Hey all, Stanpai here!

As many of you have already heard, I recently unveiled plans for the Newgrounds Summer Festival! As described in the original post, the event is a virtual convention for the Newgrounds community to come together and experience the wonders of con-going from the comfort of the internet.

Reception thus far has been pretty awesome, and my inbox has been popping off with questions and comments. With that said, I wanted to give our first update to give people the full rundown thus far.

When & Where

As noted in the banner, the Newgrounds Summer Festival is slated to land on June 25th weekend. While the schedule is currently in its infancy, the goal is to have programming start on Friday night and wrap up on Sunday. The formal event will be hosted on a Discord server where panelists will gather to stream their panels to attendees.

Out of consideration of the various kinds of content featured here on Newgrounds and for the safety of users, the event Discord will only be accessible to users that are 18 years of age or older. Age verification will be required to gain access to the Discord.

For those who are unable to access the Discord, there will also be a public livestream showcasing SFW content during the event.

Panels

Panelist applications started rolling in almost immediately after the event was announced, so if you're interested in getting involved, now is the time to apply! The Newgrounds Summer Festival is currently looking for awesome programming that will serve as the meat and potatoes of the experience. Panels can consist of anything from workshops to general presentations or community events. The only hard limits on what you can present are time, place, and your own creativity.

As mentioned on the announcement post, we're looking for panels covering the following categories:

• Animation
• Gamedev
• Audio
• Art
• Newgrounds History & Culture

In addition, if you have an awesome idea for a panel that doesn't fall into the above categories, we're still interested in seeing them! As mentioned before, the only limits are your creativity, so please take this opportunity to express yourself and show us what you've got!

Applicants are permitted to submit more than one panel!

SFW panels will be broadcast live on the Newgrounds Summer Festival YouTube channel for viewers of all ages.

NSFW panels and events will be exclusively hosted in the Discord.

Please note you must be 18 or older to host a panel.

Click here to fill out the Panel Application

The panel application deadline is set for June 1st, so do not delay in submitting your applications!

Events & Contests

If you're interested in hosting an event or contest during the Newgrounds Summer Festival, please contact me with the details via DM.

Volunteer Staff

Because this is a community event with plenty of moving pieces, I want to build a crack team of staffers to help keep things moving smoothly. The Newgrounds Summer Festival Staff Application is currently open for volunteers! If you've got experience working conventions or just want to give back to the Newgrounds community in this way, this position could be for you!

The exact responsibilities of volunteers will be determined on a case by case basis, but what matters most is that you've got the initiative, the goodwill, and the love for Newgrounds to make it happen.

Please note you must be 18 or older to staff the event.

Click here to fill out the Staff Application

The staff application deadline is set for June 1st, so do not delay in submitting your applications!

Art & Assets

Are you an artist interested in having some of your work showcased during the Newgrounds Summer Festival? During the event we'll be showing off submissions to the #NGSummerFest2021 tag on the Art Portal as part of a rotating wallpaper between programming.

Ideally, we're looking for pieces that fit neatly on a 1920 x 1080 display so each piece can smoothly transition between each other. I'll be sourcing submissions from the event tag, so don't miss out on getting yours in!

@Slimygoo has planted the first flags on this tag with his awesome pieces featuring characters from the Pico and Madness franchises- the former also serving as the banner for this update! Be sure to check out these bangin' pieces below.

Not only that, though! If you're interested in designing a logo for the NGSF, don't hesitate to reach out!

Poetry Bumpers

Are you a poet interested in submitted short poems for the NGSF? @Fersto reached out and proposed an awesome idea to showcase poems from NG users during the event, and I'd absolutely love to do that.

Check out this forum post with all of the details!

Gamedev Showcase

Many of the fine folks here on Newgrounds are game-devs, so why not have a whole block dedicated to showcasing their games? Whether you are developing a game for the site or a game to be published elsewhere, all game developers are invited to apply to be part of the gamedev showcase. Submissions will be added to the lineup on a case-by-case basis after reviewing the applications, so put your best foot forward and bring something rad! The details of the Gamedev Showcase are still being ironed out, so for now, consider this your formal heads up that it's coming. Use this time to prepare a game trailer or brief demo that can be shown off to give viewers an idea of what you're working on.

The application for the gamedev showcase is now available! Read more about it in Update #2!

That's all for now! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please direct them to the forum thread or shoot me a DM! The magnitude of this event will entirely depend on the community. As it stands, it's already looking dope, but with your help, it could be legendary. The future is in your hands.

Thanks for reading!

-Stanpai

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Other Updates Are Now Available! Be sure to read those as well:

Update #2 - Attendee Registration, Gamedev showcase registration, & more!

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