SMOF News, volume 2, issue 37

A con suite explainer, and news in brief.

How To Convention: The Con Suite

Of all the convention areas a first-time congoer sees mentioned on a website or in a pocket program, the con suite is perhaps the most mysterious. Only people who’ve previously encountered similar setups at non-fan conventions are likely to know what “con suite” means.

Sometimes it isn’t even called the con suite. Sometimes it’s Hospitality, or the Fan Lounge, or a more idiosyncratic name. But in all cases, it’s a designated hangout space with refreshments.

This may sound odd to someone used to huge cons held in convention centers, which usually have plenty of refreshment stands and big open areas with seats or tables for people to congregate in without the convention having to specially create one. And indeed, the con suite is usually a function of a hotel-based con, where those big open spaces between event rooms do not exist.

Depending on space, available volunteers, the facility contract, and local regulations, the food in a con suite may be anything from basic snacks and sodas to enough solid food to provide actual meals. The food is usually free, though you will see donation boxes and signs encouraging those who can to chip something in.

So if you’re looking for a spot to just sit for a bit, refuel, meet your friends, or strike up a conversation with a complete stranger, the con suite is there for you.

In Brief

• Flame Con (New York City, August 12-13) has added Blue Delliquanti and Josh Trujillo as guests.

Event Calendar

Weekend of May 19-21

• Metropol Con Berlin (German national sf convention), Berlin, Germany

• 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

Weekend of June 16-18

• YetiCon, The Blue Mountains, Ontario, Canada

• Pyrkon, Poznań, Poland

• 4th Street Fantasy, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• StokerCon 2023 (horror), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

• International Steampunk Symposium: Steampunk Under the Big Top, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

• CastleCon 12 (anthropomorphic), Horb, Germany

• StratosFur (anthropomorphic), Houston, Texas, USA

• Arcon 39: Drager og Demoner (gaming), Oslo, Norway

• Congress of Gamers Summer Session, Rockville, Maryland, USA

• Q-Con 2023 (gaming), Belfast, UK

• Board Game Fest, Chavdar, Bulgaria

• Gaming Istanbul (video games), Istanbul, Turkey

• AnimeCon UK, Birmingham, UK

• Anime Onsen, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

• Cosplacon 2023: Onward to Battle (anime), Jefferson City, Missouri, USA

• Desucon 2023 (anime), Lahti, Finland

• AnimeNEXT 2023, Atlantic City, NJ

• Anime Festival Orlando 2023, Orlando, Florida, USA

• ExpOtaku Zaragoza 2023 (anime), Zaragoza, Spain

• Heroes Convention (comics), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

• Rail City Fan Fest (media), Saint Albans, Vermont, USA

• Contropolis Massachusetts (media), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA

• Awesome Con (media), Washington, DC, USA

Coda

• Star eats planet (Science News)

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