How To Convention: Fan Tables
If you’ve been to a nonprofit fan convention, you may have seen tables advertising local clubs and other conventions in the hallways or common spaces of the con. These are fan tables, one of the long-running expressions of fandom as one connected community.
(You may also see similar tables in the dealers’ room at some conventions. In those cases, the tables have usually been purchased as dealer tables, which is a topic for another time.)
Fan tables are given out for free to qualifying organizations. This typically means other nonprofit events and geeky clubs, but can also include anything connected to the host convention’s focus, such as space advocacy organizations at science fiction cons or Asian culture ones at anime cons.
Table activities are limited to providing information and selling items directly related to the entity running the table. Club memberships and event admission are fine, and swag with the logo of the club or event is usually allowed, but general items are not, so that the tables don’t simply become free dealer tables.
So how does your club or event snag one? Sometimes there’s a form to fill out, and sometimes you just need to send an email. Applications may open up as much as a few months ahead of the convention, and will usually close a few weeks ahead. If you’re looking at a con website and can’t tell if fan tables are an option, check the exhibits section if there is one, or see if there is a fan table contact in the committee list.
And then all you have to do is get enough people from your club or event who are attending the convention to volunteer to staff the table, set it up and pack things away each day. That’s the hard part.
In Brief
Ad Astra, the organization behind the convention of the same name, will “enter a dormant phase” after paying out what money it can to creditors. The convention has not happened since 2019.
Sandra Bond has won the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund vote and will attend Pemmi-con (Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 20-23) as the TAFF delegate. More details in the TAFF newsletter (PDF).
Indiana Comic Convention (Indianapolis, Indiana, May 5-7) has added Grant Gustin, Harvey Guillén, and Mark Shepard as guests.
FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 21-23) has added Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Tom Wilson, Chris Sarandon, Carey Jones, and Yuri Lowenthal as guests.
Flame Con (New York City, August 12-13) has added Stephanie Williams as a guest.
Event Calendar
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
Sci-Fi on the Rock (media), St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
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
Weekend of May 5-7
Starbase DemiCon: A New World, Urbandale, Iowa, USA
Na meji nevidnega, Ljubljana, Slovenia
AtomaCon 2023, North Charleston, South Carolina, USA
ChupacabraCon IX (gaming), San Marcos, Texas, USA
WagonCon 6 (gaming), The Dalles, Oregon, USA
Heroicon (gaming), Decatur, Illinois, USA
Festival Alchemie du Jeu (gaming), Toulouse, France
Congress of Gamers Spring Session, Rockville, Maryland, USA
San Marino Game Convention, San Marino
1d4Con 2023 (gaming), Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA
Indiana Comic Convention, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
SoCal Gaming Expo (video games), Ontario, California, USA
Game Jam South (video games), Huntsville, Alabama, USA
MagicCon (Magic: the Gathering CCG), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Shine Con (anime), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Kogaracon (anime), Edison, New Jersey, USA
Anime Arizona, Mesa, Arizona, USA
Animefest 2023, Brno, Czechia
Pokheimon Festival, Heimsbrunn, France
Northern FanCon (media), Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
Saratoga Comic Con, Saratoga Springs, New York, USA
Apopkon (media), Apopka, Florida, USA
Contropolis Pennsylvania (media), Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA
The Hero Con (media), Fort Meyers, Florida, USA
Weekend of May 12-14
SFeraKon 2023, Zagreb, Croatia
Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations (symposium), online
Furry Weekend Atlanta: The Lost City, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Furry Down Under 2023 (anthropomorphic), Surfers Paradise, Australia
Game Market, Tokyo, Japan
North Star (sf RPGs), Sheffield, UK
Lan ETS (LAN gaming), Montréal, Québec, Canada
Tsunami 41 (anime), Mérida, Mexico
Kameha Con 5 (anime), Allen, Texas, USA
PuchiCon (anime), Atlantc City, New Jersey, USA
IberAnime, Lisboa, Portugal
Hazard Con (anime), Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
Metrotham Con Episode IV: Return of the '90s (media), Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Geek Days Lille (media), Lille, France
Weekend of May 19-21
Metropol Con Berlin (German national sf convention), Berlin, Germany
Keycon 40: Choose Your Own Adventure!, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Das Frühlingsfest der Filksmusik (music), Hanstedt, Germany
Mephit Mini Con 24: Highland Games (anthropomorphic), Kirchen/Sieg, Germany
Furry Weekend Holland: Spirit of the West, Baarlo, Netherlands
CanGames, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
LinCon (gaming), Linköping, Sweden
Geekway to the West 2023: Moshin' With Meeples (gaming), St. Charles, Missouri, USA
Huzzah! Con 2023 (miniatures gaming), Portland, Maine, USA
Tokyo Alley 11: Marine! (anime), Perth, Australia
Anime Central, Rosemont, Illinois, USA
Bak-Anime, Bakersfield, California, USA
CloverCon (anime), Bridgewater, New Jersey, USA
Otafest 2023 (anime), Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Tidewater Comicon, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
Comic Con Revolution, Ontario, California, USA
Fantasy Basel (media), Basel, Switzerland
CradleCon (media), Garden City, New York, USA
Dublin Wizard Con (fantasy media), Dublin, Ireland
Horrorcon UK (media), Sheffield, UK
Crypticon Seattle (horror media), Seatac, Washington, USA
Seaquestria Fest (My Little Pony), Ocean City, Maryland, USA
Coda
Solar sails now capable of hitting 7 AU/year (The Register)
Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.