I want to go to ALL these panels! (Sadly, I will not be anywhere near Maryland in June. :'( )
eta, re: #7 - like, ALL of my RL friends in NYC/SF are fannish. I have dinner parties and they accidentally turn into fandom get-togethers. I've run a small-scale con (Spuffycon, August 2011, ten people) with folks from across the US, but also sometimes I just go out to dinner with folks with no main fandoms in common and we have a great time. I wish I could help you mod, but my advice would be like "live in a major city" "be skilled in preparing good food or know where the food is" "know which of your buds not to put in the same room."
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eta, re: #7 - like, ALL of my RL friends in NYC/SF are fannish. I have dinner parties and they accidentally turn into fandom get-togethers. I've run a small-scale con (Spuffycon, August 2011, ten people) with folks from across the US, but also sometimes I just go out to dinner with folks with no main fandoms in common and we have a great time. I wish I could help you mod, but my advice would be like "live in a major city" "be skilled in preparing good food or know where the food is" "know which of your buds not to put in the same room."