MarsCon is a

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction subgenre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of ex ...

held in

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It is located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis and just south of the Interstate 494/Inter ...

, United States. It was first held in February 1999 with the goal of appealing to a diverse audience of fans in Minnesota and the vicinity. It is a mid-sized convention with a wide variety of events including panel discussions, guest of honor presentations, music of many kinds, art show, film room (including

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

), science room, dealers room, charity auction, and a masquerade. Past guests have included actors, authors, artists, scientists, musicians, producers, and even the occasional pooka. The ''

Minneapolis Star-Tribune Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 census, it is the state's most populous city. Located in the state's center near the eastern border, it ...

'' describes MarsCon as "for the sci-fi serious nerds". Since 2003, MarsCon Minnesota has also included a strong presence of the "Dementia" (comedy/novelty/filk) music genre, making the convention one of the largest events in the country to showcase such music.

Conventions

Past

MarsCon 1999: Celebrating 60 Years of Fandom :Where: Radisson South Hotel :When: February 26–28, 1999 :Guests of Honor: Carl David,

Jeff Grubb Jeff Grubb (born August 27, 1957) is an author of novels, short stories, and comics, as well as a computer and role-playing game designer in the fantasy genre. Grubb worked on the ''Dragonlance'' campaign setting under Tracy Hickman, and the ' ...

, Kate Novak MarsCon 2000: Don't Panic! (Alternate Subversive Theme: M’00) :Where: Radisson South Hotel :When: May 12–14, 2000 :Guests of Honor:

Mark Allen Shepherd Mark Allen Shepherd (born January 7, 1961) is an actor, best known for his role as Morn (Star Trek), Morn on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. He also appeared as Morn (uncredited) in one episode each of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and ''St ...

, Lisa Getto,

Margaret Weis Margaret Edith Weis (; born March 16, 1948) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the ''Dragonlance'' role-playing game (RPG) world. She is f ...

Don Perrin Don Perrin (born 1 October 1964) is a Canadian writer and former military officer. Early life and education Born in Iserlohn, Germany, Perrin grew up in Kingston, ON, Canada, McMasterville, QC, Canada, Bromley, Kent, England, and Ottawa, ON, Can ...

, Denise Boie, Jack Borkowski, Donald R. Schmitt,

Chesley Bonestell Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. (January 1, 1888 – June 11, 1986) was an American painter, designer, and illustrator. His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been (and remain) influential in science fiction art and illust ...

(Posthumous) MarsCon 2001: A Space Oddity :Where: Radisson South Hotel :When: May 11–13, 2001 :Guests of Honor:

Jane Yolen Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 400 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...

, Bill Blair, Carl Talliaferro, Christopher Jones, Michael Liebmann, David Arneson,

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

(Posthumous) MarsCon 2002: The Magic of Fantasy :Where: Airport Hilton :When: March 1–3, 2002 :Guests of Honor: Lyda Morehouse,

Peter Woodward Peter Woodward (born 24 January 1956) is an English actor, screenwriter and stuntman. He is best known for his role as Galen in the '' Babylon 5'' spin-offs '' Babylon 5: A Call to Arms'', ''Crusade'' and '' Babylon 5: The Lost Tales''. He ...

John Levene John Anthony Woods (born 24 December 1941), known professionally as John Levene, is an English actor, producer, entertainer and singer. Although he has appeared in a large number of films and television series, Levene's best-known role is tha ...

, Robin Wood, Harvey (See

Harvey (play) ''Harvey'' is a 1944 play by the American playwright Mary Chase (playwright), Mary Chase. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work in 1945. It has been adapted for film and television several times, most notably in a Harvey (1950 fil ...

) MarsCon 2003: No One Here is Exactly What He Appears :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: February 28-March 2, 2003 :Guests of Honor: Sharon Lee, Steve Miller (science fiction writer),

Julie Caitlin Brown Julie Caitlin Brown (née Andrich; born January 27, 1961) is an American actress and singer known for her role as Na'Toth in the first and fifth season of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5''. Career Her first stage role was as ...

, Lev Mailer, John Garner (artist), David Mendez,

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...

(Posthumous) MarsCon 2004: Let's Play Doctor! :Where: Airport Hilton :When: March 5–7, 2004 :Guests of Honor: John M. Ford, Richard Biggs, Barry Hansen “

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

”, Dawn Devine Brown “ Davina (costumer)”, Luke Sienkowski “The Great Luke Ski”, David E Romm MarsCon 2005: Galactic Pirates and Mercenaries :Where: Airport Marriott :When: March 4–6, 2005 :Guests of Honor:

Richard Herd Richard Thomas Herd Jr. (September 26, 1932 – May 26, 2020) was an American actor appearing in numerous supporting, recurring, and guest roles in television series and occasional film roles from the 1970s to the 2010s. He was well known in the ...

