The Baltimore Science Fiction Society has been hosting Maryland's premier science convention for over four decades. In fact, this year's Balticon is the forty-second, and will be held over the Memorial Day weekend of May 23-26 at the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn.  They feature over 300 Hours of multi-track programming featuring authors, publishers, editors, artists, scientists, musicians and other creative SF luminaries. Guests include author Connie Willis, artist John Jude Palencar, musical guest Urban Tapestry, 2007 Compton Crook Award Winner Naomi Novik, and their very special "Ghost of Honor" Douglas Adams (which goes a long way to explain their new logo design).

Balticon holds a special place in my fannish heart, for it was the very first convention to ever invite me as a guest.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the year they invited me and they've never invited me back, but I figure if I keep being nice to them they'll eventually get around to remembering me.  Hint, hint.    So come and join over a thousand fans for the Maryland area's largest and longest running convention of its kind, with a huge art show, dealer's room, concerts, dances, gaming room, computer room and video room... and tell them Kelly sent you.