Sci-Fi Valley Con

Last updated
Sci-Fi Valley Con
StatusActive
GenreMulti-genre [1]
Venue Blair County Convention Center
Location(s) Altoona, Pennsylvania
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated2012 [2]
AttendanceNearly 4,000 in 2015 [3]
Organized byAssett Conventions LLC [2]
Website scifivalleycon.com

Sci-Fi Valley Con (formerly Sci-Fi in the Valley Con) is an biannual three day multi-genre convention held during June and October/November at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania. [1] [4]

Contents

Programming

The convention typically offers board gaming, charity auction, costume contest, film festival, guest panels, role-playing gaming, table-top gaming, trivia tournaments, vendors, video gaming, and workshops. [1] [3] [5] [6] The 2012 charity auction raised $1200 for The Machine Gun Preacher's Save the Children Foundation. [7] 2013's charity auction benefited Shriners Hospitals for Children and raised almost $1500. [8] The 2022 charity auction benefited the Children's Miracle Network. [9]

History

Sci-Fi in the Valley Con 2012 was moved from the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania to the North Central Recreation Center in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. This occurred due to a local fee that would affect the conventions dealers. [2] [10] [11] In 2013, the convention moved to the Jaffa Shrine and used the bottom floor. [12] [13] It used both of the Jaffa's floors in 2014. [14] The convention used half of the Blair County Convention Center in 2015, and the whole facility in 2016. [3] [15] Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 was moved from June to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later cancelled. [16] [17] [18] [19] Sci-Fi Valley Con 2021 was moved from June to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [20] [21] [22] The October 2021 convention had lower than normal attendance. [9] The June 2024 event had additional parking offsite. [23]

Starting with the November 2024 event, Sci-Fi Valley Con expanded to two events per year. [4]

