Pure Speculation Festival, also known as Pure Spec, is an annual multi-genre

fan convention Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...

taking place in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Canada. It is an event that prides itself on being "by geeks, for geeks." Founded as a

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

convention, it repackaged itself as a festival celebrating geek and fan culture in 2008. It offers programming dealing with

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 ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playin ...

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 ...

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

and

webcomics Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be ...

. In addition to the usual fare such as panels, games and a vendor room, there are several special events the festival hosts every year. The annual Costume Shindig happens on the Saturday of the event, featuring prizes in a variety of silly categories for guests and attendees. The Geeks for Geeks Charity Auction is also a yearly feature, in support of local charities. Several smaller components also help to create the larger Pure Speculation Festival. These include Con*Spec, a writing and literature segment run by On Spec Magazine, and Comic Talks, a series of comic book panels hosted by

Happy Harbor Comics Happy Harbor Comics is a comic book store located in Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, ...

. Until 2007, Pure Spec also played host to Con of Cold, an

RPGA The RPGA (also called the Role Playing Game Association and the RPGA Network at various times), was initially part of the organized play arm of TSR, Inc and later of Wizards of the Coast. From 1980 to 2014, it organized and sanctioned role-playing ...

sanctioned

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

event. Edmonton based

BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zes ...

also involves itself in the festival yearly, hosting panels and offering prize support.

History

In 2004, a group of friends calling themselves The Four Stooges came together with a common goal. At the time,

didn't have a major fan convention with the notable exception of

Animethon Animethon is a three-day anime convention held annually at Edmonton Convention Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. It is Canada's longest-running anime convention, the first being held in 1994. History Animethon was formed back in 1994 by the Banzai ...

, whose focus is entirely upon anime. They decided to put together a speculative fiction convention to give fans of science fiction and fantasy pop-culture somewhere to gather every year. The first Pure Speculation Convention took place in October 2005 at the Coast Terrace Inn, and had a decent turnout for a first-time gathering. After the first event, the realities of organisation made the Four Stooges reach out to find other organisers to help further expand and develop the event. The Pure Speculation Society was founded to better plan and execute the 2006 convention. The festival was also moved to the Delta Edmonton South that year. The convention was moved to the Hazeldean Community Hall in 2007. The smaller attendance, normal for a young convention, coupled with the high cost for the rental of the Delta made the society reevaluate it as a venue. The show remained at Hazeldean Hall for several years. In 2008 the event went through its next major evolution, repackaging itself as the Pure Speculation Festival. The focus would now expand to become a celebration of fan culture, and all it encompasses. In 2009 the decision was made to move the festival to the

Shaw Conference Centre The Edmonton Convention Centre (ECC, formerly the Shaw Conference Centre), is a meeting, entertainment, and convention venue located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Opened in 1983, it is managed by Explore Edmonton, the destination marketing org ...

in downtown Edmonton, due to swelling attendance and issues with renovation at Hazeldean Hall. In addition to the move, a Friday evening cabaret called Pre Spec was also added to the program of events for the first time. It features an evening of entertainment with many of guests and staff."Events at Pure Speculation"
/ref> Continuing venue issues brought Pure Spec full circle in 2010, when it returned to its first venue, now the Radisson Edmonton South Hotel. Growing attendance encouraged a move

Grant MacEwan University , mottoeng = , type = Public University , established = , closed = , founder = , parent = , academic_affiliations = AUCC, ACCC, AACTI ...

in 2011. This would also be the year that Pure Spec attempted to Skype in a guest for a panel.

Organization

Since 2008, Pure Spec has been run by the Pure Speculation Society, a not-for profit society dedicated to planning, organising and running the festival. All proceeds of the event go back into funding it.

Brent Jans Brent may refer to: * Brent (name), an English given and surname Place name ;In the United States * Brent, Alabama *Brent, Florida * Brent, Georgia * Brent, Missouri, a ghost town *Brent, Oklahoma ;In the United Kingdom * Brent, Cornwall *Br ...

acted as Festival Director of Pure Spec for 6 years, starting with the very first event in 2005. Jans decided to step down from the position in 2010. In 2011 three members of the Pure Speculation Society stepped up to act as co-directors for the festival, to ensure its continuation.

Local Support

Pure Spec has a strong focus toward helping promote local and independent authors, artists and publications in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. This is an aspect of the festival that the Pure Speculation Society is strongly behind, and will remain a focus of the event into the future. To that end, many of the festival's guests are drawn from the local independent publishing community, giving them an opportunity to mingle with industry professionals and get their name out. In addition, proceeds from the Geeks for Geeks Charity Auction go back into the community, helping support a variety of local charities.

Other Events

In addition to the main Pure Speculation Festival, the organising society also hosts Shepherd's Double Feature Picture Shows and Cheapass Fundraisers throughout the year to help raise money for the event. 2011 saw the addition of Mini Spec, a smaller event held in May with one speaker from each of the main panel streams featured in the larger festival.

Past Festivals

References

External links

* {{Multigenre conventions in North America Science fiction conventions in Canada Multigenre conventions Festivals in Edmonton Recurring events established in 2005