ConnectiCon is an annual massively multi-genre convention dedicated to "a celebration of pop culture - everything from anime, to science fiction, comic books and card games." Past guests of honor have included popular North American voice actors for anime and video games such as Carlos Ferro

Carlos Ferro

Carlos Ferro is an American actor, writer, director, and producer.-Early life:Carlos’ first career in the entertainment industry was as a DJ. Spinning records in San Francisco’s nightclubs, he quickly became one of the city’s prominent DJs, befriending musical acts such as Grace Jones and the...

 and Vic Mignogna

Vic Mignogna

Victor Joseph "Vic" Mignogna is an American Anime Award winning voice actor and musician who has done voice work for many anime series, movies, and video games...

, noted science fiction film and television actors such as Robert Picardo

Robert Picardo

Robert Picardo is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Dr. Dick Richards on ABC's China Beach, the Emergency Medical Hologram , also known as The Doctor, on UPN's Star Trek: Voyager, The Cowboy in Innerspace, Coach Cutlip on The Wonder Years , Ben Wheeler in Wagons East, and as...

, Ethan Phillips

Ethan Phillips

Ethan Phillips is an American actor, playwright and author. He is known for television roles such as Star Trek: Voyager's Neelix and Benson's Pete Downey.-Personal life:...

, Ellen Muth

Ellen Muth

Ellen Anna Muth is an American actress, known for her role as George Lass in Showtime's series Dead Like Me. Muth is a member of Intertel and Mensa.-Career:...

, Glenn Shadix

Glenn Shadix

William Glenn Shadix Scott , born William Glenn Shadix, was an American actor, known for his role as Otho Fenlock in Tim Burton's horror/comedy film Beetlejuice and the voice of the Mayor of Halloween Town in The Nightmare Before Christmas.-Early life and education:Shadix was born in Bessemer,...

, and Peter Mayhew

Peter Mayhew

Peter Mayhew is an English actor known for playing the Wookiee Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies. His peak height was tall.-Career:...

, and prominent web comic personalities such as Brian Clevinger

Brian Clevinger

Brian Clevinger is an American writer best known as the author of the webcomic 8-Bit Theater and the Eisner-nominated print comic Atomic Robo...

 (8-Bit Theater

8-Bit Theater

8-Bit Theater is a completed sprite comic created by Brian Clevinger, and published in 1,225 episodes from March 2, 2001 to June 1, 2010. One of the most popular web comics, it won the Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards for best fantasy comic in 2002...

), Scott Ramsoomair (VG Cats

VG Cats

VG Cats is a webcomic written and drawn by Canadian cartoonist Scott Ramsoomair. Published on its own website, it features the adventures of a pair of anthropomorphic cats, who often play the roles of characters in popular video games that are parodied in the strip. Strips are usually presented in...

), Tim Buckley (Ctrl+Alt+Del

Ctrl+Alt+Del (webcomic)

Ctrl+Alt+Del is a gaming-related webcomic and animated series written by Tim Buckley. The name of the comic refers to the Windows command Control-Alt-Delete. Premiering on October 23, 2002, the comic's focus has gradually shifted away from single strip gags towards longer story arcs and greater...

), and Ananth Panagariya and Mohammad "Hawk" Haque (Applegeeks

Applegeeks

Applegeeks was a webcomic illustrated by Mohammad Haque, and written by Ananth Panagariya. The comic was usually updated every Monday and Thursday. A small, spin-off comic, dubbed Applegeeks Lite, was begun on April 18, 2006, and updates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays...

). The convention has been held in the Connecticut Convention Center

Connecticut Convention Center

The Connecticut Convention Center is a convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut, United States, overlooking the Connecticut River....

 in Hartford since 2005, after having been held at the University of Hartford from its inception in 2003. The convention has grown at a steady pace of about 900 to 1100 each year with estimates for 2011 at about 8000 attendees. The convention also often coincides with Hartford's Riverfest.

Events

The convention includes 24-hour screening rooms of full length features and episodes of classic and modern science fiction and anime titles and sponsorship by GameStop

GameStop

GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...

who provided 100 consoles for tournament and casual video gaming play.

Gaming, from card and board games to miniature and role-playing games, are featured all weekend long. The convention also sports an art show, exhibitor hall, artist alley, and workshops and panels throughout the convention weekend.

Connecticon also features larger events on a theatrical level. Most notably are bands such as Planetoid, Piano Squall and Rebecca Nurse. There are also mock-up game shows such Weakest Link, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Other events include the Dating Game, Human Chess and Death Match. These events are themed after pop culture media and their respective characters. The largest event of the weekend is the Masquerade, which brings together all of the departments in one big show. Participants compete with skits and costumes. The show is strung together by a loose plot told through the hosts. Another large draw is one of the shows staging Super Art Fight.