Panel Application

Most of Otafest’s programming is provided by community members like you who have creative ideas to present to their peers.

Whether you’re planning a game show, an educational talk, a competition in our arcade, or anything else, we love our community’s unique creativity and we’re excited to see what you have in store this year!

Panels at Otafest

A “panel” is a talk, performance, game show, or other event that you want to hold at Otafest. We provide the space, the chairs, the audience, and some equipment to help you be successful. We just need you and your ideas. This is your platform to share your passions with the world.

This is also the place to apply for competition submissions for our Otafest Arcade.

Room Setup

The standard panel room set up is theatre style seating (chairs for attendees, presentation area at the front of the room).
Otafest provides speakers, a mixer, a microphone, a projector, and a screen for each panel room.
You will need to provide your own laptop/device and any required adapters to connect it to the provided HDMI cable.
Otafest provides wireless internet connectivity for panelists, however it is shared between all panelists and is not sufficient for high-bandwidth operations such as streaming videos or large downloads. Please be cognizant of other presenters and use it fairly.
For Otafest Arcade submissions, we can provide TVs/Monitors by request (note it in the equipment request area). We cannot guarantee the items on your list, but we will try our best.

Panelist Discount

See the panelist terms & conditions for details, including how we will handle the situation if you’ve already pre-purchased your ticket online.

Panelist Terms & Conditions

GENERAL GUIDELINES
1. The Panelist must provide a detailed description of the content of their panel during the submission process.
  1. Should the content presented in the submission form conflict with the content observed during the panel, the Panel may be cancelled before it completes, and the Panelist will not be allowed to present at future events hosted by Otafest.
2. The content of the Panelist’s presentation must be appropriate for the age category it is placed in. Coarse language, excessive violence, nudity and/or partial nudity are not acceptable unless the panel is rated as “18+”.
  1. No presentation, regardless of whether it is rated as “18+” or not, will contain any depictions, reference to, or images of underage characters or persons in the nude, performing any sexual act, or in any other circumstances considered unlawful.
3. The Panelist must check in no later than 1 hour prior to the start of their presentation. The Panelist must accompany all assistants when they pick up their pass to verify eligibility.
4. There is a minimum 30-minute break between panels. The Panelist will arrive early to ensure that all equipment required for the presentation is set up and is in working order prior to the start time of the presentation.
5. Neither the Panelist nor any assistants may consume alcohol between the start time and end time of their panel.
6. The Panelist will finish the content of their presentation by the listed end time.
7. The Panelist will engage in appropriate behaviour towards all assistants, volunteers, attendees, staff members, and any member of the general public.
  1. Failure to do so may result in the Panelist being ejected and banned from presenting at future events held by Otafest.
8. The Panelist and all assistants must be at least 18 years of age on the day of their presentation if their presentation is deemed “18+”. No exceptions.
  1. All attendees at 18+ presentations are required to provide a piece of photo identification before they will be granted entrance to the room/area of the presentation.
9. The Panelist is responsible and accountable for the actions of all assistants and persons involved in the running of their presentation.
WAITLIST POLICY
1. If there are more panel applications than scheduled time for the event, Otafest may add the Panelist to a waitlist.
2. If the Panelist is placed on the waitlist, they must be prepared to provide a copy of their presentation without issue or delay if notified that their application has been accepted.
CANCELLATIONS
1. The Panelist is expected to run their presentation at the scheduled time. Should the Panelist be unable to run the presentation, they must notify the panels coordinator at panels@otafest.com prior to April 15, 2025 with a valid reason, failure to do so may result in the Panelist being banned from presenting at future events held by Otafest. All cancellations are handled on a case by case basis.
DISCOUNT POLICY
1. The Panelist and one (1) assistant (Primary Assistant) are entitled to a discounted weekend pass to Otafest 2025, the price of this pass is $20.00.
  1. If the Panelist and/or the Primary Assistant have pre-purchased a weekend pass online, they will be reimbursed for the amount they paid for the pass less $20.00 at Otafest.
2. If the Panelist is the host or Primary Assistant for 2 or more presentations they will be granted free admission to Otafest 2025.
  1. If the Panelist and/or the Primary Assistant have pre-purchased a weekend pass online, they will be reimbursed for the amount they paid for the pass less the service fees at Otafest.
3. Discounts apply only to weekend passes. The discounts do not apply to single day passes, Youth Passes, Child Passes, Angel Passes, or any other “special” Otafest passes.
4. The Panelist may have up to 10 assistants, however any assistants beyond the primary assistant are not entitled to the discount described above.
EQUIPMENT
1. Equipment needs will be addressed on a case by case basis and requested equipment is always subject to availability. It is ultimately the responsibility of the Panelist to provide any and all required equipment to ensure the success of their presentation.
DISCLAIMER
1. Otafest reserves the right to approve, deny, reschedule, or cancel any presentation at any time as Otafest deems fit.
2. Otafest accepts no responsibility or liability for the content of presentations hosted by the Panelist, assistants, or other attendees.
3. Otafest does not extend any form of legal protection to the Panelist. The Panelist is entirely responsible for ensuring the legality and safety of the content presented in their presentation.

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