If fantastic art has ever drawn your eye, this weekend offers something special; IlluxCon in Altoona, PA has the biggest talents in the field displaying their work. The Guest List is absolutely staggering, including artists like Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell, Michael Whelan, Brom, Todd Lockwood, Greg Hildebrandt, Jordu Schell, and Bob Eggleton, to name just a few. I have never heard of a more impressive gathering of talent in this century, and will do my best to be there; this is my pick for the Event of Choice this weekend.
The Readercon event would have to be TusCon 36, put together by the Baja Arizona Science Fiction Association. Edward Bryant is the Toastmaster, and the Cosplay competition is Steampunk this year.
Speaking of Steampunk, best SteamCon event goes to WindyCon 36 running this Friday through Sunday in Lombard, IL. Author GoH is James P. Blaylock, while Artist GoH goes to the team of Phil and Kaja Foglio, who amongst many other works create the ongoing Girl Genius.
The MediaCon event for this weekend looks to be NEFanX, the New England Fan eXperience. Headlined with GoH Leonard Nimoy, who is backed up by actors Gareth David-Lloyd (Torchwood’s Ianto Jones) and John de Lancie (who played both Trek’s Q and the real scientist Nikola Tesla in Legend), writer Wen Spencer, and Devo Spice, this is an impressive collection of talent.
There are a bunch of Anime Cons this weekend, and one of the best of them is EirtaKon, which identifies itself as Ireland’s first Anime convention, and the largest of it’s kind on the island, from the 13th to the 15th. Nearby, and much smaller, is the Anime League Club London, London’s little Anime convention, at just 5 pounds for entry on its single day.
In Canada, OtaFest Lite takes place on Saturday only, reproducing the event look-and-feel of the early days of the University of Calgary’s major Otaku Festival. Dot Con happens in Toronto, to include Junko’s Shamisen. In the US, Izumicon happens from the 13th to the 15th in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with all the usual events. Yet another one day Con, Kaji Con, happens in Georgia on the 14th. At some point these details get too complex to track.
And then there is EuroQuest, a Gaming Con from the old country. And there are others…