Panels

Want to discuss the latest about Star Trek or Star Wars (and their many incarnations)? Or Battlestar Galactica? Perhaps Doctor Who? Or The Orville? What about favorites from a while ago… Smallville? Alien Nation, Buck Rogers, Farscape, or others? Maybe you’d like to find out more information about 3D printing, its uses, and its future. Or share costuming ideas and trends? Want to find out more about making fan films/indie productions?

If you’re an aspiring writer, attend one of our panels conducted by some of our guest authors. Discuss methods of writing, anthologies, selling your ideas, and (of course) what they have coming up!

The Programming form will go live on February 1st, 2025. Regardless of whether you are presenting a panel, a demonstration, a comedy show, a podcast, etc, you will need to fill out the form with that information

Science Programming

Shore Leave has a long tradition of science and educational programming at our convention. Past presenters have included representatives from the Space Telescope Science Institute, Goddard Space Flight Center, Johnson and Kennedy Space Centers, and various universities. Our science guests have the latest to share about new discoveries, new large science projects, advances in AI, how to get rid of all the junk in orbit, how you too can be a rocket scientist, and the latest amazing pictures from astronomical observatories. We’ve talked about how to protect Earth from asteroids, medical issues in space, how Kirk’s leadership is seen from a political science perspective, and how to secure your personal electronic devices from hackers. Join us for information on all of this and much more.

Stargazing

As always, weather permitting, Stargazing will take place on Friday and Saturday evenings.

The stargazers will meet at the tennis courts behind the hotel. On Friday and Saturday nights we will observe various celestial objects (planets, stars, star clusters, the one and a half galaxies we can see from Baltimore…). No pre-registration is required, but there are a few hints and rules to observe. First, please do not bring small children (under 6 years of age) or pets. Older children are welcome, but we ask that parents be present to supervise them.

Meet the Pros Party

Our annual Meet the Pros author meet-and-greet takes place at 10 pm on Friday, July 11th. As usual, this year’s event will include the premiere of several new books by our guests. Please come to meet the guests, chat, and get a few books signed.

Lee’s Place (Karaoke)

Do you miss all the fun times at Vic’s Fontaine’s Place? Sure, it was just a holosuite, but something was always going on.

Ten-Forward

The Ten Forward party takes its name from the Ten-Forward area on the Enterprise D. It’s our Saturday evening party, with music and dancing. Join us as we dance the night away.

Filk Concert

On Friday night,  filkers perform in designated time slots, giving mini-concerts of their songs. Come and listen and maybe sing along to songs about SF, Fantasy, TV shows, or anything our filkers come up with.