Convention Fans

If you happen to live anywhere near Philadelphia or New Jersey this weekend, and you happen to be a Star Trek, YOU are in luck!

The first event is taking place at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Avery Brooks, who played Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, will be taking part in a discussion about “race, science fiction and other themes in a wide-ranging and fascinating dialogue” on July 31 (that’s TODAY!) at 7 p.m. He’ll be joined by Temple University professor Samuel Delany. Admission is $5.00. Interested parties should call 215-448-1254 to register (click here for more info). Apparently this event is now sold out!

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Having grown up in Orlando, I can tell you from personal experience that the area offers a pretty wide variety of fandom conventions to attend. There’s MegaCon (and now Mini-MegaCon too), FX International, Anime Festival Orlando, AccioCon, OASIS, EyeCon Twilight, Zona Con, Florida Battle Con, and Vulkon. And don’t forget, there used to be JACON as well (it’s last year was 2009). And that doesn’t even include the other dozen or so conventions within driving distance of Orlando.

I got to thinking about all the Orlando cons after yesterday’s posting about the AFO, Anime Sushi, and Mini-MegaCon issue (see here). The central Florida area has so many conventions, it seemed only a matter of time before a con stepped on another con’s toes (or at least created the perception of such to some people - y0u can make a decision about all that drama for yourself).

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As is to be expected, more news and articles have been coming out this week about San Diego Comic-Con. I’ve tried to provide a nice mixture of convention news today so that it isn’t one big SDCC recap. There’s drama brewing between MegaCon, AFO, and Anime Sushi for one thing! We have to talk about that at least! As always, if you have convention news to share, post a comment with a link.

1. MegaCon + Anime Sushi = EPIC FAIL

Well known con-goer Tom Croom managed to grab the attention of MegaCon’s “Powers That Be” this week when he wrote a controversial blog entry about MegaCon and Anime Sushi encroaching on the territory of upcoming con Anime Festival Orlando (AFO). A rep for MegaCon contacted him to straighten out the facts, but it seems some significant disagreements remain. Read the original post and the follow up post and decide for yourself!

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From the official Dragon*con 2009 MySpace account:

We are happy to announce that the Best Western Atlanta Airport East has opened up a number of rooms at discounted rates. The Hilton Atlanta Airport continues to offer discounted rooms as well. As you must know by now, ALL of the Dragon*Con host hotels (Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, and Sheraton) are sold out for the 2009 show. Currently the Westin has no further rooms available but more may open up closer to the show. Click here to book with the Best Western or the Hilton Atlanta Airport, and for updates, specific rates and hotel codes.

For you Florida folks, I wanted to pass along this information, which was posted via the Wasabi Anime LiveJournal Syndication Feed:

This week kicks off the tenth Anime Festival Orlando – and we’d love to see you there!  Check out these events at the con:

• Wasabi Anime’s CROSSPLAY Rally Race (Friday night at 9 PM in the Citrus Ballroom)
  Gender bending for Otaku! Inspired by the popular TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race — up to twenty contestants (ten male/ten female) will compete to prove that he/she is the greatest ‘crossplayer’ (cross-dressed costumer) at this year’s Anime Festival Orlando! Participants will show how quickly he/she can get into a costume of a character of the opposite sex and then ‘work it’ for the audience and judges to win the Best in Show.
• The Transformers Panel (Saturday afternoon at 4:30 PM in Biscayne/Siesta)
  Join Tom Croom and Chris Duplis discuss the past and future of this classic anime franchise.  Zaniness will ensue.

Other events you should see… not run by Wasabi Anime, but still pretty damn cool.

• The Panel About Nothing (Friday night/Saturday morning at midnight in Oleander A)
  WOLVES!
• Otaku: What Are They REALLY? (Saturday in Palm Salon H)
  Otaku are not their anime collections or how much merchandise they’ve bought. They are not how they dress, the snacks they eat, or the words they use. So what ARE otaku, anyway? There’s no easy answer, but we promise to have some silly pictures and videos in addition to the history lesson.
• Kristian Allen Presents: Power Rangers (Saturday evening at 9 PM in Palm Salon F,G)
  Kristian presents an overview of the Power Rangers universe.