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Something to Do: Cons

Get ready for the Steampunk World’s Fair in Piscataway, NJ. This is the largest Steampunk convention in the world to date, with discussions, debates, workshops, demonstrations, readings, parties, contests, games, and parades to satisfy all of your Steampunk needs. The list of performers alone exceeds anything else I have ever seen listed; this one is a monster!

Demi-Con is a generic Sci-Fi con that has strong readercon roots, baseed in Des Moines, IA, and the motto Everything Is Better With Pirates; whats not to love? LepreCon 36 in Mesa, AZ, is a Relaxacon, meaning a readercon that is comfortable enough with itself to be laid back, even for the pros.

The Anime Central con happens May 14th to the 16th in Rosemont, IL, and if you are serious about your Cosplay you know you can not miss this one. If you win the main Cosplay competition at this event, you are guaranteed a spot on the Yume Cosplay Prize competition! That takes place in October, and will have the winners of all the regional contests battling it out to see which luck Cosplay Couple gets the matching set of all expense paid round trip tickets to Tokyo for a week, to include VIP tickets to the Tokyo Anime Fair.

In Media cons, there is a Twilight Creation event in Vancouver, CA, and for Comic-Cons, the Motor City Comic Con is a bit deceptive. That is because it has a lot of media talent as guests, around 40 of them listed including some noticeably famous names.

And yes, there are many more cons remaining unmentioned for this weekend, but this should give you a tasty place to get started…

Something to Do: Cons

This one is a bit unusual, in that it is purely a Costume Con, or in fact the 28th Costume-Con held in Milwaukee, WI. All flavors are welcome; Cosplayers, Furries, Historical Reenactors, Theater/Movie costuming professionals, and many other variations. The events appear to be arranged by temporal shift (past, present, future), and does appear to include a predominance of genre groups.

There are also a few 1 day Comic-Cons (basically just Collectible shows), including Hickory Con in Hickory, NC, JMV Comic Book Show in Fort Worth,TX, and the Clifton NJ Comic Book Expo.

Something to Do: Cons

This weekend is the first ever DC Comic Con in the Washington, DC, suburbs. It takes place on Sunday, May 2nd, and has some good guests lined up. This one is a small, one day event, no doubt testing the waters to see if they should expand next year.

Tampa, FL. has the Vulcan Events media con, which interestingly enough does not seem to have a single primary Star Trek actor, but it does have a ton of stars of other programs (and a few have been in Trek episodes or movies). In Charlotte, NC, is this weekends Twighlight Con for those looking for a different flavor of media con.

Nashville Anime fans will be holding forth at the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention, which is a much more complex and well rounded event than a first glance would indicate. With a large assortment of tracks, and every one of them full of events and entertainments of all sorts, this is one I need to try to attend next year. I would pay the full price just for the music track concerts, panels, and other events, and wedge in as much other fun as I could squeak in. It looks like staying awake for the full 72 hours would be the only acceptable option for this one.

Other Anime Cons include the No Brand Con in Eau Claire, WI, Chibi Con in Virginia Beach, VA,

Somthing to Do: Cons

The best Media Con this weekend may be Sci-Fi Expo in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Richardson. Guests include Adam Baldwin, Jamie King, Mira Furlan, Richard Hatch, Bruce Boxleitner, and many more. Of course, if you are a 12 to 14 year old girl, you might prefer the Twighlight Con in Arlington, VA instead.

EerieCon is a readercon in Niagara Falls, NY, with GoH’s Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, and it has everything you would expect at such a con. Also this weekend, Conestoga XIV takes place in Tulsa, OK, with GoH S. M. Stirling, and again all the fun stuff one goes to conventions for. And let’s not forget Jordancon in Atlanta, focused on Robert Jordan and the world of fantasy.

This one may be in a category all its own; the Full Moon tattoo and Horror Festival in Nashville is just what its name implies.

There are a boatload of Anime cons this weekend, including Tora-Con II in Rochester, NY, Kami-Con 2 in Tuscaloosa, AL, and Anime Detour in Bloomington, MN.

Something to Do: Cons

There are as always way more cons then I have time to research, but here are a few coming up this weekend. Wizard World is the Anaheim Comic Con taking place this weekend, and includes Stan Lee signing autographs. TMode is a blend of Asian and Western pop culture taking place in Alexandria, VA, with the emphasis on Anime, Gaming, and Cosplay. NashiCon is the third presentation of South Carolina’s original Anime con, and the winner this time around may be Kawaii Kon 2010 in Hawaii, which includes an equal number of guests from both sides of the Pacific.

Things to Do: Cons

Ad-Astra is a ReaderCon in Toronto this weekend with a ton of guests, including Eric Flint and Robert J. Sawyer. Besides all the usual events, they will also be running the competition for AD ASTRA’S NEXT TOP ZOMBIE!!!! A bit to the west (but still in Toronto) is another Canadian gathering at FilkOntario, where the inductions into the Filk Hall of Fame will be held.

RavenCon 2010 takes place in Richmond, VA, and celebrates all things Edgar Allen Poe-ish. As well as a lot of other stuff, since this is a general con; check out their schedule of programs. While over in Fargo, Core Con takes place featuring gaming, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Bushido, and Cosplay.