How to Convention: Being Staff
If a little volunteering here and there isn’t enough to use up your enthusiasm, you can always take the next step with your local con and become part of the staff.
The exact meaning of “staff” can vary from convention to convention, but in general it means people willing to make a substantial pre-scheduled commitment of their time. (The minimum amount of time also varies, but 8-12 hours is common.) In exchange for that commitment, staff perks may include:
Free or reduced-rate admission.
A reduced rate if you’re staying at a convention hotel. Some conventions may also have a small number of completely free rooms to allocate to staff who need extra budgetary help.
Access to a staff-specific break room with snacks.
Special swag.
The catch is that you will need to have your shifts picked well before the full convention schedule is available. If there’s a big event you don’t want to miss, and you know the day and time it’s usually held at that con, you can try to not be scheduled for a shift around then, but you will have to pick your times before knowing if one of your shifts is scheduled against the autograph session for your favorite author, or your best friend’s talk, or that one video you were interested in catching.
Staff status may also come with pre-con onboarding. There may be a policy acknowledgements, or training. You may be added to some kind of staff-specific communications channel, such as specialized mailing list or the staff area of a Discord server (or an entirely separate server from the con’s public one), and expected to be responsive on that channel.
Being staff is a significant commitment, but it comes with the gratitude of everyone behind the scenes, who know that the con can’t happen without a bunch of people like you.
In Brief
Spooky Empire, originally scheduled to be in Orlando this weekend, is being rescheduled due to Hurricane Milton. The new dates will be announced next week.
Infinity Con Gainesville, already rescheduled once due to Hurricane Helene, is going ahead with its revised dates this coming weekend.
The Great Con-Junction (Borehamwood, UK, February 8-9) has added Brian Froud, Wendy Froud, and Donna Kimball.
Game On Expo (Phoenix, Arizona, April 4-6) has added Abby Trott.
Event Calendar
Weekend of October 11-13
Stranimondi 2024 (Italian national sf convention), Milan, Italy
DeepSouthCon 62: ConToberFest, Helen, Georgia, USA
Fantasycon 2024, Birmingham, UK
Alamo City Furry Invasion: Dr. Virginia's Island Paradise, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Confuror 2024: Monstruos vs Luchadores (anthropomorphic), Guadalajara, Mexico
Atlanta Game Fest 44, Peachtree Corners, Georgia, USA
Viking-Con 43 (gaming), Tårnby, Denmark
Furnace Games Convention XIX (RPGs), Sheffield, UK
PAX Australia (gaming), Melbourne, Australia
Congress of Gamers Fall Session, Rockville, Maryland, USA
Icon Gaming, Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
Capital City Gaming Con (gaming), West Des Moines, Iowa, USA
CinCityCon 2024 (gaming), Hamilton, Ohio, USA
ConFABulous (LGBTQ+ gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Houston Arcade Expo, Houston, Texas, USA
Travellercon/USA 2024 (Traveller RPG), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
Banzaicon 12: Spooktacular (anime), Larvik, Norway
Animasia (anime), Bordeaux, France
Anime Mundo, El Paso, Texas, USA
Anime USA, Arlington, Virginia, USA
Iberanime, Matosinhos, Portugal
Polaris (anime), Hamburg, Germany
WasabiCon (anime), Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Oni-Con 2024 (anime), Galveston, Texas, USA
Tsubasacon 2024: Cyberpunk vs. Steampunk (anime), Charleston, West Virginia, USA
NW Idolfest (anime idols), Seattle, Washington, USA
Rescheduled: Infinity Con Gainesville (media), Gainesville, Florida, USA
Geek Days Caen (media), Caen, France
MondoCon 2024 (media), Budapest, Hungary
Creation Charlotte (media), Concord, North Carolina, USA
