You Can't Go If You Don't Know! - 2013 Convention Master List

UPDATED: April 7, 2013
It seem that whenever I think I have compiled the most comprehensive list of conventions, toy and collectibles shows, gaming conventions, and the like, another will be brought to my attention.  Or a show that occurs more than once a year will finally announce the date of their next event.  To keep things as up to date as possible I will be publishing periodic updates like this one that will give a concise overview of the conventions coming throughout the year with all updates included.

Look for features on the February conventions Ushicon, Texas Collectibles Expo, Con DFW, OwlCon, and Furry Fiesta coming in the next few weeks as interviews are arranged with their producers.  

And you can meet me, JediCole, at the Texas Collectibles Expo in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday, February 9, 2013!  I will be there manning a booth to promote this and my other site, The JediCole Universe, as well as selling a few collectibles I had around the house.  And of course you can find me all over All-Con 2013 in Addison in March where I will be hosting game shows, two talk shows, the opening and closing ceremonies, and a variety of other programs.  I look forward to meeting you!

Also, you can look for me at any of the conventions listed below that appear in red.

May
THIS WEEKEND!

23-26 GALACTICON III (Houston, TX)

24-26 Anime Odyssey 2013 (San Antonio, TX)

24-26 Comicpalooza (Houston, TX)

31-June 2 A-Kon 24 (Dallas, TX)

June

6-9 North Texas RPG Convention (Fort Worth, TX)

8 DFW Toy & Diecast Show (Arlington, TX)
8-9 SciFest (San Antonio, TX)
21-23 ApolloCon 2013 (Houston, TX)
21-23 Texas Comicon (San Antonio, TX)
21-23 ScrewAttack Gaming Convention (Dallas, TX)

July

5-7 Anime Overload 5 (Austin, TX)

12-14 Delta H Con (Houston, TX)

13 DFW Toy & Diecast Show (Arlington, TX)
26-27 Omnicon (McAllen, TX)

26-28 ArmadilloCon 35 (Austin, TX)

August

1-4 QuakeCon 2013 (Dallas, TX)
1-4 STARFLEET International Conference 2013 (Dallas, TX)

2-4 Space City Con (Houston, TX)

10 DFW Toy & Diecast Show (Arlington, TX)
16-18 San Japan Sinister 6 (San Antonio, TX)

17-18 The Vampire Diaries Official Convention (Dallas, TX)
24 Eckman’s Toy Show (San Marcos, TX)
30-September 2 AnimeFest (Dallas, TX)

29-September 2 Lone Star Con 3 (71st Worldcon) (San Antonio, TX)
TBA Strip: The Dallas Webcomics Expo (Plano, TX)

September

13-15 Brony Fan Fair (Austin, TX)
14 DFW Toy & Diecast Show (Arlington, TX)
20-22 Salute to "Supernatural" (Dallas, TX)
21 DFW G.I. Joe and Action Figure Show (Grapevine, TX)
21-22 South Texas Collectors Expo (Laredo, TX)
28-29 MonsterCon (San Antonio, TX)

October

4-6 Fan Days (Irving, TX)

4-6 FenCon X (Addison, TX)

5-7 Texas BROADSIDE! (LaPorte, TX)
12 DFW Toy & Diecast Show (Arlington, TX)
12-14 Realms Con (Corpus Christi, TX)

25-27 Alamo City Comic Con (San Antonio, TX)
TBA Zombie Con 2013 (San Antonio, TX)

November

1-3 Oni-Con 2013 (Galveston, TX)

2 Bizarre Bazaar (San Antonio, TX)
8-10 MillenniumCon 16 (Round Rock, TX)

8-10 Nightmare Nights Dallas (Dallas, TX)
9 DFW Toy & Diecast Show (Arlington, TX)
20-24 BoardGameGeek.CON 2013 (Dallas, TX)
22-24 WhoFest (Dallas, TX)

22-24 Wizard World Austin Comic Con (Austin, TX)

TBA YuleCon (Fort Worth, TX)

December

7-8 Nerdtacular Holiday Bazaar (San Antonio, TX)
14 DFW Toy & Diecast Show (Arlington, TX)
TBA IKKiCon VIII (Austin, TX)


If you know of any conventions in the state of Texas that do not appear on this list, please send an email to jedicole@yahoo.com and let me know the whens and wheres (and website if possible) and I will update this list accordingly.

Are You in or Around San Antonio? You Need to be HERE This Saturday...

If you are like me and love opportunities to bolster your collection then you might want to check out the second incarnation of a really cool show that joined the ranks of the Texas convention scene earlier this year!  I am speaking of course of the Texas Collectibles Expo held in San Antonio, Texas!

