Convention Fans

It’s time to talk about another stop on Creation Entertainment’s Twilight Tour 2009! Called a “Salute to Twilight” (just like the other stops on the tour), this next one is happening in Parsippany, New Jersey on August 28 - 30 at the Hilton Parsippany. If you read this blog regularly, you may remember this is the same hotel that hosted Chiller Theatre Expo last weekend (which we said was not a good hotel location for a con).

Salute to Twilight New Jersey still has all of the uber-expensive ticket packages available, but expect them to start going pretty quickly. For reasons I can’t quite fathom, Twilight fans seem more than willing to hand over $299 for a weekend at these cons. There are cheaper tickets available, with the least expensive being the Friday one-day pass ($20). Each ticket option offers less and less in terms of features and access. You can read more about tickets at the Salute to Twilight New Jersey website. And if the prices weren’t ridiculous enough, the con charges a $7.25 shipping/handling fee per ticket ordered. This crazy fee applies to all online, phone, fax and mail orders (which means there is no way around it - jerks).

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Let’s be honest: cosplay and summer heat do not mix very well. And yet, some of the most popular fandom conventions are scheduled for the summer months. Attending a summer con (especially if you’re in the Southern United States) can be brutal, especially if you’re in costume. If you’re not careful, it can also take a real toll on your health. I’ve put together a quick and easy list of ways to beat the summer heat at conventions. Below that, you’ll also find a list of symptoms for heat stroke and dehydration, which I’m sure are two conditions you’ll want to avoid.

Top 5 Ways to Beat the Heat at a Summer Convention

1. Drink plenty of water!

One of the aspects of Dragon*con (which occurs over Labor Day) that I have always appreciated is that water is always available and complimentary. The hotels have tables set up in the conference rooms and in the hallways with containers of water and plastic cups. It isn’t always convenient to be carrying around a water bottle if you’re in costume, so having freely accessible water throughout the con is a major plus. If the con you’re attending does not offer this, consider requesting it from the con organizers. Remind them how important it us for con goers to stay hydrated. I’m sure they don’t want anyone needing a hospital trip on their watch. If the con doesn’t offer free water, I highly recommend bringing your own, because those selling it will be price gouging.

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JACON is a Central Florida anime convention that has decided to go out with a bang - 2009 will be the convention’s 10th and final year! The convention is being held May 22 - 24, 2009 at the Ramada Orlando Celebration Hotel & Convention Center located near Lake Buena Vista.

Tickets for JACON 2009 are available for purchase in advance. A weekend pass will cost $45 (in advance or at the door). There are single day passes, as well as single day evening only passes available, ranging in price from $15 - $25. Child and parent passes are available at the door with the purchase of a full price ticket. Children passes are only available for children age 10 and under. Children 3 years of age and younger and free. Read more about registration at the JACON website.

The guest list for JACON 2009 includes: Stan Bush (musician), Steve Bennett (media guest), Gregg Berger (voice actor), Richard Epcar (voice actor), Lynn Flewelling (author), Rob Granito (artist), Richard Horvitz (actor/voice actor), George Lowe (voice actor), Doug Smith (artist/voice actor), and Brett Weaver (voice actor).

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Hello dear readers! It’s time for another round up of convention news and articles from around the Interwebz. As a reminder, if you have any news or if you’ve written an article about a convention, be sure to reply with a link! Your story could wind up on the next News Blurbs post!

The first link is an article about an upcoming anime convention called Kami-Con at the University of Alabama. This is a small con, which only expects to have a few hundred people in attendance. Kami-Con runs April 25-26 at the Ferguson Center on the University of Alabama campus. Read the full article about Kami-Con for more details.

Another smaller con taking place this weekend, April 25-26, is 4th annual Cape Girardeau Comi-Con at the West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The con will feature an appearance by Gary Friedrich, who created the Ghost Rider character. This con is hoping for attendance numbers of about 1,300. Read the entire article about Cape Girardeau Comi-Con here.

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I have, admittedly, been putting off writing a profile of Dragon*con. The reason? There aren’t enough words to adequately describe it all. The convention is massive. It has more than 30+ programming tracks, a seemingly endless list of celebrity guests, musicians, artists, and writers. There are too many activities to list. Not to mention that plenty has been written about it already. So how in the world do I approach this behemoth that is Dragon*con and keep it to a manageable length?

What I’d like to do is give some basic info, for those who may not know, and then give some personal reasons why I keep attending the con year after year. I’ll also provide some links to more info and articles out there.

Dragon*con always takes place over Labor Day Weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. At present, it occupies the Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott Marquis, and Sheraton hotels in downtown Atlanta.  It is attended by roughly 38,000+ people (that figure is always under dispute, but I believe that’s a pretty accurate number).

You can check out the entire Dragon*con 2009 guest list here, but here are a few of the big name stars that will be attending: Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), Barry Bostwick (Rocky Horror Picture Show), James Marsters (Angel & Buffy), Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek: Voyager), Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica), Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1), John Noble (Fringe), and a ton more.

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