🍃🌰Update #21- Addresses Locking, PM Closing, and a Free Promo🐚🪷
Hello, Wild Garden Backers,
Spring is finally here and with it comes the closing of the Pledge Manager! The games and accessories will be finished at the factory soon, and we...
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Rose Gauntlet Entertainment
about 1 month ago
🍇Update #20- GAMA Trade Show + Update on Fulfillment🍓
Hello Wild Garden Backers,
As I type this update, snowflakes dance outside my window, but hopefully, signs of spring have begun to emerge for many of you. In this month's upd...
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Rose Gauntlet Entertainment
2 months ago
🐉Update #19- Happy Chinese New Year!🧧
Happy Chinese New Year!
First and foremost, we would like to wish everyone a wonderful Year of the Dragon. For those that are not familiar with this Chinese national holiday i...
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Rose Gauntlet Entertainment
3 months ago
🐋Update #18- A Wild New Game Announcement!🦭
Hey Wild Gardens Backers,
It's officially a new year and we're going to kick off 2024 with our next big game announcement! Many fans of our first game, Keystone: North Ameri...
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Rose Gauntlet Entertainment
4 months ago
🎊 Update #17-Happy Holidays! 🎉
Hey Wild Gardens Backers,
It's December and the Wild Gardens files are still being reviewed by the manufacturer. Since we had time on our hands, we've spent most of the month...
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Rose Gauntlet Entertainment
5 months ago
🧄🫐Files in Pre-Production and a Holiday Message!🌾🥕
Happy November Wild Gardens Backers,
It's that time of year again, when the holidays are right around the corner, and everyone is preparing for the chaos of the season! This ...
Spring is finally here and with it comes the closing of the Pledge Manager! The games and accessories will be finished at the factory soon, and we need to start preparing for their journey across the ocean. This marks an exciting milestone of the project, and we can't wait to get this beautiful game into everyone's hands.
Addresses Locking April 15th
Please take a moment to verify that your address is correct in the Pledge Manager. On April 15th we will lock all addresses so that we can start sending all orders and backer information to our fulfillment centers. After April 15th you will no longer be able to update or change your address. If you need to change your address after the lock date, please reach out to [email protected] and we'll do our best to assist you. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to update or divert a package after the lock date.
Pledge Manager Closing on April 30th
On April 30th the Pledge Manager will be closing in preparation for fulfillment. If you haven't completed your order on Pledge Manager by April 30th it may result in your order being delayed. We've been sending out reminders twice a week to those who haven't completed their orders. Please make sure to follow those alerts and complete the order if you have not done so. After April 30th backers will not be able to complete orders. If you find yourself in that situation, please reach out to www.rosegauntlet.com and we will do our best to assist you.
Baltimore Port Update
Many of you have heard of the tragic accident that has caused the Baltimore Port to shut down for an indefinite time. Unfortunately, the Baltimore port is the main port that we use when we freight all of our products. We are in regular contact with our freight team and are looking into alternative ports we can use for our shipment. We currently don't think that this situation will cause an additional delay in Wild Gardens delivery but will keep backers updated as we continue to learn more about the situation.
Late Pledges Ending
We will no longer be accepting any late pledges for Wild Gardens after April 30th. After April Wild Gardens can be pre-ordered on our website at www.rosegauntlet.com. These pre-order copies will ship after Backerkit fulfillment is complete and the webstore may not feature all the add-ons available on the Pledge Manager.
Channel Island Fox- One of the new species in the Keystone: North America Coastal Expansion
Get a Free Wooden First Player Token for Keystone: North America 2nd Edition
We're only weeks away from the launch of Keystone: North America and the new Coastal Expansion. There's still time to sign up on our pre-launch page and receive the Puffin 1st Player Token for free with your order! This wooden 1st player token featuring the noble clown of the sea is sure to bring a few extra smiles to your table. Visit our pre-launch page for more details.
Thank you for reading through that somewhat technical update. We're so excited to be moving into the final stage of this project. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to comment or reach out to our customer service via [email protected]
Hey y'all!
Quick question: a few months back after my order was locked & card was charged, somehow an extra (unpaid) lore book got added to my pledge and now there appears to be an order total still due. I'd prefer if this extra book could be removed but I don't mind getting and paying for a second lore book if necessary. I just want to make sure there won't be an issue when it comes to getting my pledge on time.
