A Peek at the NYCC Lost and Found
Many conventions operate their own lost-and-found for the wild variety of items convention-goers may manage to misplace while enjoying themselves. New York Comic Con outsources this function to the security people at its venue, the Javits Center, and the New York Times took a look at it during last weekend’s NYCC.
The more common lost items are handled the way most any large operation would:
[Command center manager Edwin Gomez] and his co-workers have a playbook for each type of item that is left under their supervision. “If it is money or jewelry, it is logged in and put into a safe,” he said. With cellphones, if they are unlocked, he will say “Call Mom” or “Call Dad.”
And he will look for IDs in any unclaimed wallet, hoping to find an address so he can mail it back to its owner. He will even use the phone numbers on medical prescriptions, calling the providers and asking them to contact the prescription holders.
Since the lost-and-found isn’t tied to a specific event in this case, the convention center can hold items for 90 days before donating unclaimed ones to charity.
Also, if you attend a con at the Javits Center in costume, be aware that the security people are judging you:
“I watch everything from here,” he said. “I can zoom in and say, ‘That looks great.’” At Comic Con last year, one of his favorite sights was a cosplayer who dressed as Iron Man in his very bulky Hulkbuster armor. Mr. Gomez was also impressed with an Aquaman cosplayer, who was wearing a metallic costume. “He had the blond hair and the body for it,” he said. “You’re good. You pulled it off.” This year, he noted characters from “Demon Slayer,” an anime he watches with his family.
In Brief
The LA in 2026 Worldcon bid has revealed its dates and venue are August 27-31, 2026, at the Anaheim Convention Center.
DerpyCon 2023 (New Brunswick, New Jersey, October 27-29) has added Casey Mongillo and Blue Clarice as guests.
Arisia 2024 (Boston, January 12-15) has added Paul Sabourin as a featured guest.
Kawacon (San Antonio, Texas, March 2-3) has added Colleen O’Shaughnessy as a guest.
Norwescon 46 (March 28-31) has added Kate Alice Marshall as a special guest.
Trek Long Island (Hauppage, New York, May 31-June 2) has added Elias Toufexis and Janet Kidder as guests.
The Uncanny Experience (Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 28-29) has added Alison Sealy-Smith as a guest.
Event Calendar
Weekend of October 20-22
Chengdu Worldcon (81st World Science Fiction Convention), Chengdu, China and online
BuchmesseCon, Dreieich, Germany
Multiverse, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
BristolCon 2023, Bristol, UK
Irish Discworld Convention 2023, Cork, Ireland
The Surrey Steampunk Convivial, Epsom, UK
Furror (anthropomorphic), Łódź, Poland
Confuror 2023: Locos por la Ciencia (anthropomorphic), Guadalajara, Mexico
TsunamiCon (gaming), Wichita, Kansas, USA
MEPACon: Video Game Heroes and Villains (gaming), Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Austi-Con 2023 (gaming), Austin, Minnesota, USA
ConFABulous 2023 (LGBTQ+ gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Gamehole Con X (RPGs), Madison, Wisconsin, USA
AVL Scarefest (RPGs), Montreat, North Carolina, USA
Travellercon/USA 2023 (Traveller RPG), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
Anime Fusion: This Con Goes to 11!, Plymouth, Minnesota, USA
Anime Mundo, El Paso, Texas, USA
Puchicon Poconos (anime), Tannersville, Pennsylvania, USA
Another Anime Convention, Westford, Massachusetts, USA
Anime Banzai, Layton, Utah, USA
Anime Nebraskon 2023, Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA
YuniCon 2023 (anime), Schwechat, Austria
NW Idolfest (anime idols), Seattle, Washington, USA
Anime Ink (anime & tattoos), Richmond, Virginia, USA
Heroes Assemble 3: The Halloween Hullaballoo (media), Richmond, Virginia, USA
FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium
Comic Con Baltics, Vilnius, Lithuania
Comic Con Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Dallas Fan Festival (media), Irving, Texas, USA
Shoufu-Con (media), Lansing, Michigan, USA
The Penti-Con 2023 (media), Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
Festival of Fantastic Films, Manchester, UK
PonyCon Holland 2023: A Series of Mysterious Events (My Little Pony), Zeist, Netherlands
TFcon Orlando (Transformers), Orlando, Florida, USA
Weekend of October 27-30
MileHiCon 55, Denver, Colorado, USA
Astronomicon 14, Rochester, New York, USA
World Fantasy Convention 2023, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Hallowcon 2023: Plan 10 from Outer Space (fantasy/horror), Dalton, Georgia, USA
Ohio Valley Filk Festival 39 (music), Worthington, Ohio, USA
Spacedock GLC-13 (anthropomorphic), Hasliberg, Switzerland
Furpocalypse 2023: Summercamp Slasher (anthropomorphic), Stamford, Connecticut, USA
Biggest Little Fur Con 2023: Curse of Cœurasa (anthropomorphic), Reno, Nevada, USA
Carnage 26 (gaming), Killington, Vermont, USA
S’mores and Meeples (gaming), Spring City, Pennsylvania, USA
GaelCon (gaming), Dublin, Ireland
Cardboard Caucus 2023 (gaming), West Des Moines, Iowa, USA
CinCityCon 2023 (gaming), Sharonville, Ohio, USA
Conecturday (video games), Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
Board to Death Con 2023 (boardgaming), Wayne, Michigan, USA
Anime Weekend Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
UwUCon (anime), Mesa, Arizona, USA
Anime Halloween, Rosemont, Illinois, USA
YumeCon USA (anime), San Jose, California, USA
ExpOtaku Granada 2023 (anime), Granada, Spain
DerpyCon 2023 (anime), New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Music City Multi Con (media/video games), Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Hal-Con (media), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Winnipeg Comiccon, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
KingCon NW (media), Renton, Washington, USA
