The most important Doctor Who Con of the season has to be Gallifrey One: Blackjack 21 in Los Angeles. Guests include Sarah Sutton, Katey Manning, Georgia Moffett, Debora Watling, Frazier Hines, John Levene, and many, many more.
There are two good general sci-Fi cons in the US this weekend; on the left coast is Condor XVII in San Diego, with Writer GoH CJ Cherryh. The theme is Tripping the Past Fantastic in all its Steampunk glory, with a Mad Science Faire and nominations open for the Mad Scientists Hall of Fame. Out of those already nominated, I have to vote for Nichola Tesla for the Real and for the Fictional, it’s a toss-up between Dr. Emmett Brown and Professor Albert Wickwire (in both cases because of the skill and sheer joy the actors brought to the parts). There are also writers workshops, dealers rooms, anime rooms, the Hogwarts Educational Retreat, lots of live music including the Steam Powered Giraffe, and ever so much more.
Over on the write coast, SheVaCon in Roanoke, VA, has guests covering the spectrum of authors (including Kevin J. and Rebeca M. Anderson), artists, and actors. All aspects of Fandom seem to be covered in the Events section, with Anime Rooms, TV/Movie Viewing Rooms, Game Rooms, Computer Rooms, Fan Groups (a LOT of them), multiple competitive Cosplay events as well as non-competitive, and everything else you would expect. Whichever coast you are on, quality general Sci-Fi Fun is to be had!
If you are down under, Continuum 6: Future Tense looks to be the venue of choice this weekend. The premise for the event is that 2010 was used in so many books, movies, etc. to mean simply The Future, that now that it is here we should celebrate! Their home page describes it as Killer robots are beating down the door while Mutant Hordes gather… your Emotional Inhibitor is on the fritz and your Computer is calling you “Dave”, and again this event has everything a good general Con should have, plus something special. This is the event where they hand out the Chronos Awards, which I find somewhat disturbing. I am not disturbed by the thought of the award, but by the fact that I know none of the nominees in a contest that is pulling together the best authors and stories from an entire subcontinent. Looks like I have some serious reading to do!
Meanwhile the Japanese Art Festival comes alive at the Richmond Adult Community College in Richmond, UK. This is a Non-traditional anime-related event, if you are interested in the subject matter, I urge you not to miss this one; it is a monster!