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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 also incorporate commercial activity.


Overview

Fan conventions are traditionally organized by fans on a not-for-profit basis, though some events catering ''to'' fans are run by commercial interests for profit. Many conventions have award presentations relating to their genre (such as the
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...
s which have been presented at The World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) since 1953). At commercial events, performers often give out
autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...
s to the fans, sometimes in exchange for a flat appearance fee, and sometimes may perform songs that have no relevance to the shows or otherwise entertain the fans. Commercial conventions are usually quite expensive and are hosted in hotels. There is often tight security for the celebrities to protect against potentially fanatic fans. Such features are not common at traditional science-fiction conventions, which are more oriented toward science fiction as a mode of literature, rather than toward visual media, and do not include any paid appearances by famous personalities, and maintain a less caste-like differentiation between professional and fan.
Anime convention An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activ ...
s,
gaming convention A gaming convention is a gathering centered on role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, video games, or other types of games. These conventions are typically two or three days long, and often held at either a ...
s, filk-music conventions, and
furry convention A furry convention (also furry con or fur con) is a formal gathering of members of the furry fandom — people who are interested in the concept of fictional non-human animal characters with human characteristics. These conventions provide a ...
s may all be considered derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began in the late 1930s. While the wearing of costumes—and even a costume competition (known as a "masquerade")—has been an occasional feature of traditional science-fiction conventions since
Morojo Myrtle Rebecca Smith Gray Nolan ( Douglas; June 20, 1904 – November 30, 1964), known to science fiction history as Morojo or sometimes Myrtle R Douglas, was a science fiction fan, fanzine publisher, and cosplay pioneer from Los Angeles. Fand ...
and
Forrest J Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a pr ...
wore them during the First World Science Fiction Convention in 1939, this has never been the dominant feature of such events. From press coverage of comic book and anime conventions has arisen the widespread image of fans' tendency to dress up as their favorite characters in elaborate costumes (known as ''
cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture ...
'' in anime terminology) that are time-consuming and/or expensive to assemble. Different conventions use different methods to count their attendance, which leads to some confusion about actual convention size.


History

Fan conventions for various genres of entertainment extend to the first conventions held in the 1930s. However, while a few conventions were created in various parts of the world within the period between 1935-1960, the number of convention establishments increased slightly in the 1960s and then increased dramatically in the 1970s, with many of the largest conventions in the modern era being established during the latter decade. Impetuses for further establishment of local fan conventions include: * The return of superhero characters and franchises during the
Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an in ...
(1956-1970). * Science fiction adaptations for television serials (e.g., ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'') in the 1960s-1970s. * The growth of role-playing (in the 1970s and 1980s) as a genre of tabletop, live-action and eventually video/computer gaming, which not only inspired roleplay of favorite characters in full-body costumes but also inspired existing franchises to adapt their themes for said methods of gaming. * The growth in home taping (starting with VHS in the late 1970s) of television broadcasts, including popular serials. * The growth of computerized communication, including the Internet and Internet-dependent applications in the 1980s and 1990s.


See also

*
Science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
* Fantasy fandom *
List of fan conventions by date of founding The list of modern fan conventions for various genres of entertainment extends to the first conventions held in the 1930s. Some fan historians claim that the 1936 Philadelphia Science Fiction Conference, a.k.a. Philcon, was the first science fi ...
* List of anime conventions *
List of comic book conventions This is a list of noteworthy comic book conventions, as distinct from anime conventions, furry conventions, gaming conventions, horror conventions, multigenre conventions, and science fiction conventions. Africa Algeria * Algiers Internationa ...
* List of furry conventions * List of gaming conventions * List of multi-genre conventions *
List of professional wrestling conventions This is a list of professional wrestling conventions. History A professional wrestling fan convention typically features a professional wrestling promotion's talent and alumni autograph signings, interviews, fan activities, memorabilia displays, ...
* List of science-fiction conventions *
Piposh ''Piposh'' ( he, פיפוש) is an Israeli media franchise that started as a series of comedic point-and-click adventure video games developed by Guillotine and published by Hed Arzi Multimedia for Windows. Based on an eponymous actor-turned-de ...
, a franchise that was revived due to its fans carrying its legacy through fan conventions.


References

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