Jeremy Bulloch Jeremy Andrew Bulloch (16 February 1945 – 17 December 2020) was an English actor. In a career that spanned six decades, he gained recognition for originating the physical portrayal of Boba Fett in the '' Star Wars'' franchise, appearing as ...

, Stephanie Gannaway-Osborn,

Timothy Zahn Timothy Zahn (born 1951) is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy. He is known best for his prolific collection of ''Star Wars'' List of Star Wars books, books, chiefly the Thrawn trilogy, ''Thrawn'' trilogy, and has published several ...

, Todd Coss, The Great Luke Ski, Ron Ross, Herbert Jefferson, Jr. MarsCon 2006: Things That Go Bump in the Night :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: March 3–5, 2006 :Guests of Honor:

Gigi Edgley Gigi Edgley (born 16 November 1977) is an Australians, Australian actress, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for her roles as Chiana (Farscape), Chiana on the series ''Farscape'' and Lara Knight in ''Rescue: Special Ops''. Early life E ...

Dean Haglund Dean Haglund (born July 29, 1965) is a Canadian actor, known for the role of Richard "Ringo" Langly, one of The Lone Gunmen on ''The X-Files''. Haglund is also a stand-up comedian, specializing in improvisational comedy, including work with the ...

, Beth Hansen, Walter H. Hunt, Paul Lawrence (producer), Tom Smith (filker), Hugh Gregory MarsCon 2007 :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: March 2–4, 2007 :Guests of Honor: Don S. Davis,

Patricia Tallman Patricia J. Tallman (born September 4, 1957) is an American actress, stunt performer, and studio executive best known for her roles in ''Night of the Living Dead'', ''Star Trek'' and ''Babylon 5''. She is the former CEO and executive producer of ...

Todd Lockwood Todd Wills Lockwood (born July 9, 1957) is an American artist specializing in fantasy and science fiction illustration. He is best known for his work on the role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and for his covers for the books of R. A. Salv ...

, Eric Larson,

Eleanor Arnason Eleanor Atwood Arnason (born December 28, 1942) is an American author of science fiction novels and short stories. Arnason's earliest published story, "A Clear Day in the Motor City", appeared in '' New Worlds'' in 1973. Her work often depicts cu ...

, Ookla the Mok MarsCon 2008: Press Start To Continue :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: February 29-March 2, 2008 :Guests of Honor: Bill Blair,

Jeff Easley Jeff Easley (born 1954) is an oil painter who creates fantasy Work of art, artwork for role-playing games, comics, and magazines, as well as non-fantasy commercial art. Early life Easley was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky in 1954. He spent time ...

Naomi Kritzer Naomi Kritzer is an American speculative fiction writer and blogger. Her 2015 short story "Cat Pictures Please" was a Locus Award for Best Short Story, Locus Award and Hugo Award for Best Short Story, Hugo Award winner and was nominated for a Ne ...

, C. Robert Cargill, Hot Waffles MarsCon 2009: Invasion! :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: March 6–8, 2009 :Guests of Honor:

Musetta Vander Musetta Vander (born Musetta van der Merwe; 26 May 1963) is a South African actress. Biography In 1991, Vander landed her first notable role, portraying Zander Tyler in seven episodes of the action-adventure TV series '' Super Force''. In 19 ...

, Scott Rosema, Suzanne Hiza-Rezema, Jeanne Cavelos, Wally Pleasant MarsCon 2010: Dark Lords and Femme Fatales :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: March 5–7, 2010 :Guests of Honor: John Garner, Loretta McKibben, Nick Atoms,

Gwynyth Walsh Gwynyth Walsh (born 1956) is a Canadian actress best known for her role of the ''Star Trek'' character B'Etor, one of the Duras sisters. She also played constable Nimira in the '' Star Trek: Voyager'' episode " Random Thoughts", and provided th ...

MarsCon 2011: Days of Magic! :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: March 4–6, 2011 :Guests of Honor:

Lois McMaster Bujold Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She has won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her novella '' The Mountains of ...

, Joe Rheault, Megan Rheault,

Bjo Trimble Betty JoAnne Trimble (née Conway; born August 15, 1933), known as Bjo (, ), is an American science fiction fan and writer, initially entering fandom in the early 1950s. Introduction to fandom Trimble's introduction to science fiction fandom ...

, John Trimble, Worm Quartet MarsCon 2012: Rockin' the Apocalypse :Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel and Suites :When: March 9–12, 2012 :Guests of Honor: Lukas Effinger,

Catherine Asaro Catherine Ann Asaro (born November 6, 1955) is an American science fiction and fantasy author, singer and teacher. She is best known for her books about the Ruby Dynasty, called the Saga of the Skolian Empire. Biography Catherine Asaro was b ...

