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 annual three day multi-genre convention held during June at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania. [1]

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] [4] [5] The 2012 charity auction raised $1200 for The Machine Gun Preacher's Save the Children Foundation. [6] 2013's charity auction benefited Shriners Hospitals for Children and raised almost $1500. [7] The 2022 charity auction benefited the Children's Miracle Network. [8]

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] [9] [10] In 2013, the convention moved to the Jaffa Shrine and used the bottom floor. [11] [12] It used both of the Jaffa's floors in 2014. [13] The convention used half of the Blair County Convention Center in 2015, and the whole facility in 2016. [3] [14] Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 was moved from June to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later cancelled. [15] [16] [17] [18] Sci-Fi Valley Con 2021 was moved from June to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [19] [20] [21] The October 2021 convention had lower than normal attendance. [8]

Event history

DatesLocationAtten.Guests
May 18–20, 2012 [10] North Central Recreation Center
Ebensburg, Pennsylvania 		1,000 (est.) or
1,200 [11] [12] 		Jeremy Ambler, Joshua Emerick, Chiara Fattorusso, Garrett Free, Jeremy McHugh, Mark Tierno, Tod Allen Smith, and April A. Taylor. [22]
May 17–19, 2013 [23] Jaffa Shrine
Altoona, Pennsylvania 		2,000 [13] Brian O'Halloran [11] [12]
June 27–29, 2014Jaffa Shrine
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Almost 3,000 [4] Rusty Gilligan, The Mandalorian Mercs, [24] Robert Bruce, Brian O’Halloran, [25] and Scott Schiaffo. [13]
May 15–17, 2015 [26] Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Almost 4,000 [3] Blair Murphy [4]
June 10–12, 2016Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Brian O'Halloran, John Rhys-Davies, [27] 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, [28] 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, [29] Lee Arenberg, Olivia d'Abo, and Tracie Thoms. [30]
June 7–9, 2019Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		 Rodger Bumpass, Seth Gilliam, Maurice LaMarche, Rob Paulsen, Billy West, [31] Adam Fergus, David Haydn-Jones, Mark Pellegrino, [5] David Lee Madison, and John Russo. [32]
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. [21]
June 17-19, 2022Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		 Cam Clarke, Townsend Coleman, Grey DeLisle, Barry Gordon, Nolan North, Rob Paulsen, and Billy West. [33]
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, [34] and Greg Sestero. [35]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Huntingdon County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,092. Its county seat is Huntingdon. The county was created on September 20, 1787, mainly from the northern part of Bedford County, plus an addition of territory on the east from Cumberland County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellwood, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Bellwood is a borough in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Altoona, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was at 1,829 as of the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebensburg, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Ebensburg is a borough and the county seat of Cambria County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located 25 miles (40 km) west of Altoona and surrounded by Cambria Township. It is situated in the Allegheny Mountains at about 2,140 feet (650 m) above sea level. Ebensburg is located in a rich bituminous coal region. In the past, sawmills, tanneries, wool mills, and a foundry operated there. The number of residents in 1900 was 1,574, and in 1910, 1,978. The population was 3,351 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Northern Cambria is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,835 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragon Con</span> Annual pop culture fan convention in Atlanta

Dragon Con is a North American multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. As of 2017, the convention draws attendance of over 80,000, features hundreds of guests, encompasses five hotels in the Peachtree Center neighborhood of downtown Atlanta near Centennial Olympic Park, and runs thousands of hours of programming for fans of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and other elements of fan culture. It is owned and operated by a private for-profit corporation, with the help of a 1,500-member volunteer staff. Dragon Con has hosted the 1990 Origins Game Fair and the 1995 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona–Johnstown</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Pennsylvania, USA

The Diocese of Altoona–Johnstown is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in central Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The mother church of the diocese is the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WATM-TV</span> ABC affiliate in Altoona, Pennsylvania

WATM-TV is a television station licensed to Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the ABC affiliate for the Johnstown–Altoona–State College market. It is owned by Palm Television, L.P., which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Cunningham Broadcasting, owner of Johnstown-licensed Fox affiliate WWCP-TV, for the provision of certain services. Both stations, in turn, are operated under a time brokerage agreement (TBA) by Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of Johnstown-licensed dual NBC/CW+ affiliate WJAC-TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Apple Comic Con</span> New York City comics & pop culture convention

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.

