MegaCon
Encyclopedia
MegaCon, short for Mega Convention, is a large convention that caters to the comic book
, sci-fi, anime
, fantasy
, gaming, and multi-genre community, occurring between late February and early March at the Orange County Convention Center
in Orlando, Florida
, USA.
An attendee will find over 156000 square feet (14,492.9 m²) of exhibit space with merchandise. Merchandise spans many age groups and genres. Events include Indy Film Festival, annual cosplay/costume contest, all genre costume contest, panels, and rave dances. MegaCon guests have included June Lockhart (Lost in Space), Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk), Ray Park (Star Wars), and Kevin Sorbo (Hercules).
As with many conventions, attendees can volunteer to work a minimum of a four-hour shift to enjoy the remainder of that day free. Space is always limited, so planning ahead is suggested.
Since 2001, MegaCon has also been the location of the long running "Paranoia LIVE!" LARP, based on Mongoose Publishing's Paranoia
.
August 2008 MegaCon announced that it would host the first inaugural Project Fanboy Awards ceremony, awarding authors, writers and publishers with honors voted on by internet users on the Project Fanboy
website. This is an ongoing event.
In September 2008, MegaCon headquarters moved from Safety Harbor to Live Oak, Florida, although the actual convention is still slated to remain in Orlando.
MegaCon also offers attendees the option of game playing. Current game systems offered are Dungeons & Dragons
living campaigns
, Living Forgotten Realms, Pathfinder Society and Legends of the Shining Jewel. Other non-campaign role playing games are offered. Magic the gathering is also offered in a card room, and board and stategic games are often on the dealer floor.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
, sci-fi, anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, fantasy
Fantasy literature
Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1950s however, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other...
, gaming, and multi-genre community, occurring between late February and early March at the Orange County Convention Center
Orange County Convention Center
The Orange County Convention Center is the primary public convention center for the Central Florida region. The center currently ranks as the second largest convention center in the United States . The OCCC offers of total space, of which is exhibit space...
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, USA.
An attendee will find over 156000 square feet (14,492.9 m²) of exhibit space with merchandise. Merchandise spans many age groups and genres. Events include Indy Film Festival, annual cosplay/costume contest, all genre costume contest, panels, and rave dances. MegaCon guests have included June Lockhart (Lost in Space), Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk), Ray Park (Star Wars), and Kevin Sorbo (Hercules).
As with many conventions, attendees can volunteer to work a minimum of a four-hour shift to enjoy the remainder of that day free. Space is always limited, so planning ahead is suggested.
Since 2001, MegaCon has also been the location of the long running "Paranoia LIVE!" LARP, based on Mongoose Publishing's Paranoia
Paranoia (role-playing game)
Paranoia is a dystopian science-fiction tabletop role-playing game originally designed and written by Greg Costikyan, Dan Gelber, and Eric Goldberg, and first published in 1984 by West End Games. Since 2004 the game has been published under licence by Mongoose Publishing...
.
August 2008 MegaCon announced that it would host the first inaugural Project Fanboy Awards ceremony, awarding authors, writers and publishers with honors voted on by internet users on the Project Fanboy
Project Fanboy
Project Fanboy is an American website that publishes news, interviews and reviews about the American comic book industry. In addition, the site is host to comic-book fan voted awards...
website. This is an ongoing event.
In September 2008, MegaCon headquarters moved from Safety Harbor to Live Oak, Florida, although the actual convention is still slated to remain in Orlando.
MegaCon also offers attendees the option of game playing. Current game systems offered are Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
living campaigns
Living campaigns
Living Campaigns are a gaming format within the table-top role-playing game community that provide the opportunity for play by an extended community within a shared universe...
, Living Forgotten Realms, Pathfinder Society and Legends of the Shining Jewel. Other non-campaign role playing games are offered. Magic the gathering is also offered in a card room, and board and stategic games are often on the dealer floor.