Quarterly Con Report - July through September 2013

It’s that time again, the time to look ahead at the coming months and some of the big activities in them. Many of us love cons, love the bustle, love seeing our confriends, love the chance to experience art and activities and interactions with our favorite creators and performers. Even in the summer months the cons don’t stop, singing to us their siren song of games, experiments, and air conditioning (which when you're cosplaying in layers makes a difference).

Nothing but applause for Lan Bui for this photo!

But cons also take more planning that just a day-trip out in the area, and they are usually a much bigger bite out of the budget. So here’s a look ahead at the cons in our region coming up over the next few months. Maybe it’s the ancient habit of summer vacation that got ingrained in so many of us as kids, but many tend to look further afield this time of year. You’ll see a couple of cons below outside our usual stomping grounds – never to fear. DC Geeks isn’t abandoning our local focus. It’s just that sometimes you need to step out and join the madness of the throngs.

July

• July 3 to 7 – Dexcon – Morristown, NJ  – $70 at the door for the full con
• You know, there’s something dangerous about a gaming cons who carefully make note that the con does not shut down. For 96 hours you could lose yourself in hundreds of tabletop RPGs, LARPs, indie games, video games, and stalking Steve Jackson till he gives you that restraining order you'd always wanted. If you pre-reg, you can email in game choices before arriving, and not have to elbow your way to the sign up! Right. Maybe I’ll see the fireworks in New Jersey this year.
• July 11 to 14 – ConnectiCon – Hartford, CT  – $60 at the door for the full con
• One of the success stories of northeastern cons, ConnectiCon has grown from about 800 attendees to more than 10,000 in the last decade. Billing themselves as a massively multi-genre pop culture con, they've really grabbed the “all things geek” idea and run with it. A broad selection of the usual fare (games, panels, workshops, signings, etc.)  is offered, along with some special touches, like the Nerd Prom that kicks off the con, our friends at Super Art Fight, and a concert by Adam WarRock.
• July 18 to 21 – Historicon – Fredericksburg, VA – $50 at the door for the full con
• There are cons with minis gaming and then there are beasts like Historicon, the largest gathering of miniatures gamers and exhibitors on the East Coast. They’re expecting more than 4,000 gamers for the con this year, and well over 100 vendors and exhibitors. While the theme is the Civil War (battles of 1863 to be exact), in the hundreds of scenario listings there's everything from Roman conquest of the interior of England to the Battle of Hoth. The sheer variety is mind boggling, and being so close it’s hard to resist.
• July 19 to August 2 – Pennsic – Slippery Rock, PA – It’s complicated
• A bit different than the others, but falling firmly into the fandoms covered by DC Geeks, is Pennsic. Held by the SCA for the last 42 years (bring your towel), consider this an intensely focused con with no hotels. Taking place at a campsite in Pennsylvania, the event annually draws well over 10,000 attendees who want to spend their days learning, performing, shopping, and beating the crap out of their friends. At night, it’s much the same, with the addition of the famous party circuit. If you want to go, you will want to find a local group that already has experience, and see if they’ll let you tag along.

Gotta say one thing for the SCA: They rarely half-ass anything, even the details.
(image by Craig Hatfield).

August

• August 2 to 4 – Shore Leave – Hunt Valley, MD  – $85 at the door for the full con
• It’s the 35^th year of this science fiction convention, and the folks running it are keeping close to their roots with a strong offering in both the science and in the fiction parts of that equation. They won’t post the final schedule till the week of the event, but between guest scientists running hard science panels, a full workshop slate, the film festival, the art show, and guests like William Shatner, Amanda Tapping, Brent Spiner, Saul Rubinek, and Eddie McClintock you can see just what they’re aiming at and what they’re offering you.
• August 9 to 11 – Otakon – Baltimore, MD  – $80 at the door for the full con 
• Right, if you live in the area Otakon needs no hype. But given that it’s Otakon’s 20^th year, and given the hints that the higher-ups dropped in our podcast with them, Go. To. It. The space restrictions imposed by our editor don't leave room to go into the brain-melting array of panels, workshops, concerts, contests, specialty events, and the like. Suffice it to say, you need to be there. And with more than 32,000 attendees expected this year, register soon. (And if you're not just going to people-watch, remember to always, always, allow a few hours for lines).
• August 23 to 25 – Intervention – Rockville, MD  – $45 at the door for the full con
• All things online and geeky return again this year as Intervention kicks off in its new month. In addition to a great video game room, a game room, and entertainment all over, Intervention tends to specialize in panels and workshops aimed at online culture and those who take their passions online. Often in the form of web comics, artists, writers, and makers, Intervention has grown in the last few years into that near perfect middle of the road con – not so big that you start gnawing the walls, but big enough to meet new people and have fun.
• August 30 to September 2 – Dragon*Con – Atlanta, GA  – $115 for the con (pre-reg)
• If there is ever a con that could cause you to wind up in a holding cell somewhere wondering what happened, this is it. To be perfectly honest, there’s no way to even scratch the surface of D*C in the short space the cruel editors of DCG offer (Editor's note: less talky, Wordspewer!), so just – make sure the boss is out of the office, get a fresh mug of tea, and settle in for an afternoon and search Google (or Flickr) for Dragon*Con and follow link after link after link.

Aren't you a little... well-armed and accurately aimed to be Stormtrooper?
(image © Dragon*Con via their publicity photos)

September

• September 7 and 8 – Baltimore ComicCon – Baltimore, MD  – $40 at the door for the event
• Comic conventions seem to grow a bit more every year, both in size and in number, which should please just about any comics fan. It makes writing up new descriptions challenging, because the main difference between most of the ComicCons is location. There’ll be the usual hearty selection of guests and panels, cosplay and vending that we've come to expect. However, one notable difference is that the Harvey Award will be presented at the Baltimore ComicCon this year, so if you’re a follower, definitely take a closer look.start gnawing the walls, but big enough to meet new people and have fun.
• September 14 and 15 – Small Press Expo – Bethesda, MD  – $15 for the con
• SPX is the gathering for fans of small and independent publishing, but comic fans have plenty to entice them as well. More than 360 incredible cartoonists, web comic artists, small and independent print comic artists, writers, publishers, designers, etc., came last year to showcase their work and hold panels discussing the things like comics as literature and the future of comics. This year they've sold out space again with a guest list equally impressive as last year, no mean feat after hosting the Hernandez Brothers.

Well, nothing really clever or pithy to add to close out the article except: Don't say we didn't warn you if you get caught in hours of lines because taking two seconds to type out a credit card number and pre-reg was just too much of a hassle. Also, don't do anything you wouldn't do at MAGFest.

Quick edit: Don't forget to check the comments section below. We can't catch everything and some astute readers have already begun catching a few cons that fell through the cracks. Thanks for the help!