Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, and a broader use of the term "cosplay" applies to any costumed role-playing in venues apart from the stage. Any entity that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject. Favorite sources include anime, cartoons, comic books, manga, television series, rock music performances, video games and in some cases original characters. The term is composed of the two aforementioned counterparts – costume and role play.
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as films, television, comics, animation, and games. The format can vary but will tend to have a few similar features such as a guest of honour, discussion panels, readings and large special events such as opening/closing ceremonies and some form of party or entertainment. Science fiction conventions started off primarily in the UK and US but have now spread further and several countries have their own individual conventions as well as playing host to rotating international conventions.
A fan convention is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some also incorporate commercial activity. The term dates back to at least 1942.
NASFiC, an abbreviation for North American Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention scheduled in North America during years when a Worldcon is being held outside North America; NASFiCs are held only during such years. Bids for the location of a NASFiC are voted on by the membership of the Worldcon, the year after a non-North-American Worldcon site has been selected. As of 2014, this is one year in advance of a potential NASFiC, since Worldcon sites are chosen two years in advance.
The 30th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as L.A.con I, was held on 1–4 September 1972 at the International Hotel in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Genericon was a modestly sized anime/science fiction/gaming convention held in Troy, New York on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) campus for over 30 years, making it reportedly the longest-running college multigenre convention in the nation. It hosted theater-style auditoriums and had 24-hour anime viewing rooms, karaoke, cosplay events, 24-hour video game room/competitions, role-playing games, board games, and talks by guest speakers. The events usually began 6 p.m. on the Friday of the first weekend of March and continued until Sunday at 6 p.m. with a closing ceremony and announcement of the new "Con Chair". Starting with Genericon XXI, convention staff partnered with Jazzman's Cafe, located in the middle of the convention itself, to bring food and beverages to the convention.
Victor Woodward Milán was an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics.
Con-Version was an annual science fiction and fantasy convention held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Since its beginning in 1984, the convention hosted many authors such as Robert J. Sawyer, Larry Niven, and J. Michael Straczynski; it also hosted the judging for the Robyn Herrington Memorial Short Story Competition. Appearances had also been made by Jeremy Bulloch and Dirk Benedict.
ConGlomeration was an annual multigenre convention held in or around Louisville, Kentucky, between 2001 and 2019. ConGlomeration was an all-volunteer non-profit organization which, as part of its convention programming, conducted charitable activities on behalf of the American Cancer Society and Cabbage Patch Settlement House. With the unexpected closure of the convention's hotel in 2008, the operation of the convention was disrupted, but resumed in 2010. The final ConGlomeration, ConGlomeration 2020, was scheduled to be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Louisville on Easter weekend, April 10–12, 2020, but was cancelled due to COVID-19.
London Film and Comic Con is a fan convention held annually in London that focuses on films, cult television, gaming, anime, cosplay and comics. It is organised by Showmasters Ltd.
Tuckercon, also known as Archon31, was the ninth North American Science Fiction Convention, held in Collinsville, Illinois, on August 2–5, 2007, at the Gateway Center and Collinsville Holiday Inn. Collinsville is just across the Mississippi River from St Louis, Missouri. This NASFiC was held because Yokohama, Japan, was selected as the location for the 2007 Worldcon.
MOBICON is an annual fan convention held in Mobile, AL. Named for an earlier convention known formally as the Mobile Comic Art and Science Fiction Festival, MOBICON was re-founded in 1998 and its membership has steadily grown since its inception. MOBICON is a multigenre convention with a broad focus on many aspects of popular culture, fandom including science fiction, fantasy, gaming, movies, anime, horror, art, and comics.
FANdom Con was an annual three-day multigenre convention held during November at the Emerald Coast Convention Center in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
Multigenre Fan Convention Pyrkon is a Polish fan convention held annually in Poznań on the first weekend after the spring equinox and dedicated to an integration of Science fiction fandom and a promotion of science-fiction/fantasy literature, comics, film, television, video games, RPG, LARP, board games, collectible card games and miniature wargaming. Pyrkon is the biggest event of this type in Poland and one of the biggest in Europe.
Pensacon is a North American multigenre convention, founded in 2013, which takes place once each year in Pensacola, Florida. As of 2018, the convention draws an attendance of more than 25,000, features around 100 media guests, encompasses five venues in downtown Pensacola and runs hundreds of hours of programming for fans of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and other elements of fan culture. It is operated by a private for-profit corporation, with the help of a 350-member volunteer staff.
The Atlanta Fantasy Fair (AFF) was a multigenre convention which took place once each summer in Atlanta, Georgia from 1975 to 1995. Organized by A.C.F.F., Ltd., the convention was a nonprofit entity designed to promote the fantasy genre in the American Southeast. Over its two-decade run, the AFF featured hundreds of guests, encompassed hotels in downtown Atlanta and ran thousands of hours of programming for fans of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and other elements of fandom.
Magnum Opus Con (MOC) was an annual multigenre convention which generally took place each spring in various cities in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina from 1986 to 2001. Organized by comics retailer Roland Castle, the convention was designed to attract science fiction fans of all stripes. Over its 16-year run, MOC featured hundreds of celebrity guests and ran hundreds of hours of programming for fans of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, gaming, and other elements of fandom.
A comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels, or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels, with a larger number of attendees participating in cosplay than most other types of fan conventions. Comic book conventions are also used as a vehicle for industry, in which publishers, distributors, and retailers represent their comic-related releases. Comic book conventions may be considered derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began in the late 1930s.
The Henry VIII Hotel, also known as The Henry VIII Inn and Lodge, was a hotel of Tudor Revival architecture which was located near the St. Louis Lambert International Airport with an address of 4690 North Lindbergh Boulevard, Bridgeton, Missouri. The hotel remained in business until 2000 when it was removed to expand a runway area for the nearby airport. The Federal Aviation Administration had approved the expansion in 1998 with airport runway planners calling for the demolition of the hotel as far back as 1995.
