Discussion on:

Geeky conventions not to miss in 2011

2011: Renovation, the 69th World Science Fiction Convention, Reno, Nevada, USA
http://www.renovationsf.org/
Wednesday 17 August 2011 - Sunday 21 August 2011
email: info@renovationsf.org
postal: Renovation, PO Box 13278, Portland, OR 97123-0278

I live in Indy, so I definitely would like to check that out!! I haven't played with legos since I was a youngling.... This could be super fun!

But I also want to hit up the Star Trek Con in chicago... That would be so worth the drive!!

And if i had the time/money for Seattle.... i'd be there too!

I've got my tickets and hotel for MegaCon and Dragon*Con already. I'm passing on a few other cons I normally go to this year. I almost sprung and went to C2E2, Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. (Which I notice is not on the list.) And what about Burring Man? It's not exactly textbook "Geek" but it's definitely it's own unique kind of Geek. I know I'd do it if it wasn't opposite Dragon*Con.

My merry band of nerds was planning on going to Comic Con but despite taking time off of work, getting ready early and/or other actions only one of the six of us got a ticket. So unless we totally luck out when/if the re-sales go on it looks like none of us are going. Unfortunately it looks like Comic Con is officially becoming a closed-circuit, unless you get your ticket for the following year at the convention your chances of getting in are slim. I don't know how accurate the numbers were but one of the organizers said on his blog that the actual number of tickets that were available via the web was a little under 40,000 for the 4-day and somewhere between 1,500 and 4,000 for the 1-day passes. Of course preview-night was sold out at the previous convention.

I'm seriously considering finding out if I a person at the convention can purchase tickets for next year for other people if they have the right information.

I'll definitely use this list for compiling Con galleries this year.

Fan Expo Canada is where ill be this year.I went two years ago.Ill be in a better position to attend this year!

Umm.. Wrong info about Gencon in Indianapolis. I got my Badge at the end of January.

Badges are on Sale.

Event tickets (for the games) are not on sale until May 1.

Thanks for the mention. We have a show on March 5 which features The Ghoulywed Game and Zombie Survival course. The guests and events for the September 16-18 show have not yet been announced. Details at www.horrorrealmcon.com Thank you.

This isn't just a US phenomenon. It probably started in Japan but there's a well established series in the UK - the MCM Expo held in Manchester, Telford and London. This seems to be rebranding as ComicCon. There are also several big residential fan events, Ayacon and Amecon in August come to mind. But in the UK attendance is mostly 14-25 age group so not too many IT professionals (unless like me you provide a taxi service for your children)

http://www.strategicon.net/

Can also be found on Facebook and LinkedIn.

"Strategicon brings to you the widest array of family, historical, fantasy, and science fiction board, card, computer, miniatures, and roleplaying games at each and every one of our conventions."

They host 3 cons a year, same time every year:

1. Orccon on President's Day Weekend - which just passed and was AWESOME!
2. Game X Memorial Day Weekend
3. Gateway on Labor Day Weekend

The girl who posed as Firefox in my gallery of FanExpo swears that Anime North is a more fun con, and shes been part of it for years.

Its May 27 through 29th, in the airport area of Toronto.

For more information:

http://www.animenorth.com/main/

I will have to take my daughter with me, as its clear from my galleries, I don't know anime like I know sci-fi and comics.

There's also BrickMagic in Raleigh, NC, May 7th & 8th.

http://www.brickmagic.org/

PAX Seattle August 26-28, 2011!!!!

I attended DragonCon on a number of occassions, mostly to work for either a friend who had a vendor table or for a celeb friend at the walk of fame. I've traveled to several events and DragonCon was the one that was the best time ever and had something for everyone.

August 4-7, 2011
Hilton Anatole
Dallas, TX

QuakeCon is a free convention held yearly where thousands of computer gamers from all over the world make the pilgrimage to play with their friends on a giant gaming network, see the latest cool technology, and compete in world-class tournaments.

http://www.quakecon.org/