SMOF News, volume 3, issue 30
Con crud avoidance ends OutlantaCon, and news in brief.
Post-COVID Caution and Conventions
Just over four years after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic and everything shut down for a while, the ongoing specter of COVID-19— and possibly more— is still hampering attendance for some conventions. Although official guidelines now exist for evaluating facility airflows, many fans still focus on mask policies, and most conventions now find policies requiring masks to be untenable.
The latest victim of pandemic-induced behavior changes is OutlantaCon, a convention for LGBT+ geekdom in Atlanta, Georgia. After its event this past weekend, it posted a statement on its website and Facebook announcing that it will not be held again for the forseeable future. It begins:
Unless there is a massive change in our fandom this will be the last OutlantaCon for the foreseeable future. We have always been a very niche product and despite the increase in attendance seen pre-covid, post-covid has brought us insurmountable challenges. From rising hotel costs to declining attendance it would be irresponsible of us as a con committee to continue and put the convention in debt that would be unrecoverable without a massive increase in attendance.
After a look back at the history of the con, it explains the current crisis:
But our group of fans have always been progressive, loving, careful group of people and as the restrictions of covid ended many found themselves more adapted to the new world of staying at home, streaming television and movies, and not straining their immune systems by putting themselves in crowds resulting in two years of OutlantaCon seeing a significant decrease in attendance. Perhaps in future our crowd will return to conventions and the world of in-person fandom but until that time we cannot afford to continue with decreasing attendance.
Although the pandemic is the immediate cause, the statement suggests that COVID-19 itself isn’t the whole story. Instead, fans are considering the benefits of living in a world entirely without any kind of con-acquired illness. That points to a more permanent shift in the congoing fan base that could outlive COVID itself.
In Brief
Deb Geisler, chair of Boskone 36 and the 2004 World Science Fiction Convention, died March 23.
Obituary • Biography at Fancyclopedia 3The trial of Andrew Giaume and Thomas J. Dunbar for the theft of a pallet of Magic: the Gathering cards from last year’s Gen Con has been rescheduled once again. The trial is now set for June 12, with a pretrial hearing June 6th.
Finalists for the 2024 Hugo Awards will be announced on March 29 at 3pm UTC at Levitation 2024 (Telford, UK), this year’s UK national science fiction convention. The announcement will be streamed via YouTube and the Glasgow 2024 website.
Norwescon 46 (SeaTac, Washington, March 28-31) has announced that Writer Guest of Honor Jim Butcher will be unable to attend due to having contracted COVID-19.
Tampa Bay Comic Convention (Tampa, Florida, August 23-25) has added Chandler Riggs and Dave Foley as guests.
FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 26-28) has added Marisa Tomei and Johnny Yong Bosch as guests.
Cincinnati Comic Expo (Cincinnati, Ohio, October 18-20) has added Katee Sackhoff and Aaron Reynolds as guests.
Event Calendar
Weekend of March 29-31
Levitation 2024 (UK national sf convention), Telford, UK and online
Minicon 57, Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, USA
Norwescon 46: Into the Wylde, SeaTac, Washington, USA
Costume-Con 42, Denver, Colorado, USA
Fauntastic: Greetings From Camp Critters! (anthropomorphic), Lyon, France
Las Vegas Fur Con 2024: Nuclear A-paw-calypse, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
GothCon XLVII (gaming), Göteborg, Sweden
Fastaval (gaming), Hobro, Denmark
OzBunnyCon 2024 (gaming), Melbourne, Australia
Conpulsion 2024 (gaming), Edinburgh, UK
EyeCon 2024 (gaming), North Ryde, Australia
Scrum Con (wargaming), Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Conquest Games Convention (RPGs), Melbourne, Australia
Louisville Arcade Expo, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
FreeCon 20 (anime), Tallahassee, Florida, USA
KokoroCon 3 (anime), Nottingham, UK
Kanpai!Con (anime), Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Anime Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Anime Detour: Glow Up!, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
MTAC Dueling Dragons (anime), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Kawaii Kon (anime), Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Triad Anime Convention, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
WeebCon (anime), Allen, Texas, USA
Sakura-Con '24 (anime), Seattle, Washington, USA
Angers Geekfest 5e Édition (media), Angers, France
Puerto Rico Comic Con, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
My-Con (media), Orlando, Florida, USA
WonderCon 2024 (media), Anaheim, California, USA
BABSCon 2024 (My Little Pony), Burlingame, California, USA
Weekend of April 5-7
Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, Lombard, Illinois, USA
Golden State Fur Con: Back to the 80s!! (anthropomorphic), Los Angeles, California, USA
FallsCon 24: Exploring the Mystic Realms (gaming), Wichita Falls, Kansas, USA
ADK Tabletop Day (gaming), Glens Falls, New York, USA
LexiCon (gaming), Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Roll Initiative Con (gaming), Ewijk, Netherlands
Board Games at Berkeley Con, Berkeley, California, USA
Gondreville est ludique (gaming), Gondreville, France
Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo 2024, Garden City, New York, USA
Baycon 2024 (gaming), Kennford, UK
Havoc XXXVIII (miniatures gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA
Seven Hills (RPGs), Sheffield, UK
Midwest Gaming Classic (video games), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
aniMUC (anime), Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany
Saluki Con (anime), Carbondale, Illinois, USA
FicZone 2024 (anime), Granada, Spain
