SMOF News, volume 1, issue 7

NYCC is the future, and news in brief.

NYCC is the Future

The New York Comic Con last weekend provided an occasion for New York media to contemplate the future of in-person conventions. The New York Times sets the stage:

Last year, the pandemic decimated the global events industry, which relies on in-person gatherings for revenue. Trade shows and conventions were canceled or moved online, and empty convention centers were repurposed for hospital overflow. Industry revenue plunged 72 percent from 2019, and more than half the companies in the events business had to cut jobs, according to UFI, a trade group.

NYCC required proof of vaccination for everyone 12 and over, and proof of a negative test for everyone under 12. Masks were required for everyone, though unlike some cons, NYCC permitted costumes to cover the required masks.

Robert A. George at Bloomberg notes that the backlash was not terrible:

Lance Fensterman, president of ReedPop, which organizes NYCC and 45 other entertainment events, is sensitive to this concern. But he noted that response from customers was positive. There were 600 refund requests after the city announced its mandate, he said (it was two months after tickets went on sale). There was also a surge of new ticket sales to “customers reassured that the convention experience would be safe,” he said.

Both articles note that attendance was capped at 150,000, in contrast with a 2019 attendance of 275,000, so it is hard to tell what the drop in attendance would have been without the cap.

George also reports that no one was above the law:

Organizers wanted to prove that they can make events like this work, so following the city’s Covid guidelines was crucial; one exhibitor was expelled Friday over failure to follow the mask mandate.

Bleeding Cool also reports that a dealer was removed, but no one has the name of the offender.

In Brief

• Kumoricon 2021 has added Caleb Hyles as a Musical Guest of Honor and Momma Sammu as Master of Ceremonies and Cosplay Guest of Honor.

• Prolific conrunner Mary Kay Kare died October 7. Some of her activities included chairing Potlatch 19, serving on the Council of Stewards of the Mythopoeic Society, and being a World Fantasy Award judge.
  Obituaries: File 770 • Locus • Remembrance by David Bratman • Fancyclopedia 3 entry

Event Calendar

Weekend of October 15-17

• ICON 46, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA

• ArmadilloCon 43, Austin, Texas, USA

• VCon 2021, virtual (usually Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

• Can*Con 2021 (Canadian sf), virtual (usually Ottawa, Ontario)

• Anime Banzai, Davis, Utah, USA

• Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, Sitges, Spain

• Viking-Con 40 (gaming), Kastrup, Denmark

• Phantasm 30th (RPGs), Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

• BETACON 10 (gaming), Carbondale, Illinois, USA

• Effing-Con (gaming), Effingham, Illinois, USA

• Spiel ‘21 (boardgames), Essen, Germany

• Wauke-Con (comics), Waukegan, Illinois, USA

• The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Kendal, UK

• J-Popcon (anime), Copenhagen, Denmark

• Chizu Con (anime), Madison, Wisconsin, USA

• Tokyo, OK (anime), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

• WasabiCon (anime), Jacksonville, Florida, USA

• Heroes Made in Asia (anime), Gorinchem, Netherlands

• Geek Days Caen (media), Caen, France

• Motor City Comic Con, Novi, Michigan, USA

• MetaCon (media), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• Indiana Comic Convention, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• MagicCon 4 (fantasy media), Bonn, Germany

• Bedford Who Charity Con 6 (Doctor Who), Bedford, UK

Weekend of October 22-24

• BuchmesseCon, Dreieich, Germany

• Sirens (gender and fantasy), Denver, Colorado, USA

• Atlanta Game Fest 36, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA

• GaelCon (gaming), virtual (usually Dublin, Ireland)

• CincyCon 2021 (gaming), Hamilton, Ohio, USA

• LAN All Night: ZombieLAN (video games), Dallas, Texas, USA

• Biggest Little Fur Con (anthropomorphic), Reno, Nevada, USA

• Sci-Fi-London 21 (film festival), London, UK

• MEX (anime), Berlin, Germany

• Anime Nebraskon, Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA

• Anime Fusion, Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

• Another Anime Convention, Westford, Massachusetts, USA

• FedCon (media), Bonn, Germany

• Hal-Con (media), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

• Baltimore Comic-Con, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

• FicZone 2021 (media/gaming), Grenada, Spain

• TR25 (Tomb Raider), Derby, UK

• TFcon Baltimore (Transformers), Baltimore, Maryland, USA

• VoltCon! 2021 (Voltron), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Weekend of October 29-31

