Sci-Fi Valley Con
{{Short description|Annual convention held in Altoona, PA}}
{{Infobox recurring event
| name = Sci-Fi Valley Con
| image =
| caption =
| status = Active
| venue = Blair County Convention Center
| location = Altoona, Pennsylvania
| country = United States
| organizer = Assett Conventions LLC
| attendance = Nearly 4,000 in 2015
| website = {{URL|scifivalleycon.com}}
}}
Sci-Fi Valley Con (formerly Sci-Fi in the Valley Con) is an biannual three day multi-genre convention held during June and October/November at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The conventions organizers also created Momento Con in Pittsburgh.
Programming
The convention typically offers board gaming, charity auction, costume contest, film festival, guest panels, role-playing gaming, table-top gaming, trivia tournaments, vendors, video gaming, and workshops. The 2012 charity auction raised $1200 for The Machine Gun Preacher's Save the Children Foundation. 2013's charity auction benefited Shriners Hospitals for Children and raised almost $1500. The 2022 charity auction benefited the Children's Miracle Network.
History
Sci-Fi in the Valley Con 2012 was moved from the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania to the North Central Recreation Center in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. This occurred due to a local fee that would affect the conventions dealers. In 2013, the convention moved to the Jaffa Shrine and used the bottom floor. It used both of the Jaffa's floors in 2014. The convention used half of the Blair County Convention Center in 2015, and the whole facility in 2016. Sci-Fi Valley Con 2020 was moved from June to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later cancelled. Sci-Fi Valley Con 2021 was moved from June to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The October 2021 convention had lower than normal attendance. The June 2024 event had additional parking offsite.
Starting with the November 2024 event, Sci-Fi Valley Con expanded to two events per year.
=Event history=
| class="wikitable" width="100%" | |||
| Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests
{{Convention list | venue = North Central Recreation Center | location = Ebensburg, Pennsylvania | attendance = 1,000 (est.) or | guests = Jeremy Ambler, Joshua Emerick, Chiara Fattorusso, Garrett Free, Jeremy McHugh, Mark Tierno, Tod Allen Smith, and April A. Taylor. }} {{Convention list | venue = Jaffa Shrine | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | guests = Brian O'Halloran }} {{Convention list | date = June 27–29, 2014 | venue = Jaffa Shrine | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | guests = Rusty Gilligan, The Mandalorian Mercs, Robert Bruce, Brian O’Halloran, and Scott Schiaffo. }} {{Convention list | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania }} {{Convention list | date = June 10–12, 2016 | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | attendance = | guests = Brian O'Halloran, John Rhys-Davies, Zach Galligan, Alaina Huffman, John Morton, Alex Vincent, and Fred Williamson. }} {{Convention list | date = June 9–11, 2017 | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | attendance = | guests = Nicholas Brendon, Dameon Clarke, David Eddings, Donald Fullilove, Harry Waters, Jr., Jeffrey Weissman, Bob Gunton, Sam Jones, and Martin Klebba. }} {{Convention list | date = June 8–10, 2018 | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | attendance = | guests = Nicholas Brendon, Melissa Fahn, Richard Horvitz, Brian O'Halloran, Rob Paulsen, Rikki Simons, Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, Lee Arenberg, Olivia d'Abo, and Tracie Thoms. }} {{Convention list | date = June 7–9, 2019 | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | attendance = | guests = Rodger Bumpass, Seth Gilliam, Maurice LaMarche, Rob Paulsen, Billy West, Adam Fergus, David Haydn-Jones, Mark Pellegrino, David Lee Madison, and John Russo. }} {{Convention list | date = October 8-10, 2021 | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | attendance = | guests = Jim Cummings, Gigi Edgley, Olivia Hack, Sam J. Jones, Jennie Kwan, James "Brad Mick" McDonough, Michaela Jill Murphy, and Emily Swallow. }} {{Convention list | date = June 17-19, 2022 | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | attendance = | guests = Cam Clarke, Townsend Coleman, Grey DeLisle, Barry Gordon, Nolan North, Rob Paulsen, and Billy West. }} {{Convention list | date = June 9-11, 2023 | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | attendance = | guests = Carlos Alazraqui, Greg Baldwin, Dante Basco, Grey DeLisle, Jennie Kwan, Maurice LaMarche, Cricket Leigh, Michaela Jill Murphy, Rob Paulsen, Janet Varney, Kari Wahlgren, and Greg Sestero. }} {{Convention list | date = June 7-9, 2024 | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | attendance = | guests = Greg Baldwin, Roger Clark, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Nolan North, Steven Ogg, Maggie Robertson, Lauren Tom, Billy West, Rob Wiethoff, Shawn Fonteno, and Ned Luke.{{cite news |last1=Churella |first1=Matt |title=Sci-Fi Valley Con keeps drawing in big crowds |url=https://www.altoonamirror.com/news/local-news/2024/06/sci-fi-valley-con-keeps-drawing-in-big-crowds/ |access-date=4 July 2024 |work=Altoona Mirror |date=June 8, 2024}} }} {{Convention list | date = November 8-10, 2024 | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | attendance = | guests = Ruth Connell, Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, DJ Qualls, Mark Sheppard, Emily Swallow, Omri Katz, Dave B. Mitchell, Bradley Pierce, Vinessa Shaw, and Rick Worthy. }} {{Convention list | date = June 13-15, 2025 | venue = Blair County Convention Center | location = Altoona, Pennsylvania | attendance = | guests = Dante Basco, Barbara Dunkelman, Kara Eberle, Peter Facinelli, Maggie Grace, Lindsay Jones, Michael Vincent Jones, Kellan Lutz, Ross Marquand, Nolan North, Jackson Rathbone, Janet Varney, and Arryn Zech. }} |
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See also
References
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=Other Related News Articles=
- [https://wjactv.com/station/your-town/your-town-sci-fi-valley-con Your Town: Sci-Fi Valley Con] WJAC, Retrieved 2020-03-25
- [https://wjactv.com/news/local/sci-fi-valley-con-returns-to-altoona Sci-Fi Valley Con 2019 kicks off in Altoona] WJAC, Retrieved 2020-03-25
External links
- [http://www.scifivalleycon.com Official website]
{{Multigenre conventions in North America}}
{{coord|40|27|25|N|78|24|3|W|region:US-PA_type:event|display=title}}
Category:Multigenre conventions
Category:Science fiction conventions in the United States
Category:Recurring events established in 2012
Category:2012 establishments in Pennsylvania
Category:Annual events in Pennsylvania
Category:Festivals in Pennsylvania