, Rob Callahan, Consortium of Genius MarsCon 2013: Ctrl/Alt/Del... Thriving into the future :Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel and Suites, 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 1–3, 2013 :Guests of Honor: actress

Claudia Christian Claudia Christian (born Claudia Ann Coghlan, August 10, 1965) is an American actress, known for her roles as Commander Susan Ivanova on ''Babylon 5'', as Captain Maynard on Fox's ''9-1-1'', and as the voice of Hera on the Netflix series '' Blo ...

, author

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed his ...

, science author Gerald Nordley, artist Sarah Clemens, comic artist W.C. Carani, fan/costuming The Thrift Brothers, and music Flat 29. MarsCon 2014: Time is the Key :Where: DoubleTree by Hilton, Bloomington-Minneapolis South :When: March 7–9, 2014 :Guests of Honor: J. G. Hertzler, Esther Friesner, Mickie Erickson, Rae Lundquist, Henry Phillips, Dave Duca, Bridget Landry, and the Klingons of IKV RakeHell. MarsCon 2015: Heroes & Wizerds & Fae OHhh MYyy!! :Where: Airport Hilton :When: March 6–8, 2015 :Guests of Honor:

Spice Williams-Crosby Spice Williams-Crosby (born Marceline Ann Williams, April 26, 1952) is an American actress, with a career in film and television which spans more than 40 years. Biography Williams-Crosby was born in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. He ...

Antoinette Bower Antoinette Bower (born 30 September 1932) is a British retired film, television and stage actress, whose career lasted nearly four decades. Early years Bower was born in Baden-Baden to a German mother and an English father. She lived in Engla ...

, Robert Odegard, Lyda Morehouse, Richard Tatge, Eric Wile, Rob Paravonian, Dave Duca, and Mike Glielmi. MarsCon 2016: Parallel Dimensions :Where: Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 4–6, 2016 :Guests of Honor: actor

William Morgan Sheppard William Morgan Sheppard (24 August 1932 – 6 January 2019), also credited by his full name or as Morgan Sheppard, was an English actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes, in a career that spanned over 50 years. Ear ...

, artist Christine Mitzuk, author

Ruth Berman Ruth Berman is an American writer of weird science fiction and speculative poetry. In 2003, she won the Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem. She was also the winner of the 2006 Dwarf Stars Award for her poem ''Knowledge Of''. In 1973, she was a ...

, filmmaker Christopher R. Mihm, game designer Eric Wile, musician Luke Ski, propmasters Dave Brown, Dave Duca, Michael Glielmi, and Ann Neubauer. MarsCon 2017: Dragons In Space :Where: Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 3–5, 2017 :Guests of Honor: actor

Jeffrey Combs Jeffrey Alan Combs (born September 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Herbert West in the ''Re-Animator'' film series (1985–2003) and portraying multiple characters in the ''Star Trek'' universe, most notably the ...

, artist Ralph Ryan, authors Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, comedy and music

Judy Tenuta Judy Lynn Tenuta (November 7, 1949 – October 6, 2022) was an American comedian, actress, and comedy musician. She was known for her whimsical and brash persona of "The Love Goddess", mixing insult comedy, observational humor, self-promotion, ...

, sciences Benjamin Higginbotham & Cariann Higginbotham MarsCon 2018: Robots, Rayguns, & Rockets: The 3 R's of Sci-Fi :Where: Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 2–4, 2018 :Guests of Honor: actor

Roger Cross Roger Cross (born October 19, 1969) is a Jamaican-Canadian actor who has made numerous appearances in several films and television series, mostly on productions shot in Canada. He is known for his work as Curtis Manning on '' 24'' (2005–2007 ...

, artist Steve Thomas, author MaryJanice Davidson, musician Brent brentalfloss Black, planetary scientist Bridget Landry MarsCon 2019: "Legends In Our Own Mind" :Where: Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 1–3, 2019 :Guests of Honor: actors

Bill Blair William "Bill" Sterling Blair (born April 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician and former police officer who served as the Minister of National Defence (Canada), Minister of National Defence from 2023 to 2025. A member of the Liberal Party of Can ...

& J. G. Hertzler, author A. Merc Rustad, artist Luke Ski MarsCon 2020 "Visions of the Future" :Where: Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: February 28 - March 2, 2020 :Guests of Honor: actor Lee Arenberg, artist Darla Ecklund, author Kathryn Sullivan, fan Eric M. Heideman, musician Lauren Mayer MarsCon 2021 "Forces of Darkness" :Where: Virtually :When: March 12–14, 2021 :Guests of Honor: Robbie Ellis and Jon Sloan Marscon 2022 "The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be" :Where: Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 11–13, 2022 :Guests of Honor: artist Jon Sloan, author Catherine Lundoff, media guest Michael Moore, musicians TV's Kyle and Lindzilla MarsCon 2023 “When Books Come Alive” :Where Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Mall of America :When: March 10–12, 2023

References

External links

MarsCon official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marscon Science fiction conventions in the United States Conventions in Minnesota Recurring events established in 1999 Bloomington, Minnesota Tourist attractions in Hennepin County, Minnesota