SMOF News, volume 2, issue 34

Remember to take care of yourself, and news in brief.

How To Convention: Take Care of Yourself

The traditional huge end-of-May convention weekend is on the horizon, reminding us that northern hemisphere season of high temperatures and packed conventions is upon us. And it does look like an almost normal summer for big conventions, so here’s a refresher on how to stay comfortable in them:

• Stay hydrated. Even if the convention center has excellent air conditioning, that air will be very dry. Bring your reusable water bottle.

• Wear comfortable shoes. Standing in line half the day is annoying enough without adding physical torture.

• Remember your anti-perspirant. Not only will you be more comfortable, those around you will be too. Even the celebrity guests will appreciate it.

• Stay fueled. All that walking up and down hotel stairs or traversing caverous exhibit halls will use more energy than you think. Remember to eat lunch and have snacks handy.

• Get your bivalent booster. COVID-19 isn’t getting any more deadly, at least, but long COVID is still a thing and the virus is still making incremental improvements in contagiousness. If you already got a bivalent booster last fall, though, and you’re not in a very high-risk group, you’re probably good for now.

• Tap out if you need to. Many conventions have quiet rooms if you need a break from the noise and bustle. If you’re running out of energy, go home or back to your hotel room and take a nap. If you’re sick, do everyone a favor, stay away from the con, and rest. It may suck but you wouldn’t enjoy attending while sick nearly as much anyway.

In Brief

• John Mansfield, a Canadian conrunner whose career included helping found Keycon and chairing the 1994 Worldcon, died April 19. He was to have been a Guest of Honor at Pemmi-con.
  Statement from Pemmi-con • Remembrances from Keycon (Facebook) • Fancyclopedia 3

• Indiana Comic Convention (Indianapolis, Indiana, May 5-7) has added Carlos Valdes, Catherine Disher, and Quinton Aaron as guests.

• Anime Ohio (Cincinnati, Ohio, June 23-25) has added Michael Haigney, Brianna Knickerbocker, and Dan Woren as guests.

• FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 21-23) has added Wayne Knight, Sarah Natochenny, Ryan Colt Levy, Joel McDonald, Sarah Wiedenheft, and Mike McFarland as guests.

Event Calendar

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

Weekend of May 26-28

• Balticon 57, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

• MisCon 37: Monster Mash-up, Missoula, Montana, USA

• Satellite 8, Glasgow, UK

• Fargo CoreCon: Portals to Fantastic Worlds, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

• Åcon 12 (relaxacon), Mariehamn, Finland

• WisCon 46 (feminist sf), Madison, Wisconsin, USA

• ConFuzzled (anthropomorphic), Birmingham, UK

• AnthrOhio: To the Fur Flung Regions of Space (anthropomorphic), Columbus, Ohio, USA

• NomadiCon (anthropomorphic), Nashville, Tennessee, USA

• KublaCon 21 (gaming), Burlingame, California, USA

• ReCon (gaming), Kernersville, North Carolina, USA

• PrairieCon (gaming), Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

• Rocky Top Game Con, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

• Evergreen Tabletop Expo, Renton, Washington, USA

• Gamex 2023 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA

• TableTopCon '23 (gaming), Southport, Australia

• BGG.Spring (boardgames), Dallas, Texas, USA

• Enfilade 2023 (miniatures gaming), Olympia, Washington, USA

• PaizoCon Online 2023 (Pathfinder/Starfinder RPGs), online

• Otaku Link 6 (anime), Derby, UK

• FanimeCon (anime), San Jose, California, USA

• Thy Geekdom Con (anime), Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA

• Animazement (anime), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

• Mizucon (anime), Miami, Florida, USA

• AniMinneapolis (anime), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• ExpOtaku A Coruña (anime), A Coruña, Spain

• Anime Riverside 2023, Riverside, California, USA

• Chibi-Con 2023 (anime), Winterthur, Switzerland

• MomoCon 2023 (anime), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Sabaku Con 2023 (anime), Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

• Naka-Kon 2023 (anime), Overland Park, Kansas, USA

• FedCon (media), Bonn, Germany

• MCM London Comic Con, London, UK

• Cherry Capital Comic Con, Acme, Michigan, USA

Coda

• Fictional Brands Archive (hat tip: File 770)

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