Westercon Lives Another Year
At Westercon 76 in Salt Lake City last weekend, the write-in bid to combine Westercon 78 with Baycon in 2026 won the voting. This means Westercon will be combined with Baycon two years in a row.
The suggested proposal to end Westercon entirely was not introduced at the business meeting. The business meeting did formulate and pass on a measure to loosen up the suggested date of Westercon, expanding it to May, June, or July. (The present bylaws suggest only the July 4th weekend.)
Westercon may evolve into something more like DeepSouthCon, another US regional convention, which is usually combined with another convention and only very rarely a standalone event. On the other hand, its recent struggles to find hosts may have something to do with the 2025 World Science Fiction Convention being in Seattle, and the only bid for the 2026 Worldcon being for Anaheim, both of which are in the Westercon region and competing for the same pool conrunner volunteer time.
Whatever it becomes, one of the world’s longest-running science fiction conventions will be with us for at least a couple more years. The deadline for bids to hold Westercon 79 in 2027 to be listed on next year’s ballot is April 15th, 2025.
In Brief
No Brand Con will not be held in 2024 due to a combination of factors, including falling attendance and the increasingly crowded convention calendar in its region. The door is being left open for it to resume in the future.
Tampa Bay Comic Convention (Tampa, Florida, August 23-25) has added Ellijah Wood, Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Mela Lee, Chris Edgerly, Michael Rosenbaum, Dave Foley, Erika Harlacher, and Emmanuelle Vaugier as guests.
FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 26-28) has added Matthew Lillard, Cole Sprouse, Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, and Sean Astin as guests.
Event Calendar
Weekend of July 12-14
XXXVII Semana Negra, Gijón, Spain
ConGregate 10, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
Blerdcon Summer Madness (Black geekdom), Arlington, Virginia, USA
Readercon 33 (books only), Quincy, MA
Nullas Anxietas 9 (Discworld), Adelaide, Australia
Anthro Weekend Utah: YAPerture Science, Layton, Utah, USA
LevelUp Retreat (gaming), Stamford, Connecticut, USA
Festival Ludique International de Parthenay (gaming), Parthenay, France
Game on the Table Con, San Jose, California, USA
Con of the Lakes (gaming), Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, USA
Play Con (gaming), Hurstville, Australiay, France
Just added: ConsimWorld Expo 2024 (gaming), Tempe, Arizona, USA
Veterans Game Fest 2024, Clovis, California, USA
CharCon 2024 (gaming), Charleston, West Virginia, USA
Twisted Lords Con 2024 (gaming), Midwest City, Oklahoma, USA
MGSCon 2: Cons of Liberty (Metal Gear video games), Long Beach, California, USA
Tokyo, OK (anime), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
MondoCon (anime), Budapest, Hungary
Japan Expo (anime), Villepinte, France
Delta H Con (anime), Houston, Texas, USA
Ai-Kon 2024 (anime), Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
New World Comic Con 9, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Florida Supercon (media), Miami Beach, Florida, USA
Fanboy Expo Knoxville (media), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Saggeek (media), Saguenay, Québec, Canada
GrandeCon (media), Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
FurMIT (anthropomorphic films), Luodong, Taiwan
TrotCon 2024 (My Little Pony), Dayton, Ohio, USA
TFcon Toronto (Transformers), Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Weekend of July 19-21
Buffalo NASFiC 2024, Buffalo, New York, USA
Celsius 232, Avilés, Spain
Imaginarium Convention, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
OzCon International (Oz series), Pomona, California, USA
Costume College 2024: Costumes of Stage and Screen, Los Angeles, California, USA
Fur-Eh!: World Anthro Games (anthropomorphic), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Furway 2024 (anthropomorphic), Brandbu, Norway
Brazil FurFest 2024: Hotel Assombrado (anthropomorphic), Santos, Brazil
Eufuria 2024 (anthopomorphic), Albany, New York, USA
QuinCon 37 (gaming), Quincy, Illinois, USA
Festival Ludique International de Parthenay (gaming), Parthenay, France
Ropecon (gaming), Helsinki, Finland
Gem State Gaming Convention, Boise, Idaho, USA
Just added: ConsimWorld Expo 2024 (gaming), Tempe, Arizona, USA
Open Gaming Convention 2024, Westford, Massachusetts, USA
Berlin Brettspiel Con 2024 (gaming), Berlin, Germany
PretzCon 2024 (gaming), Omaha, Nebraska, USA
1d4Con 2024 (gaming), Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA
World Boardgaming Championships, Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, USA
Venger Con III: Revenge of the OSR (RPGs), Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, USA
Historicon 2024: From Hollywood to Historicon (miniatures gaming), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
