Fen Calendar
A collection of dates that are important to somebody in Fenspace, and (for the most part) aren't well-known in the 'Danelaw. The group most noted for celebrating, commemerating, or merely marking the day is given after the description.
Contents
January
January 1: Kagome Mishima's birthday. (Stellvians)
January 6: The Saturnalia. Costumed Trick or Treating (Senshi)
January 15-16: The Port Phobos Invitational. A two-day brawl commemerating the end of Operation Great Justice. (Universal)
January 27: The Blue Ribbon. A space race (Senshi)
February
March
March 4: The Gygax Memorial Dungeon Crawl (gamer fen)
March 6: The Big Show. Classical music concert/opera (Senshi)
March (n): KandorCon Day. As much as Fenspace has an "independance day," the signing of the Articles of Convention at KandorCon is the day the 'Danelaw started taking Fenspace seriously. Some fen treat this event the same way that the U.S. treats July 4, others don't really care. (Universal)
April
April 4: Leda Swansen's birthday. (Stellvians)
April 13: Yuri's Night. Honours Yuri Gagarin, who was the first human in space on April 13, 1961. (Universal, also celebrated by various 'Dane space agencies.)
April 17: Breitenfeld Day. MultiFaith Hymns and Prayers (Senshi)
April 22: Space Day. Originally a tongue-in-cheek parody of "Earth Day", this celebration has a growing following that takes it more and more seriously. When observation isn't an outright joke, it tends to be either a day of quiet reflection or a massive party celebrating the very existence of Fenspace. (Its proximity to Yuri's Night tends to encourage the latter.) A couple of anti-terraforming groups have attempted to hijack the holiday for their own purposes, but to date all such efforts have been shouted down. (Universal)
May
May 4: May the Fourth Be With You Day. Sometimes called "the Warsie New Year", this is the day when the more regimented factions (especially the Warsies and the Gearheads) show off their latest toys and their best pilots. Events include space-sports games - asteroid-avoidance races, astroball matches, zero-g gymnastics, and others - which gives this day its second nickname of "The Fennish Olympics". (Warsies)
May 8: The anniversary of Robert A. Heinlein's death. (Heinleiners)
May 10: Launch Day, the day the first 'waved ship left Earth for the first time. (Universal)
April 42 (observed May 11): Adams' Day. (Douglas Adams fen)
May 14: George Lucas' birthday. (Warsies)
May 21: Sora Hasegawa's birthday. (Stellvians)
May 22: Kohran Li and Yoriko Nikaido's birthday. (Stellvians)
May 23: Yayoi Fujisawa's birthday. (Stellvians)
June
June 23: Joss Whedon's birthday. (Browncoats, "Buffy" Senshi)
June 30: The Birthday Bash. Formal Ball (Senshi)
July
July 7: Noah Scott's birthday. (Stellvians)
July (n - the day after the Baseball All-Star Game): Opening day of Astroball League Match Play - the season runs for two months.
July 17: J. Michael Straczynski's birthday. (Fivers)
July 20: Armstrong's Day, a.k.a. Moon Day, a.k.a. Touchdown Day. Honours either Neil Armstrong, who was the first human to walk on another solar system body, or his act of setting foot on the Moon on July 20, 1969. (Universal)
July 31: J. K. Rowling's birthday (Wizards)
August
September
September 1: Pellucidar Day. Edgar Rice Burroughs' birthday. Events include a pageant for best Lord and Lady Greystoke. (Pulpers)
September 10: The Icebreaker. Iron Handwavium Engineering (Senshi)
October
October 4: Sputnik Day, the anniversary of the launch of the first man-made object into space. (Universal)
October 9: Safety's birthday. (Stellvians)
October 22: Double Valentine. Amateur Rock Concert (Senshi)
October 24: The anniversary of Gene Roddenberry's death. (Trekkies)
October 29: The Time Warp. Dance Party (Senshi)
October 31: The All-Hallows-Eve Asteroid Race. A small-craft piloting race; the winning team gets the “Stirrup Cup” for a year. (Trekkies, Warsies)
November
November 9: Miyuri Akisato's birthday. (Stellvians)
November 10: Takami Sakuragi's birthday. (Stellvians)
December
December 5: The Big Red One. Cooking Contest (Senshi)
