Cons are a marvelous thing. Not the cons that are sitting in the prisons and penitentiaries around the country, of course, but the conventions that mark annual gatherings of people who share a common interest and joy in video games, comic books, fantasy, science-fiction and other things of that sort. WonderCon, which is an annual gathering of fantasy, sci-fi and comic book fans, is slated to be held in Anaheim, California for its next installment, despite plans for the 2013 convention to return to its original home in San Francisco.
WonderCon, which is widely considered to be the little brother to the larger, more popular Comic-Con International, has held at the Anaheim Convention Center this year due to major renovations that were taking place at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. The Moscone center had been the location of WonderCon for the past six years and originated in Oakland. Heading into its 27th year, the convention was expected to return to the Bay Area in 2013.
Unfortunately, WonderCon officials recently announced that, even though renovations are complete, the dates offered by the Moscone Center are for the fall and coincide with another major event, resulting in “unavoidable conflicts” and expensive hotel room blocks starting at $300 per night.
According to a statement on WonderCon’s website, “This, along with the expected difficulty of exhibitors and attendees in securing airfare for those outside of driving distance of San Francisco for that weekend, has resulted in us not being able to secure San Francisco as a location for WonderCon in 2013. Hopefully we will be able to return WonderCon to San Francisco sometime soon.”
The Anaheim event is scheduled to run from March 29 through March 31 with guests including Dean Koontz, Marjorie Liu, Doug Mahnke, Ann Nocenti, Jason Palmer, Dan Slott, Jeff Smith, Steranko, Sergio Argonés and Mark Evanier. WonderCon has yet to release the entire 2013 schedule, though the event last year included panels with creators and actors, a children’s film festival, gaming, an autograph area, a huge merchant floor and a masquerade event.
Source: Los Angeles Times – WonderCon is returning to Anaheim, not San Francisco, in 2013