How To Convention: The Work Behind the Scenes
Some of the work that has to be done to make a convention happen is obvious. Someone has to take money, invite the guests, print badges, set up the schedule, and get the word out. Other jobs are less visible but no less essential (and always looking for more volunteers who are attracted to helping with things out of the public eye). For instance, to name a few…
Hotel liaison/Facilities
Holding a convention in a hotel or convention center is not a simple matter of handing over a rental fee. There are countless details to sort out: How should each room be set up? When are they locked and unlocked? In which spaces, if any, can the convention or its members hand out food and drinks? When can the convention start moving equipment in, and when does it have to be removed by? For a convention center, how many venue staff will be on duty, and do any of them need special qualifications? (For instance, the contract may specify that there should be some number of staff with some level of medical training available.) Will any of the built-in concession stands be opened, and what level of sales should be guaranteed (with the convention making up any shortfall)?
During the convention, someone also needs to handle communication with the venue about anything from rooms not set up as expected to damage caused by attendees.
Depending on the size of the convention, there may be one person handling all of this, or an entire facilities team.
Operations
Operations, or Ops, is sometimes conflated with the security staff. While security people usually report to Ops, it’s much more than that.
Ops is the nerve center of the convention, handling communication from one department to another. Someone needs to set up their event and the room isn’t unlocked? They contact Ops, which gets the message to the facilities team. Mysterious illness spreading? Guest gone missing? Convention affected by a natural disaster? If it can happen, Ops probably has a plan to handle it.
Logistics
Logistics is all about getting things and getting them to the right place. If the convention has equipment it keeps in storage the rest of the year, Logistics is responsible for getting an appropriate vehicle, finding someone with the right certification to drive it, getting all the things to the venue, and later getting it all back to storage and properly inventoried and organized.
Logistics may also be wrangling items lent by other cons, rented equipment, or temporary purchases that will be sold off after the con, and making sure everyone’s stuff gets returned to the right person. Logistics for a few conventions may also involve working with exhibits that travel long-distance or across international borders.
In Brief
Dennis McCunney, a past chair of Philcon and Lunacon, died April 29. (Worldcon in Memoriam)
Mikołaj Kowalewski has won the vote to be the 2025 Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund delegate. The TAFF administrators have confirmed (PDF) that he is still willing to attend the 2025 Worldcon in Seattle despite “all the circumstances prevailing”.
Norwescon (SeaTac, Washington, April 17-20) has announced its guests of honor will be Ursula Vernon (Writer GoH), Summer Ash (Science GoH), Orbit (Spotlight Publisher), and Dutch Bihary (Special GoH).
Anime Central (Rosemont, Illinois, May 16-18) has added Dwayne Cameron.
ATL Comic Convention (Atlanta, Georgia, July 18-20) has added Lou Ferrigno, Trina Nishimura, Wil Wheaton, and Noshir Dalal.
Terrificon (Uncasville, Connecticut, August 8-10) has added John Romita Jr., Jim Starlin, Steve Englehart, and Dan Jurgens.
Tucson Comic-Con (Tucson, Arizona, August 29-31) has added Sgt. Slaughter.
FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 25-27) has added Dee Bradley Baker, Soleil Moon Frye, Christopher Sabat, and Dylan McDermott.
Event Calendar
Weekend of May 2-4
DemiCon 36: Fantasy, Urbandale, Iowa, USA
AtomaCon 2025, North Charleston, South Carolina, USA
IconiCon 2025, Suffolk, Virginia, USA
Maine Cosplay Extravaganza, Portland, Maine, USA
Wonderplace Alpha (steampunk), Lake George, New York, USA
Aethercircus Steampunk Festival, Buxtehude, Germany
Steampunk Wales, Portmeirion, UK
Furgeddaboutit (anthropomorphic), Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, USA
Ibercon (anthropomorphic), Madrid, Spain
It’s Ruff Out (anthropomorphic), Ontario, Wisconsin, USA
Garden State Fur the Weekend Pt Deux (anthropomorphic), New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Farmageddon 12 (gaming), Farmer City, Illinois, USA
Wagoncon 8 (gaming), The Dalles, Oregon, USA
Buckeye Game Fest, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Gaming Hoopla, Mundelein, Illinois, USA
Congress of Gamers Spring Session, Rockville, Maryland, USA
Mountain Mania 2025 (gaming), East Burke, Vermont, USA
Game Houndz 2025, Savannah, Georgia, USA
LoBsterCon XXVIII (boardgames), Eastbourne, UK
Richmond Open (miniatures gaming), Doswell, Virginia, USA
Tokyo Alley 13: Mystery (anime), Perth, Australia
Anime Onsen, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
ExpOtaku Tarragona (anime), Tarragona, Spain
Otaku Oasis (anime), Dallas, Texas, USA
Kogaracon 2025 (anime), Edison, New Jersey, USA
MondoCon 2025 (anime), Budapest, Hungary
Harucon 2025 (anime), Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria
Superstar Comic Con, Savannah, Georgia, USA
Portsmouth Comic Con, Portsmouth, UK
Día del Cómic Festival, Lima, Peru
Comic Con Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Northern FanCon (media), Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
Saratoga Comic Con, Saratoga Springs, New York, USA
Pixies Street Con (media), York, South Carolina, USA
Galactic Diversity & Inclusivity Convention (media/space), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Crypticon Seattle (horror media), Seatac, Washington, USA
Power of the Force (Star Wars), Köln, Germany
