Convention Fans

I am very excited to be heading down to Baltimore this weekend for Costume Con 27! My photographer and I will be taking a ton of photos and some video as well. I will be posting throughout the con via the Convention Fans Twitter account. Be sure to follow us so you can get all the latest updates and tidbits as we explore the convention. This will my first attempt at “live Tweeting” at a con, so we’ll see how that goes!

You can now track my convention appearances by clicking the Con Appearances tab at the top of the blog. It will list all upcoming cons, as well as provide links to photos and convention reports from previous ones.

You may notice that I have added Baltimore’s Shore Leave 31 to the list. My photographer and I are officially attending the convention! We’re both very excited, as it is a con we’ve never attended before, and it has a great guest line up.

If you are attending either one of these cons, post a comment and let us know!

Bob Picardo, known for his roles on Star Trek: Voyager and Stargate Atlantis, is going to be making an appearance at the world premiere of the independent film Universal Signs here in Philadelphia on May 30th, 2009. He has a supporting role in the movie, and he will be signing autographs and taking pictures at the event (see the website for details). Although she won’t be at this premiere, the film does star another science fiction actress you all may remember: Sabrina Lloyd of Sliders.

I know that my boyfriend and I are planning to attend this event. Bob Picardo is a wonderfully talented actor, and we’ve been fortunate to have met him before at a convention. This is a great opportunity to see some of his non-science fiction work, and meet him in person if you haven’t yet. Below is the official release about the film’s premiere:

Don’t Miss the UNIVERSAL SIGNS World Premiere  

2008 Winner of the Philadelphia Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature Film 

Date: Saturday, May 30, 2009 at two special screenings

Time: Matinee at 1PM and Evening at 7PM 

Location: Keswick Theatre - 291 Keswick Ave., Glenside, PA 19038

FREE parking and easily accessible by train!

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I’m very excited to introduce a new category of posts here at Convention Fans! I’ve partnered up with fellow con goer Nathan Lilly, who runs the amazing Green Tentacles Convention Finder (you may have seen his awesome green banner to the left) in order to bring you this post series. Nathan’s website is THE place to find a convention happening near you.

Together, we’ll be bringing you “Cons from A to Z” which will go through the entire alphabet and highlight a handful of conventions for each letter. This is a great way to bring some attention to some of the smaller or more unique conventions out there.

A is for Albacon, AniZona, and ApolloCon
courtesy of the Green Tentacles Convention Finder

Albacon: http://www.albacon.org/
Oct 9th, 2009 - Oct 11th, 2009
Albany, NY 12203

Albacon is a weekend gathering of fans and creators of Science Fiction or Fantasy, including literature, movies, games, and other mediums. Join them for three days of panel discussions, interviews, films, games, readings, autographs, an art show, special events, a fabulous dealers room, debates, conversation, a Vampire’s Ball, and socializing with people who share your interests! Writer Guest of Honor: Elizabeth Hand; Artist Guest of Honor: Stephen Hickman; Fan Guest of Honor: D. Cameron Calkins; Musical Guests: Igor’s Egg.

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Animazement is an anime convention happening in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 22 - 24, 2009 at the Raleigh Convention Center. This Memorial Day weekend con is sure to excite east coast anime fans, as it has some guests all the way from Japan and a ton of great activities planned.

This is a moderately sized con in terms of attendance (it had about 5,300 people attend in 2008), so you should plan to get there early if you haven’t already bought tickets and need to get them at the door! The main hotel (the Marriott) is already sold out, but there is an overflow hotel with rooms still available. You can read more about the hotel options at Animazement’s website.

Because this convention is quickly approaching, online pre-registration is no longer available. Weekend and Single day registration will be available at the door, but it is CASH ONLY. Ticket prices are as follows: Friday Only - $30; Saturday Only - $35; Sunday Only -$20; Adult Weekend Pass - $50, Child (6-12 years old) Weekend Pass - $30; Children Under the Age of 6 - FREE.

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The Interwebz were all a buzz last year as two big conventions bit the dust: FedConUSA and JumpCon. I’m not going to bother rehashing all of the details, but suffice it to say, JumpCon’s organizer Shane Senter has just been indicted on theft charges. You can read all about it at Airlock Alpha. (While you’re there, check out Michael Hinman’s other article “Readers: Fan Conventions Definitely In Trouble“.)

Were any of YOU impacted by the shut down of  FedConUSA or JumpCon? Post a comment. We’d love to hear from you, and what this indictment means to you personally (and did you ever get that refund…?).