Nickel City Comic Con, Buffalo, New York, USA
Comiccon de Québec, Ville de Québec, Québec, Canada
BADcon (media), Pleasant Valley, Missouri, USA
Hypercon (media), Wichita Falls, Texas, USA
Spooky Empire (horror media), Orlando, Florida, USA
57th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, Sitges, Spain
Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival, New York City, New York, USA
Weekend of October 18-20
ICON 49: New Horizons, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
OryCon 44: Villains, Portland, Oregon, USA
BuchmesseCon, Dreieich, Germany
Multiverse, Peachtree City, Georgia, USA
World Fantasy Convention 2024, Niagara Falls, New York, USA
OctoGônes 14 (gaming), Villeurbanne, France
TringCon (gaming), Marsworth, UK
Erie Days of Games, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
Festival Draconis (gaming), Montréal, Québec, Canada
ACWest (gaming), Telford, UK
Austi-Con 2024 (gaming), Austin, Minnesota, USA
Armour Con 2024 (gaming), Marlborough, UK
Gamehole Con 11 (RPGs), Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Video Game Summit, Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
Made in Asia (anime), Brussels, Belgium
MoTownCon (anime), Concord, North Carolina, USA
Anime Fusion: This Is Halloween, Plymouth, Minnesota, USA
Another Anime Convention, Westford, Massachusetts, USA
Anime Nebraskon 2024: Legends of NebKon Past, Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA
Wauke-Con (comics), Waukegan, Illinois, USA
ValleyCon 49 (media), Fargo, North Dakota, USA
Dallas Fan Festival (media), Irving, Texas, USA
New York Comic Con, New York City, New York, USA
Cincinnati Comic Expo, Sharonville, Ohio, USA
PonyCon Holland 4: Level Up! (My Little Pony), Zeist, Netherlands
Weekend of October 25-27
MileHiCon 56, Denver, Colorado, USA
Hallowcon 2024 (fantasy/horror), Dalton, Georgia, USA
3rd Annual Sturgeon Symposium, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
Ohio Valley Filk Festival 40 (music), Worthington, Ohio, USA
GLC 14: Toffee and the Argonauts (anthropomorphic), Hasliberg, Switzerland
Infurnity (anthropomorphic), Taichung, Taiwan
Reffurence: Howl-o-Ween (anthropomorphic), Rotterdam, Netherlands
Carnage 27: Children of the Con (gaming), Killington, Vermont, USA
Zilele Jocurilor (gaming), Târgu Mureș, Romania
GaelCon 2024 (gaming), Dublin, Ireland
Big Bad Con 2024 (gaming), Burlingame, California, USA
Phantasm 34th (RPGs), Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
LAN All Night X: X-LAN LANs of Future Past (video games), Grapevine, Texas, USA
GDEX 2024 (video games), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Retro Palooza (retro video games), Arlington, Texas, USA
YumeCon USA (anime), San Jose, California, USA
DerpyCon 2024 (anime), New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Destination Tokyo (anime), St-Maurice, Switzerland
Ramencon (anime), South Bend, Indiana, USA
Winnipeg Comiccon, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
The Penti-Con 2024 (media), Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
Festival of Fantastic Films, Manchester, UK
VoltCon 2024 (Voltron), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Weekend of November 1-3
Fantastika 2024 (Swedish national sf convention), Stockholm, Sweden (Swecon)
Les Utopiales, Nantes, France
ArmadaCon, Plymouth, UK
LodgeCon 2024, Peotone, Illinois, USA
Doxacon 2024 (sf and Christianity), Arlington, Virginia, USA
Can*Con 2024 (Canadian sf), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Furry Blacklight: Ride the Retro Wave, Tremblay-en-France, France
Wüellas FurFest (anthropomorphic), Santiago, Chile
Furpocalypse 2024: Astrophobia (anthropomorphic), Stamford, Connecticut, USA
Kee Con VII (gaming), Cherokee, Iowa, USA
Lucca Comics & Games, Lucca, Italy
Tampa Nerd Con (gaming), Tampa, Florida, USA
Rock-Con (gaming), Rockford, Illinois, USA
Effing-Con (gaming), Effingham, Illinois, USA
Dice Fest 2024 (gaming), Bellevue, Washington, USA