Kris Kidd, the mastermind of the Texas Comicon (held annually in San Antonio) brought a great new extra to the mix a few month back with his first Collectibles Expo.  Quite wisely he started off small, holding the show in a single hotel ballroom crammed with a handful of great vendors, but then that proved just too small for the demand for table space and for amazing collectibles.  Answering that call he has moved the whole production to the San Antonio Event Center, a much larger venue that will really expand on what has already been presented.  And this very weekend you can check it out for yourself!

And be sure to look for me, JediCole, shopping the tables and promoting this site and The JediCole Universe on Saturday morning at the show!

Texas Collectibles Expo
Saturday, May 11, 2013
San Antonio Event Center
8111 Meadow Leaf
San Antonio, TX 78227
9 AM - 5 PM Admission $5.00 (12 and over), kids under 12 are free!

Look for post-show coverage of this show and pre-show coverage of Texas Comicon 2013 on this site in the coming weeks!

Texas Conventions Lose an Unsung Hero

There are those of us in the convention scene here in Texas that seem to be everywhere.  Convention fixtures among whom I count myself.  Those of us who not only attend or sell at conventions but also have a presence that leaves a lasting impression.  You may not know all of these folks by name, but you know the people of which I speak.  And one of these folks simply can’t be missed in a crowd – PurrKayla!  If you have attended conventions in the Dallas/Fort Worth area especially (as well as Austin’s Wizard World incarnations) you have undoubtedly seen our favorite feline super-hero.  And you may well have met Tom as well, her husband, assistant in super-heroics, and constant companion.

On Friday, March 22, 2013 I received the sad news that Tom had passed away.  I have had the privilege to have known Tom and PurrKayla for a number of years now.  And further to have, in some small way, been a part of launching the very public convention presence they shared.   If you ever met or saw PurrKayla at a convention you would never forget her.  She loves conventions, fandom, and above all the kids to whom she is the most approachable super-hero in the world.  And you likely saw or even met Tom, her unassuming number one fan, ever just outside of the spotlight because that is where he preferred to be.  He was not PurrKayla’s sidekick so much as the Alfred to her Batman, the Jarvis to her Avengers – always there for whatever is needed.

There is another hero with whom I am most familiar, the Mighty Placeholder.  He is most often seen at All-Con and is known as “the hero’s hero”.  I feel that convention goers need to know there was another hero’s hero, the hero to not only PurrKayla but  to all of us who strive to enhance and celebrate the richly diverse convention scene.  His name was Tom. 

He was the hero behind the hero, the star behind the star.  And all of us who frequent conventions in Texas, especially in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, owe him a debt of gratitude. 

Farewell my friend.

Cole “JediCole Houston

March 28, 2013

Fun With Deadpool in April

From the very first convention I ever attended, a small hotel show put on by Duncanville Bookstore back in the early 80s, I have been silly for conventions.  As an attendee, a vendor, a panelist, an emcee, and even a producer, I have had a history with the Texas convention scene that spans three decades.  And even with all of that history I can still be taken by surprise when someone in the convention community reaches out to me.  Thus was the case when Chris of North Texas Comic Book Shows asked if I might be interested in moderating a panel discussion on the Marvel anti-hero Deadpool!

Needless to say the answer was yes!  Very interested, indeed.  And while Deadpool is not a character who’s exploits I have followed, I have moderated discussions with a lot less to go on at the outset.  And this is more than just the character in the mix.  Deadpool artist Carlo Barberi and Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth writer Victor Gischler will be guests of the next North Texas Comic Book Show on Saturday, April 13, 2013 in Dallas.  If you are planning to attend be sure to check out the panel as I talk all things Deadpool with two of the folks behind making him one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Universe! 

But there is so much more!  The North Texas Comic Book Show consistently brings you a variety of dealers selling comic books, action figures, Hot Wheels, original art, toys, and collectibles.  You never know what you will find at this show.  And they always have some fun surprises in store.  Stay tuned for more as we get a bit closer to April.  I hope to see you there!

You Can't Go If You Don't Know - March/April Texas Conventions

Updated March 12, 2013 (Thank you to Friend of the Site Scott for helping me add two more shows to the Master List.

March may come in like a lion and leave like a lamb, but when it comes to conventions in Texas it runs pretty well full bore all month long in 2013!  If you have missed out on the fine shows that were held in January and February all around the state, you may want to partake of some of these fine choices.

You can find a full profile on Staple!, March's first big convention right here at CAP-TX.  All-Con, my personal favorite (and yes, I get to have a favorite) convention is receiving ongoing three-pronged coverage here, at The JediCole Universe, and the United States of Geekdom, so be sure to check out all the posts!  