Vampire Fan Weekend (Vampire Diaries), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Weekend of May 9-11
ColoniaCon 26: The Next Generation, Köln, Germany
SFeraKon 2025, Zagreb, Croatia
Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations (symposium), online
Westmoot 2025 (Tolkien), Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Furry Weekend Atlanta: Futurepunk, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Les Furfurieux: Furieusement Galvanisé (anthropomorphic), Metz, France
Furpile (anthropomorphic), Łódź, Poland
Pinecon (gaming), Druskininkai, Lithuania
Festival Alchemie du Jeu (gaming), Toulouse, France
Games Fair 2025, Auckland, New Zealand
PAX East (video games), Boston, Massachusetts, USA
EulenCon (RPGs), Köln, Germany
North Star (sf RPGs), Sheffield, UK
WasabiCon NOLA (anime), New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
AniMinneapolis (anime), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Comiciade Aachen (comics), Aachen, Germany
Thessaloniki Comic Convention vol. 8, Thessaloniki, Greece
SiestaCon (media), Sarasota, Florida, USA
FoleyCon (media), Foley, Alabama, USA
FrankenCon 2025 (horror media), Alcoa, Tennessee, USA
Weekend of May 16-18
Keycon 41, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Roleplay Verse, Oberhausen, Germany
FaRK (fantasy), Schiffweiler, Germany
Calfurry (anthropomorphic), Calgary, Alberta, Canada
ZodiaCon 2025 (anthropomorphic), Horní Bradlo, Czechia
CanGames, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Zomerspel (gaming), Merelbeke, Belgium
San Marino Game Convention, San Marino
Geekway to the West 2025: One Con to Bring Them All (gaming), St. Charles, Missouri, USA
Huzzah! Con 2025: The Crossing (miniatures gaming), Portland, Maine, USA
Final Boss Con (video games), Rio Grande, Ohio, USA
64 Bits or Less (retro video games), Corvallis, Oregon, USA
Drums at the Rapids (historical miniatures), Perrysburg, Ohio, USA
West Wars 2025 (historical miniatures), Denver, Colorado, USA
Anime Central, Rosemont, Illinois, USA
Amikon (anime), Dublin, Ireland
CloverCon (anime), Bridgewater, New Jersey, USA
Riverwalk Anime, San Antonio, Texas, USA
IberAnime, Lisboa, Portugal
Otafest 2025 (anime), Calgary, Alberta, Canada
East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Comic Con Revolution, Ontario, California, USA
CradleCon (media), Garden City, New York, USA
Geek Days Lille (media), Lille, France
Comic Park (media), Erfurt, Germany
Rogue Comic Con, Medford, Oregon, USA
Horrorcon UK (media), Sheffield, UK
Weekend of May 23-25
Balticon 59, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
WisCon 47 (feminist sf), online
Fargo CoreCon 15: Halfoween, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
Satellite 9, Glasgow, UK
Na meji nevidnega, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Jodiworld Convention 2025 (Jodi Taylor), Coventry, UK
ConFuzzled: Fashion Week (anthropomorphic), Birmingham, UK
AnthrOhio2025: Of Fae and Fur (anthropomorphic), Columbus, Ohio, USA
PrairieCon 44 (gaming), Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
KublaCon (gaming), Burlingame, California, USA
ReCon (gaming), Kernersville, North Carolina, USA
Rocky Top Game Con, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Gamex 2025 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA
TableTopCon 2025 (gaming), Southport, Australia
Winsome Choose Some (Winsome Games), Carnegie, Pennsylvania, US
BGG.Spring (boardgames), Dallas, Texas, USA
Enfilade 2025 (miniatures gaming), Tacoma, Washington, USA
Oldenburger Rollenspiel Convention (RPGs), Oldenburg, Germany
PaizoCon Online 2025 (Pathfinder/Starfinder RPGs), online
FanimeCon: Fan Prix (anime), San Jose, California, USA
Thy Geekdom Con (anime), Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA
Animazement (anime), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Mizucon (anime), Miami, Florida, USA
Anime North, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
ExpOtaku A Coruña (anime), A Coruña, Spain
Animefest 2025, Brno, Czechia
MomoCon 2025 (anime), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Sabaku Con 2025 (anime), Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
MCM London Comic Con, London, UK
Cherry Capital Comic Con, Acme, Michigan, USA
CaperCon (media), Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
Anime Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Comic Con Baltics, Vilnius, Lithuania
Peter Cushing Celebration, Whitstable, UK
Weekend of May 30-June 1
Fantasticon 2025 (Danish national sf convention), Copenhagen, Denmark
Swancon 49, Perth, Australia
Tremendicon, Springfield, Missouri, USA
ConCarolinas 2025, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Scheibenwelt Convention (Discworld), Witzenhausen, Germany
Das Frühlingsfest der Filksmusik 2025 (music), Hanstedt, Germany
Mephit Mini Con 26: The Roaring Twenties (anthropomorphic), Freusburg, Germany
Steampunk Alchemy Fest, Budd Lake, New Jersey, USA
Chicago Steampunk Exposition, Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
ChupacabraCon XI (gaming), San Marcos, Texas, USA
UK Games Expo (gaming), Birmingham, UK
Mega XP (gaming), Mexico City, Mexico
Y-Con 2025 (gaming), Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
LinCon (gaming), Linköping, Sweden
CORGSCon (retro video games), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Bak-Anime, Bakersfield, California, USA
Anime Riverside 2025, Riverside, California, USA
FedCon 33 (media), Bonn, Germany
ColossalCon (media), Sandusky, Ohio, USA
Hall of Heroes Comic Con, Elkhart, Indiana, USA
Fantasy Basel (media), Basel, Switzerland
Great Mills Comicon, Great Mills, Maryland, USA
Armageddon Expo Auckland Winter (media), Auckland, New Zealand
Trek Long Island 3 (Star Trek), Hauppauge, New York, USA
Purgatory 9 (Supernatural), Düsseldorf, Germany
Coda
Aquaculture in space (The Guardian, hat tip: lsanderson)
Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.