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If you’ll recall, I had the honor and pleasure of speaking at Cleveland’s own Weapons of Mass Creation Fest, which took place last June. I came away so energized from that weekend that I began volunteering with WMC Fest founder Jeff Finley as an organizing partner for this year’s event, which happens to be next month (June 8-10)! As a refresher, WMC Fest’s “goal is to inspire and enable the creative mind and will feature 20 speakers, 20 designers, and nearly 30 bands over the weekend. Come to WMC Fest to network, collaborate, get inspired, learn new tricks, and meet new friends!”

Of course, as an organizing partner, I’m biased, but I have to say that the 2012 lineup is really stellar. The roster of speakers includes Johnny Cupcakes, Kate Bingaman Burt, Austin Kleon, and Jennifer Daniel, as well as local heroes like Rachael Novak, Brian Andrew Jasinski, and Julia Kuo. What’s more, there’s a gallery show featuring 20 prominent designers, as well as two music stages offering such bands as Cleveland’s own Cloud Nothings. Amazing, right? Well, how would you like the chance to attend — for free?!? It’s a giveaway! I’ve got one all-access weekend pass for WMC Fest 2012 to hand out, and all you have to do to win is tweet. Simply copy, paste and tweet the following and, next Tuesday, May 15, we’ll pick one winner at random and announce it here and on our Twitter feed:

Hey @MelamedRiley, I’d love to win a pass to @wmcfest! http://bit.ly/Io2vpj #wmcfest3 #MRAD

As the infomercial voice-over guy would shout, “But wait! There’s more!” I’ve got good news for you even if you don’t win the giveaway: As a thank you for Melamed Riley’s support for WMC Fest, you’ll be able to enjoy 20% savings if you enter promo code “melamedriley” when you buy your fest tickets here. Even without this great price break, $60 for three days of action is a wonderful value, especially when you consider most design conferences cost hundreds of dollars to attend. Another thing that separates WMC Fest from other conferences is that those there to speak and show their work won’t be at arm’s length from those in attendance; you’ll be able to meet and perhaps talk shop with someone you’ve long considered a hero.

So what are you waiting for? Get your tickets for WMC Fest 2012 now (and tweet to win, too, so you can bring a friend)! Tickets are going to go fast, trust me. Further, if you’re interested in getting your name out there to a really sizable audience, consider joining Melamed Riley in becoming a sponsor of WMC Fest as well. Either way, June is right around the corner, and it’s going to be an awesome one at that.

Tell me, are you coming to WMC Fest? If so, who are you most looking forward to seeing speak, or play?