Thank you!
As I type this update, snowflakes dance outside my window, but hopefully, signs of spring have begun to emerge for many of you. In this month's update, we'll delve into Wild Gardens' presence at this year's GAMA Trade Show and share some adjustments to our shipping and fulfillment timeline.
Rosa is ready for spring!
Shipping and Fulfillment Timeline Update
As we get close to our fulfillment date, backers have had some great questions about how fulfillment will work. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions we're getting:
When will you lock backer's addresses? - We'll be locking all addresses on April 15th. At that point we need to send all the backer information to our fulfillment centers to ensure a smooth process when the games arrive.
What if I need to change my address after the cutoff date? - We understand that sometimes this happens, and we'll do our best to update your address before the game ships. Usually this is still possible but, in some cases, we may not be able to update it in time. So please let us know as soon as you realize the address needs to be changed.
When will late pledges be cut off? - All pledges (late and/or unpaid) will be closed at the end of April. At that point new backers won't be able to late pledge, and we will be no longer be able to accommodate email requests for order adjustments.
We also want to alert everyone about a change in our fulfillment projections. During the final stages of preparing the game files for print, we uncovered some errors that required immediate attention. Thanks to our detailed review process, we were able to address these issues before they were printed. However, this unexpected hurdle has resulted in a delay in the manufacturing process by a few weeks.
As a result, we anticipate that fulfillment will likely be pushed into June. While this represents a slight setback from our initial projections, we believe it's essential to prioritize quality and ensure that you receive nothing short of an exceptional gaming experience. We're committed to delivering a product that meets our high standards, and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to achieve this goal.
We understand that delays can be disappointing, but please rest assured that we're doing everything in our power to expedite the process to achieve a delivery as close to May as possible. We always want to be transparent with our backers and alert you whenever a delay or something unexpected occurs.
Wild Gardens at GAMA
Wild Gardens Prototype at GAMA
For those of you who attended this year's GAMA trade show, you may have spotted Wild Gardens showcased by our friends at Flat River Games. We're thrilled to report that the reception for our game was nothing short of enthusiastic, and we're grateful for the support FRG has shown for our products. Retail sales are vital for the long-term health of any boardgame and shows like this allow us to showcase our products to FLGS from around the world.
As we navigate the transition from crowdfunding to retail sales, we wanted to shed some light on our process for handling retail orders post-campaign.
Here's how we handle retail sales during and after a crowdfunding campaign:
Simultaneous Fulfillment: Retailers who placed orders through this campaign will receive their games alongside backers, ensuring everyone gets their copies at the same time.
Sequential Fulfillment: Any additional retail orders received after the campaign will be held until all backers have received their copies. Once all backer orders are fulfilled, we'll release the game for general sale and fulfill all remaining retail orders.
For retailers interested in placing late pledge orders or making adjustments, we're extending the deadline until March 31st. After this date, all orders will be closed, and any inquiries can be directed to [email protected] for further assistance.
We hope everyone is getting excited as we enter the final few months of this project. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to comment or reach out to our customer service via [email protected]
It’s been almost a year since I paid for this product and it’s been radio silence. Is this ever going to deliver? If not we need to discuss a proportionate refund. Thanks guys.
First and foremost, we would like to wish everyone a wonderful Year of the Dragon. For those that are not familiar with this Chinese national holiday it was celebrated from Feb. 10th to Feb 25th this year and celebrates the Lunar New Year and spring. If you want to learn more about this important holiday here is a great website to check out: What is Lunar New Year? A 2024 guide to the Year of the Dragon | CNN
Since Wild Gardens is being manufactured in China, the Chinese New Year has impacted the game's progress during February. This is completely normaland was something that we anticipated when calculating the timeline.
What We've Been Working On
Keystone: North America Kickstarter Coming Soon!
In our last update we announced that our next crowdfunding campaign is coming to Kickstarter in April! We're reprinting our first game, Keystone: North America, in a fancy new edition and releasing the long-awaited coastal expansion. We've been working on these two titles for over a year and we're so excited to be finally revealing all the beautiful things found inside.
