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Horror conventions are gatherings of the community of fans of various forms of horror including horror cinema, goth lifestyle, and occasionally science fiction and fantasy. Historically the focus has been on the cinematic form rather than literature and art, but this has broadened to include all forms in recent years. People in attendance at a horror convention are traditionally known as members of the convention; invited celebrities including film directors and stars are commonly known as guests of the convention, though many professionals including directors will simply attend as members.
The first morning of most conventions, the "Opening Ceremonies" are held, where organizers and marquee guests are introduced and speeches might be made. Some conventions such as Weekend of Horrors will play horror-themed music and video.
Panel-led discussions, or Panels, usually fill up the daytime hours of most conventions with typically one-hour discussions of topics related to horror films, horror literature, and fandom in general.
Evening entertainment often includes a combination of official and unofficial events, including dances, formal invitational dinners, and fandom-themed room parties. A bid party is a room party held to influence the choice of the location of a future convention by advertising its advantages.
A costume contest called a masquerade is often held where persons go on stage and compete for nominal prizes based on their skill in assembling and presenting horror-inspired outfits. This is truly more a "talent show" rather than the "fancy dress ball" that the term suggests (although British fandom sometimes uses the term "fancy dress").
A Dealer's or Huckster's Room is available, where merchants sell wares of interest to fans. These include books, action figures, prop replicas and t-shirts. Smaller conventions may simply have an informal Dealer's Row, a section of hotel rooms from which dealers sell goods, while larger conventions may have both an official dealer's room and an unofficial dealer's row.
Many conventions have video rooms, in which genre-related audiovisual presentations take place and/or films and trailers are shown.
Often the "Closing Ceremonies" on the convention's last day are dispensed with entirely. This omission is because such ceremonies would logically be held after scheduled events are over, and convention members are occupied with packing up and checking out of the hotel.
Ceremony or not, a dead dog party is likely to be held. This is the traditional winding-down party where few of the attendees are likely to have huge amounts of energy. This party is an attempt to ease people back into the real world outside of convention and can be an effective method of warding off the depression, which is often associated with the end of a major event. Analogies can be drawn to the decompression parties following large events such as Burning Man.
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.
FenCon is a literary science fiction and fantasy convention with filk held each year on or around the fourth full weekend of September in or around Dallas, Texas. The name is derived from "fen", the fannish plural of "fan", and "con", an abbreviation for "convention".
A furry convention is a formal gathering of members of the furry fandom – people who are interested in the concept of fictional non-human animal characters with human characteristics. These conventions provide a place for fans to meet, exchange ideas, transact business and engage in entertainment and recreation centered on this concept. Originating in California, United States, during the mid-1980s, as of 2016 there are over 50 furry conventions worldwide each year.
Weekend of Horrors was traditionally a tri-annual traveling convention which focuses on horror films. Formerly produced in partnership with Creation Entertainment, the Weekend of Horrors show is now owned exclusively by Fangoria Magazine and is held once annually in Los Angeles, California.
The Big Apple Comic Con is a New York City comic book convention, the longest-running comic book/speculative fiction/pop culture convention in New York City. It was started by retailer Michael "Mike Carbo" Carbonaro in March 1996 in the basement of the St. Paul the Apostle Church. During its heyday from 2001 to 2008, the Big Apple Comic Con often featured multiple shows per year, with a large three-day "national" convention held in November, usually held at the Penn Plaza Pavilion. The show was owned by Wizard Entertainment from 2009 to 2013, but was reacquired by Carbonaro in 2014.
Fan Expo Dallas, previously known as Dallas Comic Con, is a three-day speculative fiction, fan convention held annually in the Dallas, Texas area. Larger in scale than the Dallas Fan Days events under the same management, Fan Expo Dallas focuses on comic book artists, writers, and publishers. These events usually also feature question and answer sessions, a large dealers room, and autograph-signing with a number of famous comic and media guests. The event is produced by Informa doing business as Fan Expo HQ.
Adventure Con was a for-profit media expo with a science fiction and comic theme held annually in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Zenkaikon is a multi-genre convention held during spring at the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The convention was formerly based around King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Zenkaikon's name is a portmanteau of Zentrancon and Kosaikon, created when they merged in 2006. The convention has an all-volunteer staff.
Lazy Dragon Con was a three-day relaxacon held in McKinney, Texas, a northern suburb of Dallas in both 2007 and 2008. Lazy Dragon Con was sponsored by Lazy Dragon LLC, dealers of blades "From Pocketknives to Broadswords," and was not related to the Atlanta-based Dragon Con in any way.
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.
Phoenix Fan Fusion is a speculative fiction entertainment and comic book convention held annually in Phoenix, Arizona. It was founded as the Phoenix Cactus Comicon in June 2002, and originally consisted of a one-day six-hour event held in Ahwatukee, Arizona. The convention plays host to comic related panels, programming events, art contests, and autograph signings for all ages. It is a three-day event (Friday-Sunday) held during the summer at the Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix. On Thursday evening prior to the official opening of the event, there is a preview for professionals, exhibitors, and select guests pre-registered for all four days.
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.
L.A. Comic Con is a three-day multi-genre convention held annually in downtown Los Angeles, California. L.A. Comic Con is one of the largest independent conventions in the United States and encompasses several categories, including comic, horror, sci-fi, anime, gaming, and pop culture, with a particular focus on the local Los Angeles community.
Fright Night Film Fest, also known as Louisville Fright Night Film Fest, is an annual horror film festival in Louisville, Kentucky. The festival was first founded in 2005 by Ken Daniels and is typically held in July at the Galt House, which is famous for housing guests for the Kentucky Derby. The focus of the Fright Night Film Fest focuses on genre films such as horror, science fiction, fantasy, action, and cult from around the world including new films from Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America, Europe and North America.
The Ottawa Comiccon is a fan convention with a focus on comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and games. It is a spin-off of the Montreal Comiccon. It was launched in 2012. The event features comic books, toys, games, science-fiction, horror, anime, non-sport cards, and collectibles. It is held at the EY Centre convention center in Ottawa, taking place in May and lasting three days. The organizers of the Ottawa Comiccon primarily come from the Montreal Comiccon organization.
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.
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.
For the Love of Horror is a fan convention crossed with a haunted attraction held annually in Manchester, UK that celebrates the horror genre in various formats such as horror films, horror fiction, horror comics, horror video games, and horror cosplay which is organised by UK Events company Monopoly Events.
For the Love of Sci-Fi is a fan convention held annually in Manchester, England that celebrates the science fiction genre in various formats such as films, sci-fi fiction, comics, video games, and sci-fi cosplay which is organised by UK Events company Monopoly Events.