Event history

DatesLocationAtten.Guests
May 18–20, 2012 [11] North Central Recreation Center
Ebensburg, Pennsylvania 		1,000 (est.) or
1,200 [12] [13] 		Jeremy Ambler, Joshua Emerick, Chiara Fattorusso, Garrett Free, Jeremy McHugh, Mark Tierno, Tod Allen Smith, and April A. Taylor. [24]
May 17–19, 2013 [25] Jaffa Shrine
Altoona, Pennsylvania 		2,000 [14] Brian O'Halloran [12] [13]
June 27–29, 2014Jaffa Shrine
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Almost 3,000 [5] Rusty Gilligan, The Mandalorian Mercs, [26] Robert Bruce, Brian O’Halloran, [27] and Scott Schiaffo. [14]
May 15–17, 2015 [28] Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Almost 4,000 [3] Blair Murphy [5]
June 10–12, 2016Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Brian O'Halloran, John Rhys-Davies, [29] Zach Galligan, Alaina Huffman, John Morton, Alex Vincent, and Fred Williamson. [3]
June 9–11, 2017Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		 Nicholas Brendon, Dameon Clarke, David Eddings, Donald Fullilove, Harry Waters, Jr., Jeffrey Weissman, [30] Bob Gunton, Sam Jones, and Martin Klebba. [1]
June 8–10, 2018Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Nicholas Brendon, Melissa Fahn, Richard Horvitz, Brian O'Halloran, Rob Paulsen, Rikki Simons, Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, [31] Lee Arenberg, Olivia d'Abo, and Tracie Thoms. [32]
June 7–9, 2019Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		 Rodger Bumpass, Seth Gilliam, Maurice LaMarche, Rob Paulsen, Billy West, [33] Adam Fergus, David Haydn-Jones, Mark Pellegrino, [6] David Lee Madison, and John Russo. [34]
October 8-10, 2021Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		 Jim Cummings, Gigi Edgley, Olivia Hack, Sam J. Jones, Jennie Kwan, James "Brad Mick" McDonough, Michaela Jill Murphy, and Emily Swallow. [22]
June 17-19, 2022Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		 Cam Clarke, Townsend Coleman, Grey DeLisle, Barry Gordon, Nolan North, Rob Paulsen, and Billy West. [35]
June 9-11, 2023Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		 Carlos Alazraqui, Greg Baldwin, Dante Basco, Grey DeLisle, Jennie Kwan, Maurice LaMarche, Cricket Leigh, Michaela Jill Murphy, Rob Paulsen, Janet Varney, Kari Wahlgren, [36] and Greg Sestero. [37]
June 7-9, 2024Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Greg Baldwin, Roger Clark, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Nolan North, Steven Ogg, Maggie Robertson, Lauren Tom, Billy West, Rob Wiethoff, [38] Shawn Fonteno, and Ned Luke. [23]
November 8-10, 2024Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		 Ruth Connell, Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, DJ Qualls, Mark Sheppard, Emily Swallow, [39] Omri Katz, Dave B. Mitchell, Bradley Pierce, Vinessa Shaw, and Rick Worthy. [4]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hicks, Cherie (June 2, 2017). "A plethora of pop culture: Sci-Fi Valley Con to feature Jones, Gunton and much more". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Dennis, Justin (February 11, 2012). "[VIDEO] Johnstown's 1st science-fiction convention to take War Memorial by storm(troopers)". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Hicks, Cherie (June 2, 2016). "Sci-fi, fantasy and fun: 2016 convention to feature famous celebrities". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Churella, Matt (November 2, 2024). "Back in town: Sci-Fi Valley Con returns for second time this year". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Hicks, Cherie (May 9, 2015). "Sci-Fi Valley Con continuing to grow | News, Sports, Jobs - Altoona Mirror". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  6. 1 2 Drumm, Amanda (May 24, 2019). "Calling all Sci-Fi Fans". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  7. ↑ Dennis, Justin (May 19, 2012). "[VIDEO] Sci-Fi in the Valley Con brings Jedi, Vulcans to Ebensburg". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  8. ↑ Dennis, Justin (May 18, 2013). "VIDEO Sci-Fi expo connects with fans". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  9. 1 2 Isenberg, Dan (June 20, 2022). "Out of this world: Sci-Fi Valley Con packs house with enthusiasts". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  10. ↑ DiPaolo, Dan (February 18, 2012). "Science-fiction convention coming to Johnstown". Daily American. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  11. 1 2 Dennis, Justin (March 6, 2012). "Sci-Fi in the Valley Con moving to Ebensburg recreational center". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 Dennis, Justin (May 4, 2013). "Return of the geeks: Sci-Fi Valley Con fans will descend on Altoona". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  13. 1 2 3 Frederick, Keith (May 11, 2013). "Sci-fi fan convention returns to the area". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 Gabeletto, Amanda (June 26, 2014). "Return of Sci-Fi: Convention brings other worldly and more to the Jaffa this weekend". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  15. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con". WTAJ. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  16. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 Postponed March". Facebook. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  17. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 Postponed May". Facebook. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  18. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 June Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  19. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 August Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  20. ↑ "Postponed October 8-10, 2021". Sci-Fi Valley Con. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  21. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2021 June Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  22. 1 2 "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2021 October Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  23. 1 2 Churella, Matt (June 8, 2024). "Sci-Fi Valley Con keeps drawing in big crowds". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  24. ↑ Rice, Ruth (May 12, 2012). "Sci-fi convention 3-day event begins Friday in Ebensburg". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  25. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2013 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  26. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2014 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  27. ↑ Dennis, Justin (June 6, 2014). "Bright reality for sci-fi event". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  28. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2015 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  29. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2016 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  30. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2017 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  31. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2018 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  32. ↑ Keith, Patt (June 1, 2018). "Family-oriented fantasy fun: Sci-Fi Valley Con to be held at Blair County Convention Center". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  33. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2019 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  34. ↑ Fasolo, Alyssa (June 8, 2019). "A family affair". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  35. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2022 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  36. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2023 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  37. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con set to return". Altoona Mirror. June 3, 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  38. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con June 2024 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  39. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con November 2024 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2025-01-02.

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