We'll have a special free promo available for the backers who signed up during pre-launch or backed in the first 48 hours!
Whether you're celebrating with family or simply looking forward to spring, we hope everyone has a wonderful February. As always, if you have any questions or concerns feel free to comment or reach out to our customer service via [email protected]
Any news on the timeline of Wild Gardens? Is it on track to deliver as planned so far? Just wondering as I feel like the last couple updates didn’t actually say much about the game itself, how it’s progressing, etc.
It's officially a new year and we're going to kick off 2024 with our next big game announcement! Many fans of our first game, Keystone: North America, have been eagerly waiting for an expansion. Today we're revealing that new expansion along with an updated version of the original game!
Introducing Keystone: North America Coastal Expansion
The Keystone: North America Coastal Expansion will add 28 stunning new species to the game. These animals can be found in the many lakes, rivers, and oceans within North America and will offer new possibilities when building ecosystems. Discover exciting new mechanics, 10 new skill tokens, and entirely new strategies to build the best ecosystem you can!
Experience a lovely continuation of Keystone’s hit solo and co-op field journal as you step into the role of a coastal biologist working on a wildlife documentary. Explore 10 amazing new locations found along the shores of North America, as you solve new brain burning puzzles and have wild encounters with iconic coastal species!
We're especially excited about the new field journal adventure!
Keystone: North America 2nd Edition
When it came time to reprint Keystone: NA, we took a hard look at the game and fan feedback to see if there were any changes or adjustments we would want to make. Making small changes and addressing errors is something that companies often do between print runs. During this process we realized that, rather than making minor adjustments and reprinting, it would be better to update the game with a new edition.
We've learned a lot in the two years since publishing our first game, and we wanted to take those lessons and create the definitive version of Keystone: North America. The second edition of Keystone is still the game that fans love but we've updated many things that players were asking for. This includes updated cards with easier to see symbols, getting rid of the double-sided point tokens, changes to the rules to make building your ecosystems more flexible, and making the game more affordable for new players. We've also updated the cover with a fresh new look that includes the incredible art of Lyss Menold!
If you're someone who has the first edition of the game, you don't need to purchase this new version to play the expansion. We'll be offering compatibility packs that will allow you to enjoy everything the expansion has to offer with your current version of the game. We'll also be making the new updated rules available for free on our website for anyone who needs them.
We hope you're as excited as we are for these two new products! 2024 is going to be a big year for Rose Gauntlet Entertainment and we want to kick it off with style. This is just the first of many cool game announcements to come this year so make sure you're subscribed to our newsletter and don't miss all our big news!
This is pretty close to how we look after too much egg nogg!
Hey Wild Gardens Backers,
It's December and the Wild Gardens files are still being reviewed by the manufacturer. Since we had time on our hands, we've spent most of the month working on some exciting future titles that we're not ready to share yet. In other words, it's been a pretty chill and fun month for the team. Because of this we don't really have any new information about Wild Gardens for you.
But we did want to take the time and thank you all for the past year you've spent with us. We're a 100% remote company and sometimes it can get a little lonely staring at the computer or your notebook day after day. The support we get from backers and fans really does make a difference and helps us push through the inevitable roadblocks that come with creating new stuff. It makes it feel like we're all doing this crazy thing together as a community and it's something we'll never stop being grateful for. On behalf of the entire Rose Gauntlet Team, we'd like to wish all of you a wonderful holiday, whether you're celebrating now or in the weeks to come.
It's that time of year again, when the holidays are right around the corner, and everyone is preparing for the chaos of the season! This month's update will be short since we're waiting on approval for our pre-production files and preparing for the holiday season.
Files are entering into Pre-Production!
This may not seem like a big deal but getting a game to this stage is always a huge accomplishment. This means that the game is finished and we're waiting for all the files to be prepped for printing and final review. Taking a game from concept to this point is something that often takes around 2 years of work and it's always a celebration when it happens. At this stage the game is starting to leave our hands and move into our manufacturers. We have the utmost confidence in our manufacturing team and will keep you updated on their progress and the game moves into full production.
It's that time of year again!
Rose Gauntlet Holiday Sale!
