Convention Fans

Last year I wrote an article called the Top 10 Holiday Gift Ideas for Geeks and Convention Junkies. Below is an updated version for the 2009 season. The number of shopping days (especially for internet shoppers) are quickly winding down, so you better start thinking about finishing up! I hope this guide will be helpful, as I’ve tried to provide a mixture of DIY gifts, internet available options, and physical store options.

1. A Netbook

I know, I know, I’m starting off the list with a pretty big ticket item. However, I cannot stress enough how great a netbook can be for someone who attends fandom conventions, especially if they are a panelist or press. Being able to have the internet, a convenient way to take notes, and a place to dump a memory card full of photos is worth the cost. I don’t know how I ever attended cons without one. You can find decently priced refurbished models at NewEgg and TigerDirect. If you want to buy one from a physical store, Wal-Mart and BestBuy have some good prices too. If you’re looking to be extra generous, spring for the Windows 7 and/or 6-cell battery models.

2. Tickets to a Great Show

Some celebrities that attend conventions also do shows throughout the year. Maybe they do stand up comedy, theater, or perform with a band? Consider picking up tickets to such an event. Sometimes you can actually get more up close and personal at something like that, than at a convention. My personal recommendation for those in the Philly area is the Cinematic Titanic 3-Movie New Year’s Eve Marathon - that’s where we’ll be this year!

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In my geeky universe, Wil Wheaton is the King of Geekdom, and Felicia Day is its Queen. And I have met neither one of them yet, sadly. (I missed my chance at Dragon*con 2009 to see Felicia, but will hopefully be making it up at Farpoint Con). In case you don’t know who these two amazing individuals are, Wil Wheaton is a noted author and blogger, who also happened to appear in this show called Star Trek: The Next Generation. Felicia Day is the creator and star of the incredible webseries The Guild (and she also was part of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog). Anyway…

Felicia and Will are both appearing at Phoenix Comicon, which is happening May 27 - 30, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix. The Phoenix Comicon guest rate is $119 a night for single/double occupancy, $144 for triple, and $169 for quadruple. You can call 888-421-1442 and mention the Phoenix Comicon to receive the group rate.

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Convention Fans attended Dragon*Con this year, and made a point to catch the epic William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy panel. We also paid to have our photo taken with the duo. It really was, well, EPIC. But while Bill was hamming it up with Nimoy down in Atlanta, there were some disappointed fans in Chicago.

Apparently, Shatner was scheduled to appear at an event in Chicago at the Star Trek Chicago Film Expo, right after Dragon*Con. However, he never made the Chicago appearance. In a press release dated August 30, 2009, it was said that Shatner’s appearance was canceled due to poor ticket sales. However, Shatner’s camp just recently put put out a statement that further clarifies what happened:

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This past Saturday, Convention Fans ventured out to King of Prussia, PA to attend Zenkaikon 2009. While we did have fun and got to hang out with some cool people, the convention was experiencing some severe overcrowding issues. I don’t think anyone expected that the turnout would be as big as it was, nor do I think the staff anticipated just how insufficient the hotel space would be. Below is a breakdown of the highlights, along with some suggestions for improvement. And course, there are plenty of cosplay photos to go along with this report (view all of our Zenkaikon 2009 photos).

The Good:

- The hotel has plenty of free parking. One of the first things attendees and vendors deal with is the parking situation, and it really helps when there is ample free parking close to the facility.

- I cannot say enough about the performance by cosplay/J-Pop singer Reni Mimura. Not to be cliché, but if you looked “cute” up in the dictionary, her picture should be there. I’m not sure if it was the bunny ears, her smile, or her barely understandable “Engrish,” but I completely fell in love with her. Seriously, “cute” is the only suitable word to describe her. If you don’t believe me, just check out this YouTube video of her from another recent performance.

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One of my favorite online writers is Liz Ohanesian, who with photographer Shannon Cottrell, have been hitting up Los Angeles’ fandom conventions for LA Weekly. These ladies were brought together to scope out a convention, and ever since then, they’ve been hitting up cons like San Diego Comic-Con, Long Beach Comic Con, and Anime Expo, just to name a few. They are the kind of reporters we love here at Convention Fans, because they are writing positive stories about fandom, cosplay, and conventions. I recently had a chance to interview Liz and Shannon, and we chatted about how they ended up in the world of fandom cons, their favorite ones to attend, and their advice for budding young journalists out there.

What follows below is my interview with the dynamic duo, and at the very bottom you’ll find links to some of their recent stories at LA Weekly! Special thanks to Shannon for giving us permission to repost some of her great photos with this interview.

Liz and Shannon, when was your first fandom convention, and how long ago was it?

Liz: Anime LA, probably about three years ago.

Shannon: I think it was Comic-Con San Diego 1993, or maybe it was 1994. It was before they changed the logo to what it looks like today and it was, of course, a lot smaller.

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