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.

All-Con is a four-day convention held annually in the Dallas, Texas, area. All-Con provides an umbrella of content supporting fans of science fiction, fantasy, Renaissance, anime, costuming, theater/performing arts, mystery, art, crafts, collecting, and filmmaking. To help give back, there are several charity events at the convention every year. The All-Con motto is "We Serve The Fan Community." Since 2007, the anime programming has been provided by members of Mu Epsilon Kappa's University of North Texas chapter.

Naka-Kon is an annual three-day anime convention held during May at the Overland Park Convention Center and Sheraton Overland Park Hotel at the Convention Center in Overland Park, Kansas. The name of the convention comes from the Japanese word for "center/middle".

Joseph Carroll McCormick was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in Pennsylvania (1960–1966) and bishop of the Diocese of Scranton in Pennsylvania (1966–1983).

The Johnstown Galleria is a two-level shopping mall in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is anchored by Boscov's and JCPenney.

The Jaffa Shrine Center is a 3,200-seat multipurpose arena located in downtown Altoona, Pennsylvania. The current Shrine Center, headquarters to the Jaffa Shriners, was built in 1930, opening on September 25 of that year. It was the largest convention center in Blair County until the Blair County Convention Center was built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambria County Jail</span> United States historic place

Cambria County Jail is a historic jail located in downtown Ebensburg, Cambria County, Pennsylvania.

Fan Expo Denver is a speculative fiction fan convention held annually in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. The event is a celebration of comics, books, movies, TV, gaming, and other pop culture.

Setsucon is an annual two day anime convention held during January/February at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The convention's name comes from the Japanese word setsu, meaning "snow". It is organized by the Penn State Anime Organization (PSAO). The convention is family-friendly.

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 Hicks, Cherie (May 9, 2015). "Sci-Fi Valley Con continuing to grow | News, Sports, Jobs - Altoona Mirror". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  5. 1 2 Drumm, Amanda (May 24, 2019). "Calling all Sci-Fi Fans". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  6. ↑ Dennis, Justin (May 19, 2012). "[VIDEO] Sci-Fi in the Valley Con brings Jedi, Vulcans to Ebensburg". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  7. ↑ Dennis, Justin (May 18, 2013). "VIDEO Sci-Fi expo connects with fans". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  8. 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.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 1 2 3 Frederick, Keith (May 11, 2013). "Sci-fi fan convention returns to the area". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  13. 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.
  14. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con". WTAJ. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  15. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 Postponed March". Facebook. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  16. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 Postponed May". Facebook. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  17. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 June Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  18. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 August Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  19. ↑ "Postponed October 8-10, 2021". Sci-Fi Valley Con. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  20. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2021 June Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2021-05-07.
  21. 1 2 "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2021 October Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  22. ↑ Rice, Ruth (May 12, 2012). "Sci-fi convention 3-day event begins Friday in Ebensburg". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  23. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2013 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-31.
  24. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2014 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  25. ↑ Dennis, Justin (June 6, 2014). "Bright reality for sci-fi event". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  26. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2015 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  27. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2016 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  28. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2017 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  29. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2018 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  30. ↑ 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.
  31. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2019 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  32. ↑ Fasolo, Alyssa (June 8, 2019). "A family affair". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  33. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2022 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  34. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con 2023 Information". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  35. ↑ "Sci-Fi Valley Con set to return". Altoona Mirror. June 3, 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.

40°27′25″N78°24′3″W / 40.45694°N 78.40083°W / 40.45694; -78.40083

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.