Usually I don’t start conventioning in January but this year I visited Arisia, a New England convention. It was held online (for the reasons we all know too well). Because of my involvement in the Glasgow in 2024 Worldcon bid, my experience was a bit different than what I have been used to.
A glimpse back at 2020
2020 was a strange and difficult year. Everyone faced some challenges. I am aware, I was the lucky one and did not face things that overwhelmed me. Yet in this post I want to summarize 2020 in purely fannish topics and not go into other matters.
Smoffing at SMOFCon 37 ¼
SMOFCon 38 was supposed to take place this year in Montreal but it was rescheduled because of the pandemic. Yet it was decided to hold a smaller online event on the first Saturday of December. It was named SMOFCon 37 ¼. I managed to not only attend it but also help a little bit.
Filking at Philcon
When I learned that Philcon would go online I knew that I had to try attending it. The history of the con is really long and I was curious how the convention would look like. When the day came I took some days off work so that I would be able to rest before and after the con due to time zone differences.
PunctuationCon – The Phosphine on Venus and The Bar
Wow! That was a weekend! I must admit that I immensely enjoyed my time at PunctuationCon – “A small British SF convention”. It was a good mix of programme, volunteering and enjoying the company of other fans in a (virtual) bar.
Continue reading “PunctuationCon – The Phosphine on Venus and The Bar”
Octocon 2020 – A Virtual Trip to Ireland
I really like to travel to Ireland. I was even hoping to do so this year but the world had different plans for me. Still, thanks to Octocon going virtual, I was able to visit the green island in some way. It was my second time at The National Irish Science Fiction Convention and I enjoyed my time – again.
Futuricon – The Future is Now
Kontakt (Eurocon 2012) in Zagreb was my first convention abroad so I was really looking forward to Futuricon in Rijeka (Eurocon 2020). I had plans – I checked what are the options to travel, what can I see there and nearby. And then, the March came and I had to stop planning. When it was announced that Futuricon will be held online, I was able to start planning again. And, of course, I planned to attend it.
TGIFF – The Big Movie Adventure
You probably remember that I was asked to be a guest at The Galactic Imaginarium Film Festival (TGIFF). I was really surprised and honoured by this and of course I agreed. And during the weekend of 26 – 27 September I attended the event and, well, I enjoyed my time :).
Necronomicon and a Fair Amount of Socializing
So I recently complained more than once that the conventions were really good but I missed the social aspect. Necronomicon managed to resolve this issue. I did not spend too much time on the programme and instead I had plenty of time to meet people and I enjoyed it!
Continue reading “Necronomicon and a Fair Amount of Socializing”
Kapitularz 2020 – (Virtually) coming back to Łódź
In 2013 and 2014, I visited the Kapitularz convention in Łódź in central Poland. I really enjoyed the con but somehow I hadn’t have the chance to come back. In the meantime, a lot changed about the con. Among other things, it moved to a different venue and became bigger. I was planning to visit it again but as they said – so many cons, so little time…
Continue reading “Kapitularz 2020 – (Virtually) coming back to Łódź”