Consonance, The San Francisco Bay Area Filk Convention, March 22 to March 24, 2024 - at Hilton Santa Clara, 4949 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara CA

Policies

Children

Kids are welcome at Consonance, but the convention does not provide babysitting or other drop-off services.

Children need adults

Parents or guardians must make their own child minding arrangements at all times and must not leave child-in-tow aged kids unattended at any time. Guardians of older children should remain close enough to supervise and assist their free-range kids, and in no case should leave the hotel without either their kids or arranging for an on-site responsible adult.

Thing kids may and must not do at Consonance

Children are invited to attend all concerts, but guardians must take responsibility for removing them if they become disruptive. In cases where a free-range child or escaped child-in-tow is being disruptive, a staff member may take the child out to the hall or Boardroom and attempt to reunite the child with its parent or guardian.

There will not be an official children's program this year, though some events especially suited to children may be marked as such. Parenting approaches and children vary widely, so we ask that you use your own judgement in deciding whether a particular item is right for your child.

Accessibility

Our desire is to make the activities of the convention available to as wide a cross-section of filkers as possible within the constraints of our volunteer and financial resources. If you have specific limitations or concerns, please contact us at info@consonance.org (sorry, pointer's off, use figmo8@comcast.net for now) (or if something comes up on site, speak to a staff member at the convention) to discuss what we can do to make it easier for you to attend and enjoy the convention.

Currently, registration, concerts, open filk, most other programming, dealer's room and child space are on a single floor accessible by elevator or stairs. Con suite is on another floor reached by elevator.

Photography and Recording

Photography and audio or video recording for personal use are generally permitted unless announced, posted, or requested otherwise by staff or potential subject (in which case it is forbidden).

You are responsible for clearing all rights and permissions before sharing photographs or recordings, whether over social media or in other internet or traditional media contexts.

General Conduct and Harassment

Consonance is a place for people to share and enjoy filk music. It is important to us that you have a good time - but it is just as important that everyone else have a good time. Please be considerate and polite to others - even those whose beliefs, lifestyles or physical characteristics and abilities are different from your own.

Being considerate includes not getting so carried away that you interfere with the safety of others or their ability to enjoy the convention and hotel facilities. And yes, it should again go without saying, but don't harass people. It's not funny, sexy or even remotely ok.

Harassment and disruptive behavior includes, but is not limited to, touching people without their consent, photography or recording of people who have asked not to be photographed or recorded, stalking, picking on, pestering, and persisting in behaviour or attentions towards someone which that person has indicated are unwelcome.

See this link for a more extensive discussion of harassment in the context of a filk convention.

Finally, Consonance does reserve the right, at the discretion of the convention organizers, to limit convention access, expel or ban members without refund or other compensation in cases of harassing or disruptive behavior.

If You're Being Harassed or Witness Harassment: