Westercon In Trouble Again
The West Coast Science Fantasy Conference, known better as Westercon, was to hold its 75th annual convention this year, but it has been cancelled:
The Westercon 75 staff and I regret that we cannot fulfill our plans to hold the event which had been scheduled for June 30 – July 3, 2023, in Anaheim, CA. It saddens us to do this, but a cascade of circumstances won’t allow it to happen.
The essential functions of Westercon will be taken up by Loscon 49 (Los Angeles, November 24-26). Loscon will also honor any Westercon memberships which are not requested to be refunded.
Westercon has had a rough few years. Westercon 73 would have been held in 2020, but was moved forward a year. In 2021 its chair announced that it no longer had enough staff to be held, and Loscon became a combined Loscon and Westercon that year as well. Westercon 74, moved forward a year to 2022, was held as planned, but there was a last-minute scramble to find a bid for Westercon 76.
While Westercon 76 is still planned for next year, two failures in three years means there is likely to be debate at Loscon about whether Westercon has outlived its usefulness.
SiliCon Still in Trouble
SiliCon 2023, which would have been held in San Jose, California this October, has been cancelled, ostensibly due to pandemic stresses. SiliCon was originally the Silicon Valley Comic Con, an ambitious celebrity-led media/technology con, as Friends of Comic Con explains:
It began as Silicon Valley Comic Con in 2016, the brainchild of Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak and Marvel Comic’s Stan Lee. The idea was to merge a comic/pop culture convention with technology, and this concept was well-received by the local community. Unfortunately, the con took on too much too soon, and while its 2016, 2017, and 2018 shows were large in scope and enjoyed by attendees, the financial outlook was not as good. Additionally, Stan Lee’s failing health and Steve Wozniak’s reduced involvement left the convention without a firm leader at the helm. The 2019 show fell short in comparison to its first three years, and had less to offer to attendees. In February 2020, the event was rebranded as SiliCon, and taken over by Adam Savage (Mythbusters).
SiliCon had to skip a couple years, but in 2022 was back with Savage having made it over into a heavily maker-focused convention. However, that was not enough to bring it back to financial health. The cancellation announcement says:
As you are likely aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant disruption to public gatherings and events, and we have seen a slow return to normalcy. We continue to face challenges and uncertainties. The economic impact has been severe, and many individuals and businesses continue to face financial hardships.
Savage has said on Twitter that he is no longer SiliCon’s creative director.
In Brief
FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 21-23) has added Ashley Eckstein, Matt Lanter, James Arnold Taylor, Melissa Gilbert, and John Rhys-Davies as guests.
Cincinnati Comic Expo (Cincinnati, Ohio, September 22-24) has added Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor, Alex Livinalli, John de Lancie, Brent Spiner, and Paul Williams as guests.
Event Calendar
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
Sunshine City Scare (horror media), St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
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
Spooky Empire (horror media), Orlando, Florida, 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
Marcon 2023: Save the World, Columbus, Ohio, 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
Weekend of June 2-4
ConCarolinas 2023, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
ConQuesT 54, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Fantasticon 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark
Oz-Stravaganza 2023: Over the Rainbow to Oz (Wizard of Oz), Chittenango, New York, USA
JodiWorld (Chronicles of St. Mary’s/Time Police series), Coventry, UK
Cogs & Corsets (steampunk), Bloomington, Illinois, USA
FlaMinGoCon 22 (gaming), Delray Beach, Florida, USA
UK Games Expo (gaming), Birmingham, UK
Y-Con 2023 (gaming), Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
SaltCON Summer (gaming), Layton, Utah, USA
DieCon 2023 (gaming), Collinsville, Illinois, USA
Zomerspel 2023 (gaming), Merelbeke, Belgium
Wellycon 2023 (gaming), Wellington, New Zealand
NordCon (gaming), Hamburg, Germany
Ultra Gaming Expo (video games), McAllen, Texas, USA
North Texas RPG Con (vintage tabletop RPGs), Irving, Texas, USA
A-Kon Episode 32 (anime), Irving, Texas, USA
My Hero Convention: Alabama (anime), Birmingham, Alabama, USA
KimoKawaii (anime), Conroe, Texas, USA
Anime Marathon, Königslutter am Elm, Germany
YUMiCON (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA
DoKomi (anime), Düsseldorf, Germany
Awesome Con (media), Washington, DC, USA
3 Rivers Comicon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Austria Comic Con, Wels, Austria
Portsmouth Comic Con, Portsmouth, UK
Argentina Comic Con, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Phoenix Fan Fusion (media), Phoenix, Arizona, USA
ColossalCon (media), Sandusky, Ohio, USA
North Country Comic Con, Watertown, New York, USA
Warsaw Comic Con, Warsaw, Poland
Etna Comics 2023 (media), Catania, Italy
Sci-Fi-London 23 (film festival), London, UK
Whinny City Pony Con 2023: Tropical Getaway (My Little Pony), Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
Weekend of June 9-11
Konflikt, the 2023 European Science Fiction Convention, Uppsala, Sweden
2023 Metropolis Superman Celebration, Metropolis, Illinois, USA
Heroes, Villains, and Blerds (art), Winter Park, Florida, USA
áyA Con (indigenous comics and art), Denver, Colorado, USA
Airikas Traum XVII (music), Erbach, Germany
Bayou Wars 2023 31 (miniatures gaming), D’Iberville, Mississippi, USA
AnimeCon 2023, Rijswijk, Netherlands
Wie.MAI.KAI (anime), Flörsheim am Main, Germany
Rocket City Anime Convention, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
JAFAX 2023 (anime), Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
OMG!con 2023: Magical Girls (anime), Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
Space Coast Comic Con, Cocoa, Florida, USA
Oz Comic-Con: Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
SWFL SpaceCon (media), Cape Coral, Florida, USA
Sci-Fi Valley Con (media), Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA
Fan Expo Dallas (media), Dallas, Texas, USA
Comic Con Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
The Bride of FrankenCon (horror media), Alcoa, Tennessee, USA
Coda
Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.