Once E3 wraps up, the party is moving from the west coast to the east coast. The festival known by many names such as the BaltiNARP, the Mid-Atlantic NARP, and the Raven's Cheerleaders car wash in my driveway (please?) takes place from Friday evening, June 8, to Sunday afternoon June 10. All the usual suspects will be there. For the uninitiated, you can look forward to a weekend of pure video game debauchery at Procyon's house, including:
* The Nintendo basement: Wii and Gamecube, along with some GBAs for those rare GC/GBA compatible games (Pac-Man Vs.)
* The Next-gen living room: Xbox 360 and PS3 on a 46" flatscreen.
* New-school vs. Old-school kitchen: In one corner, a PS2. In the other corner, an Atari 7800
* The Sega love room: A Dreamcast and Saturn set up and ready to go in the guest room.
* And last but not least, the joystick pedestal of MAME, the god of ancient and classic arcade games.
Do you really want to miss this? I don't think you want to miss this. So get on board the dtoidbaltimoredc google group, to get all the latest up-to-the-minute details and let us know you're coming. Otherwise, how will Changston know how much delicious food to cook?

It is going down Novemeber 4th, 5th, and 6th. The one, the only, mid-Atlantic D-toid gathering for all you mid-Atlantic folk, is happening just about one month from now. Free up your calendar and block that weekend out, cuz you won't want to miss it. We're talking:

7 TVs in 5 rooms running video games 24 hours a day,
Just about the coolest group of gamers you'll ever meet,
Amazing food prepared by Changston (if he can make it),
All your favorite hits from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s,

And the fun of having your ass handed to you in direct head to head competition that doesn't involve using the interwebs. Highlights will including pouring 40s out on the lawn for our dearly departed brother Nick Chester (and by dearly departed, we mean moved to Boston), while early comers get to rummage through the box of promotional video game goodness that fell off the back of his moving truck when he pulled away, and Procyon greedily snatched up.

Don't miss what may very well be the biggest pre-MAGFest NARP bash ever held on the east coast!

That's right! At some point during the Spring BaltiNARP 2011 this weekend, celebrities are expected to appear in other places. See what we did there? But screw the celebrities, you should come to the NARP anyway!

Reasons not to attend include:

* You don't like fun,
* You don't like video games,
* You don't like meeting really cool people,
* You don't like meeting really cool people who like fun and video games.

If none of the above applies to you, you should definitely be there.

Shout out time: WHO'S COMING?

Feast your eyes on only a small portion of what you'll be missing if you don't attend this season's Baltimore/DC NARP event. Behold the sight of Dong Dong Never Die running with arcade controls. We understand, you may be busy attending your great aunt's garage sale, or you may live some place far away like Indonesia. But our estimates* have predicted that approximately five thousand visitors from China alone will be flocking to Maryland just for this event. And three of them may actually be women!

As if anything else could compare to the pinnacle of gaming that is Dong Dong Never Die, there will be many other opportunities to get your game on, including but not limited to, an Xbox 360 and PS3 on a big screen in the Modern Living room, a Dreamcast and Saturn in the Sega Love bedroom, arcade madness in the MAME room, Wii and GameCube set up in the Nintendo Loyalty basement (plus a pool table), a PS2 in the "Changston makes awesome meals" kitchen, and an Atari 7800 on the other side of the "Please cook on me Changston" stove. If that's not enough, hell, bring your own stuff, the more the merrier.

May 13th through the 15th: be here. If you live in the area and you're not on the dtoidbaltimoredc google group, first of all, shame on you. Second of all, get the hell on it so you're up to date on this, and many more activities that take place throughout the year.

* Estimates are not intended to be factual statements. What, you thought senators were the only people who lied?

Just a little more than one month from now, Destructoid members from the MD, DC, VA, DE, PA, and NJ communities (did I get everyone this time?) will be getting their NARP on at Procyon's house. This semi annual get together is your chance to bump elbows with some of Destructoid's most elite and notable members during a weekend long gaming fest. Picture a house with at least 7 TVs and monitors up and running at all times, playing the latest games, and challenging players to many of the classics, including this year's feature game, Dong Dong Never Die (screenshot above)! Also get the opportunity to taste some of Changston's amazing cooking maybe possibly. So save the date. If you have other plans, cancel them! You won't want to miss the epic epicness. If you're not on the Balt/DC destructoid google group, get on it today!

It's like that, but less inky.

A group of BaltimoreDC Dtoiders are getting together in Washington to see the cherry blossoms at their peak bloom. It's a good time to get together, be one with nature, y'know. Hippie stuff. Here's the schedule of the day:

Date: Sunday, April 3

11 AM - Meet up for a dim sum breakfast at Hollywood East Cafe. 11160 Veirs Mill Road, Wheaton, MD 20902-4640 (In Wheaton mall)

1:30-2:00ish PM - Arrive at the L'enfant Plaza metro stop, walk on over to the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin.

If you're interested, join our google group and let us know!