Sinbad and the Eye of the Monsterama (retro media), Peachtree Corners, Georgia, USA
Spooky Empire (horror media), Orlando, Florida, USA
Weekend of November 3-5
Les Utopiales, Nantes, France
ArmadaCon 2023, Plymouth, UK
Lodge Con 2023, Peotone, Illinois, USA
Y/Con 9 (LGBT sf), Paris, France
Doxacon X (sf and Christianity), Arlington, Virginia, USA
Virtual International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts: AAAA! - AI, Algorithms, Automata, and Art (symposium), online
Furry Blacklight: Welcome to Olympus, Tremblay-en-France, France
PAW '23: Tu-deer England (anthropomorphic), San Jose, California, USA
Kee Con VI (gaming), Cherokee, Iowa, USA
Lucca Comics & Games, Lucca, Italy
Spellen Spektakel (gaming), Utrecht, Netherlands
FLAG Con (gaming), Ithaca, New York, USA
TimpCon (gaming), Provo, Utah, USA
Tampa Nerd Con (gaming), Clearwater, Florida, USA
Spielwiesn (gaming), Augsburg, Germany
Rock-Con (gaming), Rockford, Illinois, USA
AcadeCon (gaming), Dayton, Ohio, USA
Effing-Con (gaming), Effingham, Illinois, USA
Twincon (gaming), London, UK
BottosCon 2023: A Mere Matter of Gaming, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
TableCon 2023 (gaming), Springdale, Arkansas, USA
AmberCon NW (diceless RPGs), Troutdale, Oregon, USA
Good Game Fest (video games), Westminster, Maryland, USA
LoBsterCon XXV: Silver Jubilee (boardgames), Eastbourne, UK
LAN All Night VIII: For LANdetta (video games), Grapevine, Texas, USA
Fall In! (miniatures gaming), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
Warfaire Weekend (wargaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
J1-Con (anime), Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
Sin City Anime, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Anime Pasadena, Pasadena, California, USA
Kaiga Anime Convention, Perth, Australia
HotaruCon (anime), Milton Keynes, UK
NekoCon 2023: Little Witch Catademia (anime), Hampton, Virginia, USA
Youmacon 2023 (anime), Detroit, Michigan, USA
Con Nichiwa 2023 (anime), Tucson, Arizona, USA
Coosacon! (media), Rome, Georgia, USA
Comic Con Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Akron Comiccon, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA
Twin Cities Con (media), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Grand Rapids Comic Con, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Creation Jacksonville (media), Jacksonville, Florida, USA
NC Comic Con, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Rhode Island Comic Con, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
D. A. M. Con 2023 (Japanese live-action media), Dallas, Texas, USA
Just added: H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival, Mobile, Alabama, USA
Pony Friends Forever (My Little Pony), San Antonio, Texas, USA
Weekend of November 10-12
Novacon 52, Buxton, UK
TusCon 50, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Windycon 49: Adventure is Out There!, Oak Brook, Illinois, USA
OryCon 43: Phoenix Rising, Portland, Oregon, USA
OmegaCon Fall 2023 (relaxacon), Siren, Wisconsin, USA
New England Crime Bake 2023: deadactually (mysteries), Dedham, Massachusetts, USA
Steampunk November, Venus, Texas, USA
Vermont Steampunk Expo, Essex Junction, Vermont, USA
Howloween: The Nightmare BeFur Christmas (anthropomorphic), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Hexcon (gaming), Trondheim, Norway
Mythic Con (gaming), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Save Against Fear (gaming), York, Pennsylvania, USA
Compass Games Expo Fall 2023, Meridien, Connecticut, USA
Spielewelt in Bielefeld (boardgames), Bielefeld, Germany
EuroQuest 2023 (Eurogames), Annapolis, Maryland, USA
Phantasm 33rd (RPGs), Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
The Long Con (RPGs), Longview, Texas, USA
Arcade Expo, Houston, Texas, USA
TORG Gaming Expo 2023 (video games), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Oni-Con XX (anime), Galveston, Texas, USA
Animaine 11: I Died and was Reincarnated as the Animaine Mascot?! (anime), South Portland, Maine, USA
Animaga (anime), Melbourne, Australia
Nishicon (anime), Eindhoven, Netherlands
Anime Iwai: Horizons, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
anime expo chibi, Ontario, California, USA
Rocky Mountain Con X (comics), Denver, Colorado, USA
Thought Bubble (comics), Harrogate, UK
Motor City Comic Con, Novi, Michigan, USA
Grit City Comic Show, Tacoma, Washington, USA
Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Twin Tiers Comic-Con, Horseheads, New York, USA
Weekend of November 17-19
Philcon 2023, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA
CONjuration (fantasy), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Dragonsteel 2023 (Brandon Sanderson works), Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
LIL-CON 7 (gaming), Lockport, New York, USA
Con-Densed (gaming), Worthing, UK
DAU Barcelona (gaming), Barcelona, Spain
BGG.CON (gaming), Dallas, Texas, USA
Meeple-A-Thon (gaming), Kansas City, Missouri, USA
U-Con (gaming), Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
Dragonsteel 2023 (gaming), Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Gridcon 4 (boardgames), Taunton, UK
Free Play Florida (retro video games), Lakeland, Florida, USA
SNAFU Con (anime), Reno, Nevada, USA
Kumoricon (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA
Colossalcon North (anime), Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA
Anime NYC, New York City, New York, USA
Anime Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
Anime Town Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida, USA
Naiccon 2023 (media), Nairobi, Kenya
Heroes Dutch Comic Con, Utrecht, Netherlands
Memphis Comic & Fantasy Convention, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Coda
Help do some science during next year’s solar eclipse (Science News)
Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.