SMOF News, volume 2, issue 21
Chengdu Worldcon follows a new tradition by changing its plans, and news in brief.
Chengdu Worldcon Changes Dates and Location
This year’s World Science Fiction Convention in Chengdu, China has switched to a new location, the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum, and dates, October 18-22. It was originally scheduled to be at the Chengdu Century City New International Convention & Exhibition Center.
Despite the name, the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum is also an event facility. New Atlas has details which include:
The building's interior will measure 59,000 sq m (roughly 635,000 sq ft), which will be divided between exhibition spaces, conference halls, event areas, galleries, and theaters. There will also be service areas and a large central atrium.
This is half the size of the Chengdu Worldcon’s original venue, but still large in Worldcon terms, even if a substantial amount of it is taken up by museum galleries. For comparison, last year’s Worldcon at the Hyatt Regency Chicago had 240,000 square feet of event space to work with.
Worldcon is prominently mentioned in every article about the museum, and the architects’ page about the facility even includes a mockup of it hosting the Hugo Awards ceremony.
The Chengdu Science Fiction Museum is scheduled to be completed August 30.
Three of four Worldcons in a row have now been forced to change their dates and venues. The 2021 Worldcon in Washington, DC, Discon III, was originally planned for the Marriott Wardman Park, but was forced to move the whole con into its secondary hotel, the Omni Shoreham, after the Wardman Park closed and filed for bankruptcy due to the travel disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for August of 2021, it moved to December to avoid the lingering Delta variant, and, like many other conventions which changed their dates in 2021, wound up in the Omicron surge instead.
The 2020 Worldcon, CoNZealand, was forced to adjust its dates shortly before site selection for 2020, moving from August 12-16 to July 29-August 2. Its announcement said that this was to “ensure that our New Zealand Worldcon will have unfettered access to the facilities and accommodation required to run a successful event, should our bid be awarded the convention”, a statement which now carries a horrible irony since it would later be forced to pivot to being almost entirely virtual when New Zealand’s travel restrictions made international attendance impossible.
In Brief
The Chengdu Worldcon has bridged the gaps of international finance and is now finally able to take Western credit card payments for memberships. Prospective members can start the process at the “Login or Purchase Membership” button on its English-language homepage.
The Buffalo in 2024 NASFiC bid has filed official papers with this year’s NASFiC, Pemmi-con (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, July 20-23). Its previously announced date of August 16-20, 2024 has been changed to July 18-21.
Event Calendar
Weekend of January 27-29
Conflikt (music), online (usually Seattle, Washington, USA)
AnthroExpo: Furry Scene (anthropomorphic), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Game-iToba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Cascade Games Convention, Bellingham, Washington, USA
Chattanooga Railgaming Challenge, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
G-Anime Winter Edition, Gatineau, Québec, Canada
UChi-Con 2023 (anime), Chicago, Illinois, USA
Anime Town: Greenville 2023, Greenville, South Carolina, USA
Mouse-Con Bakersfield (Disney), Bakersfield, California, USA
The Vampire Diaries/The Originals Original Reunion Convention, Allen, Texas, USA
Weekend of February 3-5
Capricon 43: Eternity Awaits..., Wheeling, Illinois, USA
ScotiaCon (anthropomorphic), Glasgow, UK
Running GAGG 27 (gaming), Geneseo, New York, USA
CaptainCon (gaming), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
Rocket City Gamefest, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
Winter War 2023 (gaming), Champaign, Illinois, USA
WeebCon Year 3 (anime), Allen, Texas, USA
SSA+S Toracon (anime), Sarasota, Florida, USA
Anime Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
East Bay Comic Con, Concord, California, USA
Geek Days Rennes (media), Rennes, France
Creation Dallas (media), Plano, Texas, USA
My Hero Convention: Texas (My Hero Academia), Irving, Texas, USA
Weekend of February 10-12
Atlanta Steampunk Exposition: Steampunks in Space, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
DualCon (gaming), Charleston, West Virginia, USA
Game On! 2023, Bellevue, Washington, USA
AmberCon NI 2023 (diceless RPGs), Belfast, UK
Kami-Con Season 14: Darkness Rises (anime), Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Animangapop (anime), Plymouth, UK
Savannah Animazing Con (anime), Savannah, Georgia, USA
Brick City Anime Festival, Ocala, Florida, USA
SWFL-AnimeFest, Fort Myers, Florida, USA
Zipcon 2023 (anime), Akron, Ohio, USA
Farpoint 30 (media), Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA
Mumbai Comic Con, Mumbai, India
Capital Sci Fi Con (media), Edinburgh, UK
Weekend of February 17-19
Boskone 59, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Radcon 8C, Pasco, Washington, USA
Life, the Universe, and Everything (symposium), Provo, Utah, USA
DunDraCon 46 (gaming), Santa Clara, California, USA
Polar Vortex 7 (gaming), Lisle, Illinois, USA
Con of the North 2023 (gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Orccon 2023 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA
LVL UP EXPO (video games), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Williamsburg Muster (wargaming), Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Decepta Con (social deception gaming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
J-Popcon (anime), Copenhagen, Denmark
ExpOtaku Logroño (anime), San Millán, Spain
Anime STX, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Katsucon 2023 (anime), National Harbor, Maryland, USA
Animefest 2023, La Jolla, California, USA
Con Nooga (media), Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Fan Expo Vancouver (media), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Fan Expo Portland (media), Portland, Oregon, USA
SD Rocket Con (media), San Diego, California, USA
Hickory Con (media), Hickory, South Carolina, USA
Boston Sci Fi Film Festival 48, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Gallifrey One 33⅓: Long Live the Revolution (Doctor Who), Los Angeles, California, USA
Weekend of February 24-26
MystiCon, Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Ret-Con, Cary, North Carolina, USA
Total Confusion 37 (gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA
Plattecon XXXVI: Year of the Haunt (gaming), Platteville, Wisconsin, USA
CalCon 29 (gaming), Kalmar, Sweden
SoRCon 14 (boardgames), Basildon, UK
Gamicon Gallium (gaming), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
DualCon (gaming), Charleston, West Virginia, USA
LootFest (gaming), Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Festival International des Jeux (gaming), Cannes, France
K2 Convention (gaming), Dungarvan, Ireland
GenghisCon (gaming), Aurora, Colorado, USA
Fire and Ice Convention (gaming), Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA
Escape Winter Con 2023 (gaming), Orlando, Florida, USA
TantrumCon (boardgames), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
PrezCon 2023 (boardgames), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Intercon U: Ultraviolet (LARPs), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
Kawacon (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA
Fanime Expo (anime), Pasadena, Texas, USA
Japan Expo Sud 2023: Ready to Investigate? (anime), Marseille, France
Anime Crossroads 2023, Plainfield, Indiana, USA
Nerd Fest (media), Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA
Alaska ComiCon, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Shawicon (media), Shawinigan, Québec, Canada
StocktonCon (media), Stockton, California, USA
Wilkes Comic Con, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, USA
ATL Comic Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Coda
Pet fish livestreams YouTuber’s credit card info (Anime News Network)
Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.