SMOF News, volume 3, issue 18

A new outsider geek event, and news in brief.

PerifaCon Revives the Outsider Geek Tradition

The earliest fan conventions grew out of science fiction fandom in a time when science fiction and fantasy were fringe genres and being a nerd was not something you admitted to in polite company. Now geekdom is big business, but there are once again outsiders looking to create a social space for themselves. Wired reports:

This is from Perifacon, a growing convention started in 2019 devoted to geek and gamer culture in Brazil. The target audience of Perifacon are people from impoverished neighborhoods and favelas away from the more affluent areas in and around São Paulo.

The Brazilian Portuguese slang perifa derives from the word periferia, or “outskirts,” and is the language equivalent of “hood” or “ghetto.” Perifacon is nicknamed “the favela Comic Con” and exemplifies a future for Brazilian geek culture and its larger market.

The nickname is misleading. Rather than the typical media-con arrangement of a vendor area, big stars, and not much else, PerifaCon (the preferred spelling on its official site) is a full-featured convention more like the sf cons:

Perifacon gives space “to music, visual arts, theater, TV shows, movies, and literature. It opens doors for the whole city to look at and enjoy what we’ve been consuming. Events like this change lives,” says Marques.

And it also has an ambition to do something associated with some very old conventions:

[Andreza] Delgado and her colleagues have plans to keep Perifacon going, and to expand access to tech and gaming in the future to the communities that need it the most. “My dream is to take Perifacon to other Brazilian states and that we’ll be invited by the local authorities to work toward it. I’d take Perifacon to any place in Brazil.”

PerifaCon’s next event will be in November. The exact dates and location have not been announced yet.

In Brief

• The Atlanta Steampunk Expo has rebranded itself as CONpossible (Atlanta, Georgia, Feburary 16-18) and broadened its focus to alternate history and speculative fiction of all sorts.

• DualCon (Charleston, West Virginia) has ceased operations due to being unable to find a venue to continue with.

• ATL Comic Convention (Atlanta, Georgia, February 9-11) has added Katee Sackhoff, Peyton List, Jacob Bertrand, Gianni Decenzo, Mary McDonnell, TC Carson, and Xander Mobus as guests.

• Indiana Comic Convention (Indianapolis, Indiana, March 22-24) has added Xander Mobus as a guest.

Event Calendar

Weekend of January 5-7

• ShadowCon (relaxacon), Memphis, Tennessee, USA

• GAFilk 2024 (music), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Anthro Northwest 6 (anthropomorphic), Seattle, Washington, USA

• Japan Meeting of Furries, Toyohashi, Japan

• Painted Desert Fur Con: The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro!! (anthropomorphic), Phoenix, Arizona, USA

• Spartacon XXXIII (gaming), DeWitt, Michigan, USA

• Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo, Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA

• OrcaCon 2024 (gaming), Bellevue, Washington, USA

• Animé Los Angeles 19, Long Beach, California, USA

• Ichibancon 14 (anime), Concord, North Carolina, USA

• SacAnime, Sacramento, California, USA

• Taiyou Con (anime), Mesa, Arizona, USA

• Anime-ZAP!, East Peoria, Illinois, USA

• Fan Expo New Orleans (media), New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

• St. Pete Comic Con 2024, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

Weekend of January 12-14

• Chattacon XLIX, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

• ConVivial, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

• Arisia 2024, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Marscon 2024, Norfolk, Virginia, USA

• Further Confusion: Pixelated (anthropomorphic), San Jose, California, USA

• MidWinterFrolic 2024 (anthropomorphic), Altura, Minnesota, USA

• Snowcon 14 (gaming), Bangor, Maine, USA

• Cascade Games Convention, Bellingham, Washington, USA

• Dice + Diversions (gaming), Peachtree Corners, Georgia, USA

• RiverCityCon (gaming), Louisville, Kentucky, USA

• Midwinter Gaming Convention, Pewaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• Geekway Mini: Geekway to the Future (gaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA

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

• HexaCon 2024 (gaming), Broomfield, Colorado, USA

• SCARAB 2024 (gaming), Columbia, South Carolina, USA

• SaltCON Bryce (boardgames), Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA

• 28th Annual Chattanooga Railgaming Challenge, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

• Spartacon XXXIII (wargaming), DeWitt, Michigan, USA

• BattleTex IV (wargaming), Houston, Texas, USA

• Siege of Augusta XXXIII (miniatures gaming), Augusta, Georgia, USA

• Ichibancon 14 (anime), Concord, North Carolina, USA

• Anime Impulse, Pomona, California, USA

• Just added: Fan Expo Portland (media), Portland, Oregon, USA

• MondoCon 2024 (media), Budapest, Hungary

• CONsole Room: Year 11 (Doctor Who), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

Weekend of January 19-21

• Labyrinth of ConFusion, Novi, Michigan, USA

• COSine 2024, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

• CanthroFur (anthropomorphic), Auvergne, France

• Anthro New England 2024: It's a Nor'eastah!, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• KapCon 31 (gaming), Wellington, New Zealand

• Ducosim (gaming), Amersfoort, Netherlands

• ATG Expo (gaming), Waco, Texas, USA

• Niagara Boardgaming Weekend, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

• Super MAGFest (gaming/videogame music), National Harbor, Maryland, USA

• Ohayocon 24 (anime), Columbus, Ohio, USA

• Ikkicon (anime), Round Rock, Texas, USA

• Animazing-Con (anime), Savannah, Georgia, USA

• Orlando Anime Day, Orlando, Florida, USA

• Central Florida Comic Con, Lakeland, Florida, USA

• Albuquerque Comic Con, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Weekend of January 26-28

• GenghisCon 2024, Wembley, Australia

• Conflikt (music), online

• Game-iToba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

• TantrumCon (gaming), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

• Cancon 2024 (gaming), Canberra, Australia

• VerminCon 2024 (gaming), Vermillion, South Dakota, USA

• Whose Turn Is It Anyway? (boardgames), Durham, North Carolina, USA

• Lantern Rite (Genshin Impact), Grapevine, Texas, USA

• SSA+S Toracon (anime), Sarasota, Florida, USA

• Anime Washington, Tacoma, Washington, USA

• Isshocon (anime), Novi, Michigan, USA

• UChi-Con 2024 (anime), Chicago, Illinois, USA

• San Angelo Comic Con, San Angelo, Texas, USA

• Vampire Fan Weekend (media), Allen, Texas, USA

• Mouse-Con Bakersfield (Disneyana), Bakersfield, California, USA

Weekend of February 2-4

• AggieCon 53: A Midsummer Night’s Con, College Station, Texas, USA

• Capricon 44: The Endurance of Stars, Wheeling, Illinois, USA

• Contabile ³₄ - Triple Time! (music), Buxton, UK

• ScotiaCon: Prehistoric Panic! (anthropomorphic), Glasgow, UK

• AnthroExpo: 8-Bit Heroes (anthropomorphic), Norman, Oklahoma, USA

• Winter War 50 (gaming), Champaign, Illinois, USA

• CaptainCon (gaming), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA

• Rocket City Gamefest, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

• PopiCon! 2024 (gaming), South Bend, Indiana, USA

• Anime Lubbock, Lubbock, Texas, USA

• Setsucon (anime), Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA

• AnimeCon London, London, UK

• My Hero Convention: Texas (My Hero Academia), Irving, Texas, USA

• East Bay Comic Con, Concord, California, USA

• Creation Dallas (media), Plano, Texas, USA

• Alaska ComiCon, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

• Megacon Orlando (media), Orlando, Florida, USA

Coda

• Record-breaking science discoveries of 2023 (Science News)

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