Hey geeks and nerds!

It’s that time of year again where we beg on hand and foot ask for you to vote for us in the annual Best of Orlando fan driven competition. “But I don’t live in Orlando!” I hear many of you protest! That’s okay! You have interest in one point or another in your life TO come to Orlando because of us! That’s enough reason for you to vote AND vote for us! In previous years there was a “Best Festival” category that we comfortably fit into. This year, that category has mysteriously vanished, but because of our growth into being an Arts & Music Festival now, we fit snugly into the Best Arts Festival category!! There is a WHOLE slew of people we suggest you vote for over here!! Head on over and support us and our beloved allies!

Next up, we’re VERY proud to announce the return of one of the most memorable sponsors from last year, T-Shirt Bordello!! If you weren’t there, you missed out on zombies, free Twinkies, and some of the best t-shirts ever! Fortunately, we have them coming back, and they’re planning on leveling up their presence at the event! Let’s just say that you will not want to miss their booth this year. We’re also very proud to announce a brand new sponsor, and I’m pretty sure you’ve ALL heard of this one! We’re going to have Think Geek donating a LOT of swag for a raffle we’ll be coordinating, where ALL the money raised will go straight to our charity. We’re talking hundreds of dollars worth of nerdy merch, so we’re very grateful to have them as a part of Team Nerdapalooza.

Before we move on to the event announces, we have some support to throw over to our pal, Inverse Phase, chiptuner extraordinaire, who is working towards a goal of an NIN cover album. He’s organized a Kickstarter page if you’d love to hear what it would have been like if Trent Reznor had taken a liking to Gameboys. Go over and support independent music!

Alright, let’s get down to business! First, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about the Pre-Party, and we felt it was finally time to give y’all some details on it! The biggest shock to everyone is going to be the venue change. Yes, despite how much we love having the Pre-Party at A Comic Shop, logistically, it’s become a bigger and bigger headache. By no means does the venue change have any reflection on a shift in relationship with A Comic Shop. Instead, the Pre-Party is now taking place AT the Marriot itself, on the second stage. The main stage will still be “under construction” as it were, making preparations for the next day, but this is all a part of a bigger plan to ensure that sound problems of the past are just that, a part of the past. The Pre-Party will still take place Friday night, and it’ll still be free for all who want to give it a shot, and just to show you how serious we are about this show being awesome, the OneUps, as well as still playing the main day and main stage, will be the headliners for the Pre-Party.

Now, every year there is some “stand out” act that steals the show. In Nerdapalooza 2008, it was Schaffer the Darklord, and every year he raises his own bar, but fortunately we’re home to some of the best performers today; 2009, it seemed to be a toss up between I Fight Dragons and Uncle Monsterface, both really blowing the minds of the audience; and last year, we had an undisputed winner of the Stand Out Act: The Bossfights. We are very excited to announce to you that this cadre of musicians are ready to put their Frontalots back on and return to the Nerdy Stage. Yes, the Bossfights will be performing again at Nerdapalooza 2011.

But wait… there’s more!

We have, coming to the Nerdy Stage for the first time ever, straight off of tour with Reel Big Fish, Koo Koo Kanga Roo. These guys are an indescribable experience best seen firsthand. As we’re not able to really display that UNTIL July, we’ve found a pretty fun video showing what their live shows are like:

Like every Nerdapalooza, I’m going to be running around without much time to enjoy the shows, but I think I’m going to have to make some time to see this for myself! Wow! Totally fun, totally energetic, we are very excited to have Koo Koo Kanga Roo as a part of Nerdapalooza 2011! We’re close to having a complete roster for all y’all. There has been some interest in having it complete before June when the ticket prices go up, and it looks like this may very well happen! Watch for another blog soon which may contain the COMPLETE roster!

Tickets for Nerdapalooza 2011 are available through brownpapertickets.com for just $30 for single day tickets and $45 for weekend tickets only for attendees who purchase tickets before June 1st. To reserve your room today call 407-851-9000 or their toll-free number of 1-800-380-6751 and ask for 5th Annual Nerdapalooza Group Block, or online at this link, which will automatically take you to the Orlando Airport Marriott website with the discount code of nernera entered as the discount code.

Don’t forget to vote for us for Best Art Festival of Orlando!!

Much nerdy love,

[hex]