NewGame 2024 (gaming), Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA
LoBsterCon XXVII (boardgames), Eastbourne, UK
TORG Gaming Expo 2024 (video games), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Fall In! (miniatures gaming), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
WarFaire Weekend (wargaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Sin City Anime, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Youmacon (anime), Detroit, Michigan, USA
YuniCon (anime), Schwechat, Austria
UwUCon (anime), Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Comic Con Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Anime Pasadena 2024, Pasadena, California, USA
NekoCon 2024: Mewths and Legends (anime), Hampton, Virginia, USA
Rhode Island Comic Con, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium
TFcon Baltimore (Transformers), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Weekend of November 8-10
Novacon 53, Buxton, UK
TusCon 51, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Windycon 50: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, Oak Brook, Illinois, USA
Imladris XXII, Kraków, Poland
OmegaCon Fall 2024 (relaxacon), Siren, Wisconsin, USA
Y/Con 10 (LGBT sf), Paris, France
GeekGirlCon (female geekdom), Seattle, Washington, USA
New England Crime Bake 2024 (mysteries), Dedham, Massachusetts, USA
TeslaCon: The Mystery of Kraken Island (steampunk), Middleton, Wisconsin, USA
Steampunk November, Venus, Texas, USA
The Surrey Steampunk Convivial, Epsom, UK
Lost Coast Steampunk Consortium Convivial, Eureka, California, USA
Vermont Steampunk Expo, Essex Junction, Vermont, USA
Flüüfff: Toxic Critters (anthropomorphic), Brussels, Belgium
PAW '24: The AF-Taur Life (anthropomorphic), San Jose, California, USA
Howloween 2024: The Bork Collective (anthropomorphic), Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Hexcon (gaming), Trondheim, Norway
Mythic Con (gaming), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Save Against Fear (gaming), York, Pennsylvania, USA
AcadeCon (gaming), Dayton, Ohio, USA
Spielwiesn (gaming), Augsburg, Germany
MEPACon: Covert Operations (gaming), Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Spellen Spektakel (gaming), Utrecht, Netherlands
FLAG Con 2024 (gaming), Ithaca, New York, USA
BottosCon 2024 (gaming), New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Compass Games Expo Fall 2024, Meridien, Connecticut, USA
Spielewelt in Bielefeld (boardgames), Bielefeld, Germany
EuroQuest 2024 (Eurogames), Annapolis, Maryland, USA
TaKtiCon (miniatures gaming), Kansas City, Missouri, USA
The Long Con (RPGs), Longview, Texas, USA
AmberCon NW (diceless RPGs), Troutdale, Oregon, USA
KeyForge Celebration 2024 (KeyForge CCG), Roseville, Minnesota, USA
Music City Multi Con (media/video games), Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Sonic Expo (Sonic the Hedgehog), Mesquite, Texas, USA
Animaine XII (anime), South Portland, Maine, USA
Kumoricon (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA
HizashiCon (anime), Pensacola, Florida, USA
anime expo chibi, Ontario, California, USA
Nishicon 2024: Full Metal Nishi (anime), Eindhoven, Netherlands
Rocky Mountain Con (comics), Denver, Colorado, USA
Motor City Comic Con, Novi, Michigan, USA
Grit City Comic Show, Tacoma, Washington, USA
Twin Tiers Comic-Con, Horseheads, New York, USA
Comic Con Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Hal-Con (media), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
NC Comic Con, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Twin Cities Con (media), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Akron Comiccon, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA
SyFiPopFest (media), Leesburg, Florida, USA
Pony Friends Forever (My Little Pony), San Antonio, Texas, USA
Coda
How to tell LARPers from terrorists (FBI, hat tip: James Nicoll)
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