• SpoCon: Revamped, Spokane, Washington, USA

• BristolCon, Bristol, UK

• Les Utopiales, Nantes, France

• Hallowcon 2021: Gambler's Nightmare (fantasy/horror), Dalton, Georgia, USA

• The Surrey Steampunk Convivial, Epsom, UK

• Ohio Valley Filk Festival (music), Worthington, Ohio, USA

• Dragonflight 41 (gaming), Bellevue, Washington, USA

• EuroQuest 2021 (Eurogames), Pikesville, Maryland, USA

• Golden Leaves Con XI (anthropomorphic), Hasliberg, Switzerland

• Furry Blacklight 9: Space Travel, Tremblay-en-France, France

• Anime Halloween, Schaumberg, Illinois, USA

• Oni-Con XVII (anime), Galveston, Texas, USA

• SNAFU Con (anime), Reno, Nevada, USA

• LumiCon (anime), Tampa, Florida, USA

• Manga Barcelona (anime), Barcelona, Spain

• Destination Tokyo (anime), Monthey, Switzerland

• Anime Weekend Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• DerpyCon 2021 (anime), New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

• Yunicon 2021 (anime), Schwechat, Austria

• Youmacon 2021 (anime), Detroit, Michigan, USA

• SMASH! (anime), Sydney, Australia

• 31st Festival of Fantastic Films, Manchester, UK

• All-Con (media), Dallas, Texas, USA

• Soda City Comic Con, Columbia, South Carolina, USA

• Fan Expo Denver (media), Denver, Colorado, USA

• Fanboy Expo Knoxville (media), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

• Cherry Capital Comic Con, Acme, Michigan, USA

• Music City Multi Con (media/video games), Lebanon, Tennessee, USA

Weekend of November 5-7

• ArmadaCon 2021, Plymouth, UK

• IceCon 2021, Rejkjavik, Iceland

• World Fantasy Convention 2021, Montréal, Québéc, Canada

• Pulp Adventure, Bordentown, New Jersey, USA

• Corflu 38 Concorde (fanzines), Bristol, UK

• Carnage 24: Lost in the Carnage Triangle (gaming), Dover, Vermont, USA

• Midwest Gaming Classic, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• Retro World Expo (gaming), Hartford, Connecticut, USA

• BottosCon 2021 (gaming), New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada

• Hexcon 2021 (gaming), Trondheim, Norway

• AmberCon NW (diceless RPGs), virtual (usually Troutdale, Oregon, USA)

• PAWCon 2021: The Home Furront (anthropomorphic), San Jose, California, USA

• NekoCon 23 (anime), Hampton, Virginia, USA

• Kumoricon (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA

• Anime Destiny 2021, virtual (usually Berkeley, California, USA)

• FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium

• Comic Con Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden

• CoosaCon (media), Rome, Georgia, USA

• Akron Comiccon, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA

• CONjuration (Harry Potter), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Weekend of November 12-14

• Novacon 50, Nottingham, UK

• TusCon 48, Tucson, Arizona, USA

• Windycon 47: Urban Fantastic, Lombard, Illinois, USA

• OryCon 42, Portland, Oregon, USA

• ArmadilloCon 2021, Austin, Texas, USA

• Multiverse 2021, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• OmegaCon Fall 2021, Siren, Wisconsin, USA

• New England Crime Bake 2021: Home Sweet Homicide (mysteries), Dedham, Massachusetts, USA

• MEPACon 41 (gaming), White Haven, Pennsylvania, USA

• Heroicon (gaming), Decatur, Illinois, USA

• Bride of Geekway Mini (gaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA

• MACE 2021 (gaming), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

• Ludo-Outaouais (boardgames), Gatineau, Ontario, Canada

• Historicon 2021: Aircraft of War (historical miniatures gaming), Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, USA

• MillenniumCon (historical miniatures gaming), Round Rock, Texas, USA

• Flüüfff Grand Casino (anthropomorphic), Brussels, Belgium

• Bewhiskered: Prepare for Blast Off! (anthropomorphic), Durham, North Carolina, USA

• Aquatifur (anthropomorphic), Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA

• CanFURence 2021: The Furs Are Back in Town (anthropomorphic), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

• Anime Dallas, DFW Airport, Texas, USA

• Anime Iwai, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

• WasabiCon (anime), Jacksonville, Florida, USA

• Thought Bubble (comics), Leeds, UK

• Grand Rapids Comic Con, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

• Destination Star Trek London, London, UK

• Empire City Con (Steven Universe), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Coda

• Blue Origin crew concerned by new uniforms ahead of Shatner space flight (NewsThump)

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