SMOF News, volume 2, issue 30

More police visiting furry conventions, and news in brief.

Threats Targeting Anthropomorphic Conventions

In addition to last week’s panic at Furnal Equinox whose cause is unclear, two other anthropomorphic fan conventions have been the target of threats this month.

VancouFur (Vancouver, British Columbia, March 2-5) was visited by police who searched the building in response to what was later revealed to be a hoax call. VancouFur’s statement on Twitter says in part:

After speaking with the RCMP, we learned the police received a spoofed number call originating from Memphis, Tennessee regarding our event.

Further investigation of the call has led the RCMP to believe the call was designed to ruin our fun.

Simply put, we were swatted.

Attendees were asked to not discuss the incident further online.

This past weekend, attendees at Motor City Furry Con (Ypsilanti, Michigan) had to clear the building on the first day of the convention. The Detroit Free Press reports:

Marriott confirmed with the Free Press that the Ypsilanti hotel received "an anonymous threat which led to the hotel being cleared while the authorities work to sweep the area" and "once we are clear to go back in our events will resume."

Unconfirmed reports say that it was a bomb threat. Motor City Furry Con has not commented publicly about it since announcing the all-clear.

In Brief

• Con or Bust has announced a special fund to assist Palestinian fans and creators to attend the 2024-2028 World Science Fiction Conventions. Applications for assistance travelling to the 2024 Worldcon will open in July.

• Indiana Comic Convention (Indianapolis, Indiana, May 5-7) has added Shannon Doherty, Ron Perlman, David Matranga, and Phil Lamarr as guests.

• FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 21-23) has announced its initial slate of guests: Amy Chu, Clayton Crain, Steve Downes, Jen Taylor, Matthew Lillard, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy, Tom Welling, and Michael Rosenbaum.

Event Calendar

Weekend of March 31-April 2

• Corflu Craic (fanzines), Belfast, UK

• Romics XXX (comics), Rome, Italy

• Consonance 2023 (music), Milpitas, California, USA

• 13 Gears (steampunk), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival, Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA

• CosXpo (costuming), Reading, UK

• Midwest Gaming Classic, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• Alamo City Game Convention, San Antonio, Texas, USA

• DayCon (gaming), Kettering, Ohio, USA

• ADK Tabletop Day (gaming), Glens Falls, New York, USA

• Midwest Gaming Classic (video games), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• Havoc XXXVII (miniatures gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA

• Gary Con XV (Gary Gygax), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA

• KokoroCon 2 (anime), Nottingham, UK

• Kawaii Kon (anime), Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

• Triad Anime Convention, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

• Angers Geekfest #4: Utopie & Dystopie (media), Angers, France

• RodCon (media), Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA

• FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium

• ETSU-Con (media), Johnson City, Tennessee, USA

• Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Chicago, Illinois, USA

• Creation Nola (media), New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

• Megacon Orlando (media), Orlando, Florida, USA

• ETSU-Con (media), Johnson City, Tennessee, USA

• Paris Manga Sci-Fi Show (media), Villepinte, France

• Rose City Comic Convention, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

• CyPhaCon 2023 (media), Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA

• CabbageCon (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Columbus, Ohio, USA

Weekend of April 7-9

• Conversation 2023 (UK national sf convention), London, UK

• Minicon 56, Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, USA

• Norwescon 45: Between Two Worlds, SeaTac, Washington, USA

• Fastaval '23, Hobro, Denmark

• Golden State Fur Con (anthropomorphic), Los Angeles, California, USA

• Fur Squared 2023 (anthropomorphic), Brookfield, Wisconsin, USA

• Fauntastic 2023: Wild in the Street (anthropomorphic), Lyon, France

• Clockwork Alchemy: Villains & Heroes (steampunk), San Mateo, California, USA

• GothCon XLVI (gaming), Göteborg, Sweden

• DaveCon (gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

• Conquest Games Convention (RPGs), Melbourne, Australia

• Scrum Con (wargaming), Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

• WeebCon Year 3 (anime), Grapevine, Texas, USA

• MTAC Blackjack (anime), Nashville, Tennessee, USA

• Anime Detour, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• Anime Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Karoshi-Con (anime), DeKalb, Illinois, USA

• Kanpai!Con (anime), Omaha, Nebraska, USA

• Sakura-Con 2023 (anime), Seattle, Washington, USA

• Puerto Rico Comic Con, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA

• BABSCon 2023 (My Little Pony), Burlingame, California, USA

• Star Wars Celebration 2023, Anaheim, California, USA

Weekend of April 14-16

• Swancon 47, Maylands, Australia

• HAL-CON 2023, Kawasaki, Japan

• Les Intergalactiques 2023, Lyon, France

• 221B Con (Sherlock Holmes), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Las Vegas Fur Con 2023: The Enfurtainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• Jack Williamson Lectureship 2023: Climates of Empire, Portales, New Mexico, USA