The holidays wouldn't truly be the holidays without a massive sale and this year is no exception. As we prepare our warehouse for the arrival of Wild Gardens, we are offering our biggest discount ever on Keystone: North America Deluxe edition. The deluxe edition includes 4 exclusive player boards and a center mat illustrated by Lyss Menold, the amazing artist behind Wild Gardens. We don't plan on ever printing the deluxe edition of Keystone: NA again so take advantage of this sale if you want to grab it before it's gone. The sale starts Monday 11/20 and will run while supplies last!
We Hope You Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving
We'd like to wish our American backers a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday next week. It's one of our favorite holidays and our team is already chatting about the different regional dishes they're excited about eating. In my family chestnut stuffing is something that we always have to have, and I wanted to share our family recipe with you. My grandmother's farm in Pennsylvania has chestnut trees and I always remember carefully gathering their spiky shells off the driveway in the Autmn for snacks and thanksgiving stuffing. This is a recipe I know by heart, so I'll write it down for you in the style of all family recipes, very casual and without many specific measurements.
Chestnut Stuffing
1/2 lb of chopped chestnuts either boiled, roasted, or in a pinch microwaved (cut an X into the chestnut with a knife before cooking to make peeling easier)
1 loaf of good bread (it doesn't really matter what kind and long as it's not sweet)
1 big yellow onion
4 stalks of celery
1 stick of butter
Fresh Sage, Thyme, and Rosemary
1/2 quart of Chicken Stock
1 pint of Heavy Cream
Some cranberries (optional)
Salt and Pepper
Small dice the celery and onion into a bowl.
Use the stick of butter to sauté the onion and celery until translucent. Throw the herbs in there about halfway through.
Once the onion mix is cooled a bit, mix it in a big bowl with the bread, cranberries, and chestnuts.
Add the chicken stock and heavy cream.
Add salt and pepper until well seasoned (taste it at this point since it's the last chance to adjust things).
Stuff it into an oiled baking pan and cook for about an hour at 350. If you want to be extra luxurious, cut up another stick of butter into pads and throw them on top to melt into the dish.
This month our creative brains have been humming, and we've officially finished the solo campaign! All the files have been sent to our editor and everything is looking good to hit our deadline of having everything in the solo campaign ready for graphic design by the end of October. Because this month has been dedicated to working on solo scenarios, we thought it would be a great time to talk about what you can expect inside the campaign book.
Solo Campaign Book Cover
When we designed the solo campaign for our previous game, Keystone: North America, we decided to approach it from a story standpoint. Deciding to base the solo challenges on a narrative helped us think of interesting approaches to our puzzles and was honestly more fun to design for. We hoped people would enjoy the campaign and learn a little more about North American ecosystems. After the games' release, the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. People made entire videos just to talk about the solo campaign, streamed their play journeys through the campaign book, and created chats to discuss specific scenarios. After the first year we discovered that a large portion of the sales of the game was being driven by solo players. Following this success, we wanted to build on that experience with Wild Gardens and see if we could push the narrative and world building even farther.
In Wild Gardens every guest in the game has a unique personality, backstory, and dialog for players to discover in solo mode. You'll not only be presented with new gameplay rules and challenges, but have conversations with the guests you meet, make decisions that affect where the story goes next, and even have alternative endings based on your gameplay. Wild Gardens is a world much like our own, but not quite. So, players should expect to deal with everything from flower festivals to time paradoxes while they explore the foraging world. You'll find 7 scenarios in the campaign book and each expansion pack will feature an additional solo adventure featuring the new guests found within!
Scenario 1: A Feast for Flowers
Let's talk a little bit about how playing the solo version will work. First, you'll choose what scenario to play. These scenarios will be listed in order of difficulty, but they can be played in any order. Then you'll read the intro, set up, and any special rules that may be in effect during this scenario. The goals will tell you what you need to achieve in order to win the scenario, and the Milestone #1 will tell you what you need to do in order to move the story forward. After you start playing, you'll want to pay attention to any guests that you serve. After serving a guest you'll look at the story number listed on their card and find the corresponding entry in the scenario. Those entries may unlock new abilities, items, or let you know your next milestone in the story. Or they simply may be an interesting moment with that character. Only by serving many different guests during a game will you discover all there is to find in a scenario.
Check out the Board Game Garden's Wild Garden Solo Stream!
