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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