• Conpulsion 2023 (gaming), Edinburgh, UK

• MEPACON (gaming), Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

• CODCON XXVI (gaming), Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA

• Jeu au Boute (boardgames), Chertsey, Québec, Canada

• VGM Con: Oops, All Zelda (videogames/music), Plymouth, Minnnesota, USA

• Harucon (anime), Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria

• Riverwalk Anime, San Antonio, Texas, USA

• Comic-Con Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

• Bold City Con (media), Jacksonville, Florida, USA

• SC Comicon, Greenville, South Carolina, USA

• Quad Cities Comic Con, Davenport, Iowa, USA

• Supanova 2023 – Gold Coast (media), Broadbeach, Australia

• Dairycon 2023: The Moo Generation (Transformers), Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USA

Weekend of April 21-23

• RavenCon 16, Richmond, Virginia, USA

• ConStellation 12: Age of Aquarius, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

• HELIOsphere, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA

• LuxCon 2023, Dudelange, Luxembourg

• Concinnity 2023, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• JordanCon (fantasy literature), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, Lombard, Illinois, USA

• Penguicon 2023 (sf/open source), Southfield, Michigan, USA

• Costume-Con 39: Things That Go Bump in the Night, San Jose, California, USA

• Farmageddon IX (gaming), Farmer City, Illinois, USA

• Cheyenne Gaming Convention, Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA

• Rising Phoenix GameCon, Milford, Massachusetts, USA

• LexiCon 2023 (gaming), Lexington, Kentucky, USA

• Jeu au Boute (boardgames), Chertsey, Québec, Canada

• Nashville Tabletop Day 2023 (boardgames), Nashville, Tennessee, USA

• CoMo Retro Con (retro video games), Columbia, Missouri, USA

• Omnicon Symphony (anime), Cookeville, Tennessee, USA

• Mang’Azur (anime), Toulon, France

• Anime St. Louis, St. Charles, Missouri, USA

• Saluki Con (anime), Carbondale, Illinois, USA

• Mobile Bay Anime Festival, Daphne, Alabama, USA

• Anime Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• Anime Town Utah, Sandy, Utah, USA

• FicZone 2023 (anime), Granada, Spain

• Beta Quest 2023 (anime), Kingsland, Georgia, USA

• Ithacon 2023 (comics), Ithaca, New York, USA

• Sci-Fi Scarborough (media), Scarborough, UK

• Yellow City Comic Con 2023, Amarillo, Texas, USA

• Fayetteville Comic Con, Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA

• El Paso Comic Con, El Paso, Texas, USA

• Wicked Comic Con, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Supanova 2023 – Melbourne (media), Broadbeach, Australia

• PortmeiriCon (The Prisoner), Portmeirion, UK

Weekend of April 28-30

• Tulkon, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

• OmegaCon (relaxacon), Siren, Wisconsin, USA

• Ice and Fire Convention (Song of Ice and Fire series), Mt. Sterling, Ohio, USA

• Scheibenwelt Convention (Discworld), Witzenhausen, Germany

• Malice Domestic 35 (mysteries), Bethesda, Maryland, USA

• UBCon XXXII (gaming), Buffalo, New York, USA

• Chupacabracon IX (gaming), Round Rock, Texas, USA

• 2023 Gaming Hoopla, Mundelein, Illinois, USA

• Buckeye Game Fest 2023, Columbus, Ohio, USA

• LoBsterCon XXIV: Couple Dozen (boardgames), Eastbourne, UK

• LAN All Night VII: SpaceLAN (LAN gaming), Grapevine, Texas, USA

• Recon 2023: Infantry! (miniatures gaming), Kissimmee, Florida, USA

• Little Wars 2023: Damn the Torpedoes! (miniatures gaming), Lisle, Illinois, USA

• Warhammer Fest 2023 (Warhammer miniatures game), Manchester, UK

• aniMUC (anime), Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany

• Castle Point Anime Convention, Seacaucus, New Jersey, USA

• LoboCon (anime), Rohnert Park, California, USA

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

• Oz-Con (anime), West Plains, Missouri, USA

• Manga-Comic-Con, Leipzig, Germany

• MondoCon 2023 (anime), Budapest, Hungary

• ExpOtaku Vitoria-Gasteiz 2023 (anime), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

• Fangaea (media), San Diego, California, USA

• Causeacon (media), Beckley, West Virginia, USA

• Mini-Mini Con (media), Balcones Heights, Texas, USA

• ASU Nerd Con (media), Boone, North Carolina, USA

• Central Texas Comic Con, Waco, Texas, USA

Coda

• ChatGPT tries to predict when The Winds of Winter is coming (FanSided, hat tip: File 770)

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