If you want to see a playthrough for A Feast for Flowers (the scenario showcased above) you can watch Jenna from Board Game Garden play through it with her fans. It's a great example of how the solo campaign plays so we encourage you to check it out!
We hope this gets you excited for the Wild Gardens solo campaign! If you have additional questions about solo play, please comment below or email us at [email protected]
Apologies for this update going out so late this month. We knew we were getting new samples in from the manufacturer this month, and we wanted to wait so you could see some cool pics of how some of the add-ons are progressing. We didn't expect to get them quite so close to the end of the month but we're so excited to show them to you!
First up we have the game's three expansion pack:
A look at what booster packs look like during production planning
You'll notice that the cut/graphic lines can still be seen on the expansion packs and that the material seems a bit off and wrinkled. This is completely normal at this stage of production. The goal of these samples is to make sure we like how the graphic design has been laid out and the size of everything. These samples are often made by hand and don't contain the material the final product will be made of. At a later date the manufacturer will send us Pre-Production samples which will represent how the final product is going to look. All that being said, we're thrilled with how these expansion packs came out and how much the illustrations and colors pop.
Next, we have the long-awaited source token pack:
Everything Together
Wooden Source Tokens
Recipe and Guest Discard Trays
Discard Tray Sides
We were excited to find out how the source token pack would look with the two trays, and we weren't disappointed! Everything in this pack looks gorgeous and feels satisfyingly tactile. The two trays stack perfectly with the lid and our graphic designer even managed to have the Little Ones showing through the finger indent. The art on the trays looks fantastic and the wooden tokens are bright and feel good on the fingers. We think this is going to be an upgrade that can really enhance the table presence and play experience.
We've already shown off the wooden ingredient tokens and box, but I did want to share a pic of all the add-ons together. We're very happy with all the samples that were sent and think the manufacturer is doing a great job meeting the quality that we want for this game.
Please ignore the sun damage on the top of the ingredient token box. We loved it so much we displayed it in our office for the past few months and didn't think of the effect the window might have on the colors.
Besides working with the manufacturer to get samples made, we've been finishing all the writing and design needed for the solo campaign book. We expect that to be done in the next week and will be handing everything off to our editor and development team to ensure everything reads and plays the way it should. Right now, we expect the solo campaign book to be completed and ready for our graphic designer to lay out by the end of October. After that everything for the game should be complete and the entire team will go over every detail with a fine-tooth comb before sending the final files over to the manufacturer.
You may also have noticed that your cards have all been charged in the pledge manager. Those of you who had an issue with your payment should have received an email alerting you of the problem. If you received one of those emails, please address the issue ASAP so we can ensure your copy of the game ships with everyone else's. Pre-orders are still available for the time being, but the card will be charged immediately.
Thank you and please reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions.
Bloomington Indiana Location Card Art
Hey Wild Gardens Backers,
We're excited to announce that 83% of you have now completed your Backerkit! That's excellent since it lets us begin to inform our manufacturer how large our order is likely to be. If you haven't completed your Backerkit please do so as soon as possible! Having your orders confirmed quickly allows us to keep moving forward and feel confident we're ordering the correct amount.
Because so many of you have now completed your orders, we're going to move forward with our first wave of locking in pledges on September 6th. This means if you've completed your order then your credit card will be charged, and you'll no longer be able to make changes to your pledge. Please note this is not a full lock of the PM. If you haven't completed your order or would like to pre-order you'll still be able to do so. If you have any questions about this process, please don't hesitate to reach out via comment or email to [email protected]
Our Gen Con 2023 Booth Team!
We can't wait to tell you about the most fun thing we did this month, Gen Con 2023! The booth was BUMPIN'! It probably didn't hurt being next to the most popular plushies at the show, but also this really did feel like the busiest Gen Con our team has ever attended. After spending all of 5 minutes at the show it's easy to see why -- there was just SO MUCH STUFF TO SEE. From Artist Alley, to live podcasts, to demo areas, and oh yea, a TON of games -- and that was just in the exhibit hall!
There was so much hype around Wild Gardens!