Southern-Fried Gaming Expo (video games), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Classic Game Fest (retro video games), Austin, Texas, USA
TennoCon 2024 (Warframe), London, Ontario, Canada
Tosho-con (anime), Cranford, New Jersey, USA
Anime Friends, São Paulo, Brazil
Anime Messe Babelsberg, Berlin, Germany
Sydney Manga & Anime Show, Sydney, Australia
Kitsune Kon (anime), Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
JoMoCon (anime), Joplin, Missouri, USA
Dokidokon (anime), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
Tekko 2024 (anime), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
KuroNekoCon 2024 (anime), Spokane, Washington, USA
ConnectiCon XXI (media), Hartford, Connecticut, USA
The Urban Nerd Con (Black media), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Weekend of July 26-28
Confluence 2024, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, USA
NärCon 2024, Linköping, Sweden
Aurawra (anthropomorphic), Sydney, Australia
Continuum (gaming), Cranfield, UK
Fling.con (gaming), Schertz, Texas, USA
Board Game Days, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Go Play NW 2024 (gaming), Seattle, Washington, USA
World Boardgaming Championships, Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, USA
GriffCon24 (miniatures gaming), Harlow, UK
Epic42 With Intel (LAN gaming), Kettering, UK
Dream Con (anime), Austin, Texas, USA
AnimeFest, Arlington, Texas, USA
AnimeCom: Entertainment District Arc, Kingston, Jamaica
Wasabicon PDX (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA
AnimeIowa, Coralville, Iowa, USA
OokiiSoraCon (anime), Helena, Montana, USA
Anime STX, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Advík 2024 (anime), Prague, Czechia
AFA Creators Super Fest 2024 (anime), Singapore
Pretty Heroes (female-centered anime), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Comic-Con International, San Diego, California, USA
Shore Leave 44 (media), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
Alias Entertainment Expo: Battle Arena (media), Tunapuna, Trinidad & Tobago
Corpus Christi Comic Con, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
GalaxyCon Raleigh (media), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Comic Con Manchester, Manchester, UK
MegaCon Live Manchester (media), Manchester, UK
GalaCon 2024 (My Little Pony), Waiblingen, Germany
Weekend of August 2-4
Diversicon 31/Mythcon 53: Fantasies of the Middle Lands, Plymouth, Minnesota, USA
AMA-CON, Amarillo, Texas, USA
PulpFest 2024, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Surrey Steampunk Convivial, Epsom, UK
CanFURence 2024: As Seen On TV (anthropomorphic), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Gen Con 2024 (gaming), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
StarCon (gaming), Rye, New Hampshire, USA
24 Hour Board Game Marathon, Ilminster, UK
AnimagiC (anime), Mannheim, Germany
Anime Town Louisiana, Gonzales, Louisiana, USA
Otakon (anime), Washington, DC, USA
Otakuthon (anime), Montréal, Québec, Canada
Otakukon 2024: Chuunin Exams (anime), Harare, Zimbabwe
Really Cool Comic Con, Flint, Michigan, USA
Bell County Comic Con, Belton, Texas, USA
Enid Comic Con, Enid, Oklahoma, USA
Monster-Mania 59 (horror media), Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA
STLV: 58-Year Mission (Star Trek), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Starfleet International Conference 2024 (Star Trek), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
CybFest NW (Transformers), Kent, Washington, USA
Weekend of August 9-11
Geek Out at Staten Island, Staten Island, New York, USA
Key City Steampunk Convention: Steampunk Noir, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Furrydelphia (anthropomorphic), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
HandyCon Lucky 13 (gaming), Milton Keynes, UK
Game & Party Con, St. Augustine, Florida, USA
Pixel Con (video games), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Long Island Retro Gaming Expo (video games), Garden City, New York, USA
Fragapalooza 2024 (LAN gaming), Leduc, Alberta
Utah Retro GameXpo 2024 (retro video games), Davis, Utah, USA
Grand Tribunal (Ars Magica RPG), Cheltenham, UK
AniNite 24 (anime), Vienna, Austria
AniBash (anime), Rochester, New York, USA
Abunai!: Kitsune Matsuri (anime), Veldhoven, Netherlands
Queen City Anime Convention, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Anime 414, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Anime Revolution, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Anime-zing!, Rock Island, Illinois, USA
Animethon 2024, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Mid City Micro-Con (comics), Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Comic Market 104 (fan comics), Tokyo, Japan
Wicked Comic Con, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Fandom Fest 2024 (media), Schenectady, New York, USA
D23 Expo (official Disney), Anaheim, California, USA
TFNation (Transformers), Birmingham, UK
Coda
Tiny frog saunas (Science News)
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