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Arisia is a
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
-area, volunteer-run
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
convention, named for a planet in the Lensman novels by E. E. "Doc" Smith. The name was chosen in response to an older Boston-area con,
Boskone Boskone is an annual science fiction convention ("con") run by the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. In the words of the convention organizers, "Boskone is a regional Science Fiction co ...
, which took the typical ending for a convention—con—and then altered the spelling to match the name of an organization in the Lensmen books. Arisia was first held in 1990, and its attendance has grown from 842 to over 4,000. Arisias 2000–2006 were held at the Park Plaza Hotel in downtown Boston, and Arisias 2007–2010 were held at the Hyatt Regency in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, Massachusetts. From 2011 to 2018, the convention was held at the Westin Boston Waterfront. In 2019, Arisia moved back to the Boston Park Plaza Hotel temporarily as a result of a strike at Boston-area
Marriott Marriott may refer to: People *Marriott (surname) Corporations * Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993 * Marriott International, international hote ...
properties, including the Westin. Later that year after a legal dispute, Arisia agreed to return to the Westin for the 2020 convention, and also signed a contract for the Westin to host through 2023. Regular events include one of the largest Masquerades (costume contests) on the
East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...
; "Fast Track" programming for children; a demonstration of historical fighting techniques; gaming; film, video, and
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
rooms; and a Friday night
Kabbalat Shabbat Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...
Jewish prayer service. Other events that have been recently included are a
blood drive Blood Drive may refer to: Donation *Blood drive, campaigns and special events to solicit blood donations Games *Blood Drive (video game), ''Blood Drive'' (video game), a 2010 vehicular combat video game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 *''Corpse Pa ...
, a drumming circle, Friday and Saturday evening dances, and live
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
s. The Arisia Corporation is the body that funds and promotes the annual Arisia convention; additional activities include awarding grants to other related organizations. Corporate membership costs $24 per year starting in September, pro-rated for members who join during later months. Corporate positions are elected by the voting body (defined as members who have attended one previous corporate meeting) in September. Meetings are held monthly and are open to the public.


References


External links


The Arisia Convention page

The Arisia Corporation page
1990 establishments in Massachusetts Conventions in Massachusetts Culture of Boston Science fiction conventions in the United States {{sf-convention-stub