Luckily, we were prepared this year, with our team of trusty booth staff members. A special thanks to Jessy, Joel, Paul, Ryan, Michelle, Lyss, and AJ for crushing it in the booth this year! This year, our booth featured Keystone:North America and Wild Gardens, running quick demos on booth for visitors. While we were happy with the reception and sales of Keystone, it was amazing to see how much interest (and pre-orders) there was for Wild Gardens!
Our Gen Con 2023 Pin Collection had a lot of Wild Gardens flair!
How cool is it that we got featured on the cover of issue #1!
We also had some VERY popular pins, postcards, and free copies of the new Brotherwise Games Turn Order magazine available in the booth. When we heard about the magazine from Brotherwise, we were pumped to be featured alongside our fellow indie publishers and we were really happy with how it turned out!
We had the honor of hosting the BIPOC Lounge for the second year in a row!
Another amazing thing that we got to do this year is host the BIPOC Lounge. This was the second year we've been hosting and it was the best one yet! First of all, thank you. To all the volunteers who made this possible, to the visitors that showed once again how valuable this space is, to the vendors that made the lounge look amazing, and to Gen Con for partnering with us once again on an incredibly successful space for the BIPOC community.
We doubled the attendance at this year's show which was easy to tell, as the lounge was essentially filled all weekend long. Attendees were greeted with refreshments, comfy spaces to relax and connect, brand-new conference rooms for professional meetings, a gigantic library of games to try out, and of course, plenty of space for gaming.
We had such an amazing time hosting the BIPOC Lounge, meeting so many creators and gaming enthusiasts, and providing a space for networking and mentoring. That final note really means the world to us. We had a number of conversations with people just looking for advice on how to get into and be successful within this industry. Being able to support new underrepresented voices is what this is all about and that energy really carries us long after the show ends. It's something that we made a core value of our company at its inception and we're glad to see that company value coming to life in tangible ways.
If you want to learn more about our special events, please check out our Rose Gauntlet Foundation web page!
We hope you enjoy seeing our favorite parts of the show and, as always, thank you for being part of our community. There's so much excitement surrounding Wild Gardens and it would have never come to life without you. We're excited to be wrapping up this stage of the project and preparing to move into the next!
The wait for Gen Con 2023 is almost over! We've got a ton of exciting things happening at the show this year and wanted to give everyone a quick update.
We're near the art showroom which is bad for our wallets but good for locating us!
Visit the Rose Gauntlet Booth
Awww yea, it's our first ever Rose Gauntlet Booth at Gen Con!
Swing by exhibit booth #364 to meet our team, get a firsthand look at our games, and snag some awesome swag.
Wild Gardens will be available for pre-order and we'll be showing off the final production copy in the booth!
Wild Gardens artist Lyss Menold will be in the booth (yes, she just might sign things)
Postcards with the beautiful Wild Gardens art will be available for purchase.
We will have the coolest pins too!
Look how adorable these pins are!
We're excited to welcome back the BIPOC gaming community!
The BIPOC Lounge Returns!
We're excited to announce we have once again partnered with Gen Con to host the BIPOC Lounge -- a lounge area for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) professionals and attendees!
The BIPOC Lounge is a dedicated space for BIPOC attendees to connect, relax, network, and utilize for career-focused endeavors, with the intention to build, assist, and provide resources for the growth of the community. This space was created to follow through on our goals of spotlighting underrepresented voices, supplementing convention experiences, and supporting new opportunities for those seeking to enter or move further into the tabletop industry.
Last year was a big success and with Gen Con's support we're thrilled to be expanding the space at this year's show!
For those interested in participating, the BIPOC Lounge is located in rooms #240 and #241 will be open:
Lindsey will be giving advice from her 10 years of crowdfunding experience!
Panel: Crowdfunding Do's and Don'ts
We're pumped to see our very own Lindsey Rode as a panelist for the Gen Con Panel Crowdfunding Do's an Don'ts! The in-depth discussion will cover how to prepare for a strong launch, common mistakes to avoid, important do's and don'ts to consider, and will include a live Q&A from the industry expert panelists.
Details are below. Hope to see you there!
Day/Time: Saturday, August 5th at from 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EDT Location: Crowne Plaza : Grand Ctrl Stn D Ticket RSVP Page:https://www.gencon.com/events/230623
Moderator: Jason Furie, Senior Community Manager at BackerKit
