Discover more from SMOF News
European Fan Fund Launches
The European Fan Fund is a new initiative to promote pan-European fandom by assisting fans in travelling to Eurocon, the pan-European convention. The first administrator is Marcin Kłak of the blog Fandom Rover, which is hosting the initial announcement and FAQ (PDF).
The EFF is modelled on the intercontinental fan funds, selecting one person per year by a vote of donors. For those who wish to put their names forward:
You will need three European nominators (who will each need to confirm their nominations), a platform of no more than 200 words to appear on the ballot, a bond of €12/£10 and a guarantee to attend the 2023 Eurocon in Sweden if you win.
Among your nominators there must be at least one fan from your country and one fan from another European country.
Fans in Eurocon’s host country are excluded, so no one in Sweden is eligible for the current race, and no one in the Netherlands would be eligible should the EFF have a race tied to the 2024 Eurocon.
The FAQ adds that, also like with the intercontinental fan funds, winners are expected to serve as administrators for the following two years, and to produce a trip report.
Nominations will be open December 1 through January 25.
New Smofcon Bids Appear
Smofcon (which has no official connection to this newsletter) is a convention for fans who run fan conventions. In the run-up to this year’s edition (Montréal, December 2-4), two new bids to host it in 2023 have been announced.
One is for Providence, Rhode Island, to be run by Massachusetts Convention Fandom, Inc. It would be a hybrid convention, with in-person events at the Providence Marriott Downtown.
The other is for Sickla, Sweden (in the Stockholm area), run by fans who have run Swecons (Sweden’s national science fiction convention) and Eurocons. The venue for the convention would be the Dieselverkstaden cultural center.
Both bids are for the traditional Smofcon weekend, December 1-3.
The Smofcon bids page also lists a bid by NASF3, the group behind the Heliosphere science fiction convention, for the New York/New Jersey area, dates not specified.
In Brief
WisCon (Madison, Wisconsin, USA, May 26-29) has launched a new fundraising drive, looking for $30,000 to enhance convention offerings and $3,000 for its member assistance fund.
GameStorm 23 (Portland, Oregon, USA, March 23-26) has added Jacob Fryxelius as a Guest of Honor, and Tim and Kristin Devine as Kids’ Activities Guests of Honor.
Event Calendar
Weekend of December 2-4
Smofcon 38 (con-running), Montréal, Québec, Canada
Midwest Furfest: Heroes (anthropomorphic), Rosemont, Illinois, USA
Dragonmeet (gaming), London, UK
Midwest GameFest, Independence, Missouri, USA
PAX Unplugged (tabletop gaming), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Shorehammer (miniatures gaming), Ocean City, Maryland, USA
Winter’s Tide (video games), Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Anime Frontier, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Columbia Anime & Video Game Expo, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Anime Town: Pensacola 2022, Pensacola, Florida, USA
Geek Days Lille (media), Lille, France
Abilene Comic Con, Abilene, Texas, USA
GalaxyCon Columbus (media), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Comic Con Okinawa, Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan
Wintercon (media), Jamaica, New York, USA
For the Love of Sci-Fi 2022 (media), Manchester, UK
L.A. Comic Con 2022, Los Angeles, California, USA
Weekend of December 9-11
Aetnacon 2022/Italcon 2022 (Italian national sf convention), Catania, Italy
Cosplay Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
FURUM 2022: Con of the Lost (anthropomorphic), Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Cayden’s Ascension 4722 (Pathfinder and Starfinder RPGs), online
28 Manga Barcelona (anime), Barcelona, Spain
Kuri 2022 (anime), San José, Costa Rica
Yama-Con 2022 (anime), Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA
Heroes Assemble 2 (media), Richmond, Virginia, USA
Ocean City Comic Con, Ocean City, Maryland, USA
Maui Comic Con, Wailuku, Hawaii, USA
Raptor Con (media), Evansville, Indiana, USA
RADP 27 (Disney theme parks), Walt Disney World, Florida, USA
Game of Thrones Official Fan Convention, Los Angeles, California, USA
Weekend of December 16-18
Furcan 2022: Viva la Feria (anthropomorphic), Puebla, Mexico
TwinConRPG (gaming), London, UK
Sac Gamers Expo (video games), Sacramento, California, USA
Holiday Matsuri (anime), Orlando, Florida, USA
Con+Alt+Delete (anime), Rosemont, Illinois, USA
Nashville Anime Day, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA
Anime Winter Festa 2022, Kingston, Jamaica
Comic Fiesta, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Supernatural Official Convention, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Weekend of December 23-25
EOY J-Culture Festival 2022 (anime), Singapore
Weekend of December 30-January 1
Furvester 4: Mission to Mars (anthropomorphic), Reutlingen, Germany
Painted Desert Fur Con: The Island: Pirates! (anthropomorphic), Phoenix, Arizona, USA
New Year’s Furry Ball, Newark, Delaware, USA
OKiCon (anime), Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Comic Market 101 (amateur comics), Tokyo, Japan
Coda
The Great Wave Off Kanagawa in LEGO (Open Culture, hat tip: Lady Business)
Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.