The DFW Toy and Diecast Show has been held around the DFW area for years and is a great collectibles resource.  The Lone Star Figure Show caters to figure model makers/painters, RevelCon offers up a variety of pop-culture programming, and Thingamajigy Fayre is the latest gathering of steampunk enthusiasts.  Lone Star Comic Con is a new convention packed with comic and media guests that will be just outside of San Antonio.  AggieCon is Texas' longest running sci-fi convention and always delivers a ton of great panels, gaming, and other content.  Mizuumi-Con and Anime Matsuri bring fans of Japanese animation two great chances to gather while South Texas Collectors Expo will give you a chance to fill in those troublesome blanks in your collection!  

And then there is something Unique to round out the listings for March, the first (to my knowledge) convention for Bronies (men who love My Little Pony) in Texas, Brony-Fest.

Look for expanded coverage coming soon.

March

8-10 All-Con 2013 (Addison, TX)

9 DFW Toy & Diecast Show (Arlington, TX)
10 Awesome Toy Collectors Show (El Paso, TX)  

14-16 The Lone Star Figure Show(Dallas, TX)
15-17 RevelCon 24 (Houston, TX)

15-17 Texas Pinball Festival 2013 (Dallas, TX) 
16-17 Thingamajigy Fayre (San Antonio, TX)
22-23 Lone Star Comic Con (Shertz, TX)
22-24 AggieCon 44 (College Station, TX)

23 Mizuumi-Con 6 (San Antonio, TX)
23-24 South Texas Collectors Expo (Laredo, TX)

24 Awesome Comic Book Collector Show (Richardson, TX)

THIS WEEKEND!
29-31 Anime Matsuri (The Woodlands, TX)
29-31 Brony-Fest (Lewisvile, TX)

April is also chock full of conventions and more detailed information will be published soon.  In the mean time, be sure to check out all of the websites linked to each show's name above and below.  And remember, "You Can't Go If You Don't Know!"

April

5-7 ChimeraCon 2013 (San Antonio, TX)

7 Awesome Comic Book Collector Show (Houston, TX)
13 DFW Toy & Diecast Show (Arlington, TX)
13 LeoCon 2013 (Commerce, TX)

13-14 MAG Con 5 (New Caney, TX)

13 North Texas Comic Book Show (Dallas, TX) 
18-21 ReaperCon 2013 (Denton, TX)
25-28 HAuNTcon 2013(Irving, TX)

26-28 Sun City Sci-Fi (El Paso, TX)
28 Awesome Toy Collectibles Show (Richardson, TX)

Like a Pony? Brony/My Little Pony Conventions Abound in 2013!

When Convention Awareness Project - Texas was launched in January there were no Brony conventions on the listings.  As of today I have updated the 2013 listings at least a dozen times, one of which was to add March's Brony-Fest.  But as it turns out my updating days were not over, especially in regards to conventions in Texas with a My Little Pony theme.

At All-Con 2013 this weekend I perused the tables and piano top for postcards and flyers in search of Texas conventions that may have escaped my attentions.  While it was nice to see that most of the promotional materials heralded Texas shows already on my list I was amazed to find yet another Brony convention was coming later in the year!  The sight of a postcard emblazoned with an orange pony happily sipping a milkshake was a hard one to miss, and closer inspection revealed that yet another convention was coming that did not appear on my master list.

So you can well imagine my shock when the graphic on a blue flyer captured my attention later in the weekend, also invoking the Ponies.  Yes, it was true, yet another My Little Pony convention!  In Texas!  And in this case to be held at the very hotel where I was hosting events at All-Con!  The Crowne Plaza in Addison is becoming quite the convention hub!  But that is a story for another day.

For now I will give you a single shot resource listing for My Little Pony/Brony conventions in Texas.  All three are on the master list, but if only Pony conventions are what you seek, why delve into the whole year's listings?

March 29-31 Brony-Fest (Lewisville, TX)
Note: Brony-Fest postcards found at All-Con have a web address that is not valid.  The link above has been confirmed and will take you to the convention's website where further details can be found.

September 13-15 Brony Fan Fair (Austin, TX)

November 8-10 Nightmare Nights Dallas (Addison, TX)

Further details about all three shows will be found on this site as we get closer to the actual show dates.  And, as always, if possible I will be interviewing the people behind the conventions.

JediCole and All-Con on the Radio!

On Sunday, March 3 I had the opportunity to talk up All-Con 2013 on The Nerd Show (1190 AM, Dalas/Fort Worth).  This was an amazing experience and a great chance to promote my favorite convention.  I could go on for hours, just ask the show's host, Ben!  But I will let The Nerd Show speak for itself...

Listen to The Nerd Show March 3 Episode here.

If this does not get you to All-Con I can't imagine what will!

Special thanks to everyone from The Nerd Show for making the evening a whole bunch of fun.