Today (January 10th) is officially the last day for presenter signups, but we still have a couple of timeslots available in the Americas schedule block, plus plenty of slots in the Europe and Asia/Australia blocks. Therefore we will be accepting late Presenter sign-ups through February 7th or while space is available. Please note that timeslot selections may be limited depending on your region, and your proposal may not be added immediately, but kept on hand as a backup in case someone else has to drop out. Sign up to present here.

General registration to attend is open through March 20th.

Staff sign-ups will begin at the end of this month. To support potential presenters from Europe and Asia/Australia, we will be seeking staff from those regions as well!

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General registration for Shining Hearth is open; still seeking Presenters

2025-01-02T02:35:05Z

Posted by: arethinn

General registration for Shining Hearth is now open! Register to attend here.

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 21-23, 2025). The server and event are 18+ only. There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and plenty of time just to hang out and chat. For full information, see our website.

"Do I have to be Elf/Fae/etc.?" No, but it is our target audience, and we try to stick to that theme.

"When will the schedule be posted?" We aim for mid-February. So far we've received proposals for tips on glamour; fae identity and human gender; fae "traps"; maintaining a connection with the otherworld in times of toil; the return of the perennially popular Realm of Refuge; and possibly the Divination Salon.

We are still seeking Presenters! Currently the schedule for the Americas is still about half open, and we have not received any sign-ups from elsewhere in the world, so all those extra slots are still available as well. Presentations can be on any topic that would be of interest to elfae folk and can be in any format: lecture, panel, group discussion, demonstration, ritual, meditation, performance, etc. Timeslots are 1 hour long, but you don't have to fill up the whole time. Sign up to present here.

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Many presentation slots still open for Shining Hearth; general registration begins soon

2024-12-21T00:27:59Z

Posted by: arethinn

We're now six weeks into the sign-up period to present at Shining Hearth. This has been a bit of a slow year and so far we have only two sign-ups plus a maybe, so we're looking for at least seven more presenters to fill out the timeslots aimed at the Americas, as well as still seeking anyone from Europe or east Asia/Australia regions to help us expand into those parts of the clock.

Timeslots are 1 hour long; you don't have to fill the whole time, but should use at least 30 minutes. Applications will be accepted for three more weeks, through January 10. Presenter application form

General registration will begin in a little less than two weeks, on January 1st!

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 21-23, 2025). The server and event are 18+ only. There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and plenty of time just to hang out and chat. For more information, see our website.

eta: The link to the presenter sign-up form has been corrected! If you tried to sign up and were told that the form would not open until a date in November 2024, please try again.

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Shining Hearth Presenter sign-ups ongoing

2024-12-07T02:48:04Z

Posted by: arethinn

We're now four weeks into the sign-up period to present at Shining Hearth, and are still sitting at two presenter applications. That means there's many timeslots available through the weekend for all three regions outlined in the schedule - Americas, Europe, and Australia/Asia.

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 21-23, 2025). The server and event are 18+ only. There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and plenty of time just to hang out and chat. For more information, see our website.

Presentations can be on any topic that would be of interest to elfae folk and can be in any format: lecture, panel, group discussion, demonstration, ritual, meditation, performance, etc. Timeslots are 1 hour long; you don't have to fill the whole time, but should use at least 30 minutes. Solo and group presentations are both accepted. (If you want to sign up as a group, choose one person to be the contact and only fill out the form once. All members of the group must be over 18.)

Interested in presenting, but need inspiration for a topic? Check out the schedules from past events, or see this compilation of workshop descriptions from various otherkin gathers.

Ready to sign up? Fill out the form here!

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Shining Hearth Presenter sign-ups ongoing

2024-11-23T06:55:49Z

Posted by: arethinn

We're two weeks into the sign-up period to present at Shining Hearth, and have received two sign-ups already. There's still plenty of timeslots available through the weekend for all three regions outlined in the schedule - Americas, Europe, and Australia/Asia.

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 21-23, 2025). The server and event are 18+ only. There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and plenty of time just to hang out and chat. For more information, see our website.

Presentations can be on any topic that would be of interest to elfae folk and can be in any format: lecture, panel, group discussion, demonstration, ritual, meditation, performance, etc. Timeslots are 1 hour long; you don't have to fill the whole time, but should use at least 30 minutes. Solo and group presentations are both accepted. (If you want to sign up as a group, choose one person to be the contact and only fill out the form once. All members of the group must be over 18.)

Interested in presenting, but need inspiration for a topic? Check out the schedules from past events, or see this compilation of workshop descriptions from various otherkin gathers.

Ready to sign up? Fill out the form here!

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Shining Hearth registration closes today

2024-03-20T18:39:03Z

Posted by: arethinn

Registration for Shining Hearth closes today, March 20th! Register here.

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, and adjacent folk, beginning this Friday, March 22. 18+ only. For full information, see our website.

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Shining Hearth registration closes in 5 days

2024-03-15T21:09:37Z

Posted by: arethinn

"What's Shining Hearth?" It's a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk, held on Discord on the fourth weekend in March (March 22-24, 2024). The server is 18+ only. There are workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and time just to hang out and chat. For full information, including this year's schedule of 10 presentations, see our website.

Just one week left to go until Shining Hearth begins for 2024! So far this month we've been going through technical rehearsals with all our presenters and working on getting movies and/or games lined up for Friday and Saturday nights. Registration for the gathering will close in 5 days, on Wednesday, March 20th! Register here.

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