CyPhaCon 2024 (media), Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA
FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium
Comic-Con Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
RodCon (media), Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA
SC Comicon, Greenville, South Carolina, USA
Hill Country Comicon, New Braunfels, Texas, USA
ASU Nerd Con (media), Boone, North Carolina, USA
Fanfaire NYC (media), New York City, New York, USA
Supanova 2024 – Melbourne (media), Ascot Vale, Australia
Bedford Who Charity Con 9 (Doctor Who), Bedford, UK
Weekend of April 12-14
LuxCon 2024 (Luxembourgish national sf con), Hollerich, Luxembourg
Jack Williamson Lectureship 2024: Oh, the [In]humanity, Portales, New Mexico, USA
Springmoot 2024 (Tolkien), Cambridge, UK
221B Con (Sherlock Holmes), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
13 Gears (steampunk), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Chicago Steampunk Exposition, Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
Woods Flock (anthropomorphic), Spencer, Tennessee, USA
Furcationland 2024: Fireside Tales (anthropomorphic), Portland, Maine, USA
CODCON XXVII (gaming), Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA
DayCon (gaming), Kettering, Ohio, USA
Icon (gaming), Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
Clocktower Con (social games), McLean, Virginia, USA
Karoshi-Con (anime), DeKalb, Illinois, USA
Riverwalk Anime, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Atlantic Entertainment Expo (media), Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Fan Expo Cleveland (media), Cleveland, Ohio, USA
El Paso Comic Con, El Paso, Texas, USA
Ratha Con (media), Athens, Ohio, USA
CycloneCon (media), Hackettstown, New Jersey, USA
Supanova 2024 – Gold Coast (media), Broadbeach, Australia
IndigiPopX (indigenous media), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
CabbageCon 2024 (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Columbus, Ohio, USA
PortmeiriCon (The Prisoner), Portmeirion, UK
Dairycon 2024 (Transformers), Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USA
Weekend of April 19-21
Concinnity 24, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
ConStellation 13: So Say We All, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Les Intergalactiques, Lyon, France
Roscon-2024, Moscow, Russia
HAL-CON 2024, Kawasaki City, Japan
Swancon 2024, Perth, Australia
2024 Fandom Fest, Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA
JordanCon (fantasy literature), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
FilKONtario (music), Markham, Ontario, Canada
Furry Down Under 2024: Furbidden Planet (anthropomorphic), Surfers Paradise, Australia
Clockwork Alchemy: Aetheric Ocean (steampunk), San Mateo, California, USA
Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival, Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA
HandyCon 12 (gaming), Milton Keynes, UK
Farmageddon XI (gaming), Farmer City, Illinois, USA
Ragnarok 4.0 (gaming), Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Rising Phoenix GameCon, Milford, Massachusetts, USA
MEPACON (gaming), Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
D8 Summit Charity Convention (gaming), Dixon, Illinois, USA
Mayhem Gaming Convention, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA
Jeu au Boute (boardgames), Chertsey, Québec, Canada
TAGCON (boardgames), Pasco, Washington, USA
Nashville Tabletop Day 2024 (boardgames), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Little Wars 2024: First to Fight (miniatures gaming), Lombard, Illinois, USA
VGM Con (videogames/music), Plymouth, Minnnesota, USA
CoMo Retro Con (retro video games), Columbia, Missouri, USA
J-Tsoon5 (anime), Talinn, Estonia
Naoki Convention (anime), Eschweiler, Germany
Mobile Bay Anime Festival, Daphne, Alabama, USA
Overload (anime), Auckland, New Zealand
Sci-Fi on the Rock 16 (media), St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
Sci-Fi Scarborough (media), Scarborough, UK
Yellow City Comic Con, Amarillo, Texas, USA
Fangaea (media), Mission Valley, California, USA
Galactic Diversity & Inclusivity Convention (media/space), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Weekend of April 26-28
RavenCon 17, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Olamot, Tel Aviv, Israel
OmegaCon (relaxacon), Siren, Wisconsin, USA
Ice and Fire Convention (Song of Ice and Fire series), Mt. Sterling, Ohio, USA
Penguicon 2024 (sf/open source), Southfield, Michigan, USA
Malice Domestic 36 (mysteries), Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Maine Cosplay Extravaganza, Portland, Maine, USA
UBCon XXXIII (gaming), Buffalo, New York, USA
San Marino Game Convention, San Marino
Cheyenne Gaming Convention, Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA
DaveCon (gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Jeu au Boute (boardgames), Chertsey, Québec, Canada
Fun K-Town (boardgames), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Recon 2024: Rapid Deployment Forces (miniatures gaming), Kissimmee, Florida, USA
LVL UP EXPO (video games), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
LAN All Night IX: The LAN Before Time (LAN gaming), Grapevine, Texas, USA
Oz-Con (anime), West Plains, Missouri, USA
Mang’Azur (anime), Toulon, France
Harucon (anime), Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria
LoboCon (anime), Rohnert Park, California, USA
Castle Point Anime Convention, Seacaucus, New Jersey, USA
Anime St. Louis, St. Charles, Missouri, USA
MondoCon 2024 (anime), Budapest, Hungary
ExpOtaku Vitoria-Gasteiz 2023 (anime), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Ithacon 2024 (comics), Ithaca, New York, USA
Causeacon (media), Beckley, West Virginia, USA
GAP-CON (media), Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania, USA
Central Texas Comic Con, Waco, Texas, USA
Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Fayetteville Comic Con, Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
Coda
Frank Johnson: The Secret Pioneer of American Comics (Orange County Register)
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