This past year, I've been able to attend four different Doctor Who events, all located in the Southeastern United States. Prior to 2005, none of the events even existed! That's quite a wealth of riches but it also leaves people with a dilemma. Which convention should I attend?
Oddly enough, each convention has its own vibe, and while one can simply pick a convention based on the guest list, there are also good reasons for picking a convention based on their programming mix as well. There's also Megacon (Orlando) and Dragon Con (Atlanta) to consider as well, since both will bring in Doctor Who guests and feature Doctor Who related programming. This guide, however, will focus on the Doctor Who-centric conventions, where Doctor Who is the major (or only) focus...
Time Lord Fest - Tampa, Florida (January 26th, 2013)
Time Lord Fest is a one-day convention that, basically, is one big party. Actual guests from the show are non-existent, so if that's something you're looking for then Time Lord Fest is not the convention for you.
However, the convention does feature a wide variety of dealers selling Doctor Who merchandise, panel discussions with knowledgeable fans and a concert by the Ken Spivey band (who, coincidentally, puts on the convention). Costuming and cosplay are encouraged at Time Lord Fest. Indeed, the more involved you get in the activities (rather than simply watching), the more one will get our of Time Lord Fest.
The next Time Lord Fest is this weekend (November 9th, 2013). I won't be making this one, since it comes one weekend after Hurricane Who. However, if you're in the Central Florida area and you missed Hurricane Who, or you want another chance to party and hang out with your fellow Whovians, Time Lord Fest can fit this bill very nicely.
Timegate - Atlanta, Georgia (May 24th-26th, 2013)
Caveat: I'm a staff member at Timegate, where I run one of the programming tracks.
Timegate is a more traditional convention, unlike Time Lord Fest. This year, the headliner guest was Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor). Other highlighted guests included Colin Spaull (guest star on both the Classic and the New Series) and Andrew Cartmel (script editor during the Sylvester McCoy years).
Timegate is also notable that while it does feature a full weekend of Doctor Who programming, it also features a full weekend of Stargate programming (the 'Gate portion of the con) along with a full programming track covering other fandoms, a costuming track and a literary track.
As such, Timegate has a major advantage over the other conventions listed for those who might be attending with wives/husbands/boyfriends/girlfriends/etc. who might not necessarily be into Doctor Who (sacrilege!). It also allows oneself a break as well, without actually having to leave a convention. Star Trek - Into Darkness had just come out a week prior to this year's Timegate, and Timegate had a panel on Saturday to talk about the film.
The disadvantage of Timegate is apparent, however. Since it must serve two different fandoms (Doctor Who and Stargate), sometimes the guest list will lean heavily towards Stargate. This year, the guest list was Doctor Who heavy due to the 50th anniversary of the show. Next year, the big name on Timegate's guest list is Paul McGillion from Stargate Atlantis, in order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Stargate franchise.
Still, the convention does try to have guests from both shows at each convention. This coming year, Paul Kasey and David Banks have already been announced as Doctor Who guests (among others). Banks played the Cyberleader in the Classic Series, while Kasey has performed as various monsters throughout the New Series and its spin-offs.
The hotel layout also gives Timegate, despite its size, a buzz that can be lacking sometimes at these smaller conventions. The Timegate Charity Cabaret is also something unique to the convention scene, as various guests perform skits, routines and songs with all proceeds going to various charities over the years.
The costuming track is also unique amongst the various conventions, and can be a great place to get ideas for your next Doctor Who costuming project.
The next Timegate will be held on Memorial Day weekend, 2014 (May 23rd-25th)
Con Kasterborous (June 8-9, 2013)
Con Kasterborous is held in Huntsville, Alabama. Unlike Timegate, Con K focuses squarely on Doctor Who. This year, their main guest was Caitlin Blackwood, who played young Amelia Pond opposite Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor.
I attended the convention on Sunday, and there's a review of my visit on this blog. Con K felt very similar to Timegate, with the exception that the Stargate and other programming wasn't there.
Sadly, the fact that only two weeks separated Con K and Timegate I think precluded most people from attending both conventions. Most of the people that I saw at Timegate chose not to attend Con K, and vice versa. I can only surmise that the close proximity of both conventions had a great deal to do with this.
Fortunately, next year an entire month separates Con K and Timegate, which might allow more people to attend both conventions. Con K's headliner guest next year will be Sylvester McCoy, the Seventh Doctor himself.
Next year's Con Kasterbourous takes place on June 28th-29th, 2014.
Hurricane Who (November 1st-3rd, 2013)
You can read my review of Hurricane Who right here on this blog.
Hurricane Who is a very different beast than Time Lord Fest. Time Lord Fest, as I mentioned, is one big party. Hurricane Who is a fan-run convention that takes its fandom very seriously. Unlike Time Lord Fest, it does bring in big name Doctor Who guests to the Central Florida area. Also, unlike Timegate in Atlanta, it can focus on bringing in Doctor Who guests, since it's a Doctor Who-only convention.
It does feature some alternate programming, including some costuming panels for the costumers. While perhaps not to the extent of Timegate, Hurricane Who also features panels on subjects beyond Doctor Who. Hurricane Who has invited Jim Korkis, a noted Disney historian the past two years to talk about various aspects of Disney fandom. In addition, this year they had two guests from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to celebrate that show's 20th anniversary. These are great additions to the programming mix, and I hope that this continues at future Hurricane Who conventions.
Conclusion
So, which convention should you attend. Well, if your plans are to attend Time Lord Fest, that's this weekend so you better plan quickly!
If you're planning to party, Time Lord Fest is probably your best bet. Since it doesn't feature guests, it allows one to hang out and party without the fear that you might be missing out on your autograph and photo opportunities.
If meeting guests, collecting autographs and photos from the actors is your big thing, any of the conventions with the exception of Time Lord Fest will fill the bill.
If having additional programming beyond Doctor Who is something that appeals to you, Timegate is your best bet, followed distantly by Hurricane Who.
The biggest issue I suspect anyone will find is the close proximity of some of the conventions. The two Florida conventions are one week apart, which isn't a very good idea as that forces people to choose between the two. I'm hoping this is simply a one-off for Time Lord Fest for the anniversary, as I think it was much better being held in January and away from Hurricane Who.
Con Kasterborous and Timegate also had the same problem this year in that they were too close to each other. With one month's separation between the two, it should make it much easier for people to attend both rather than forcing people to choose between the two.
In the end, it's up to you to decide which convention you'd like to attend. With Time Lord Fest and Hurricane Who being one week apart, I had to choose which convention I would travel to attend. Since I do like meeting guests, the decision was easy and I attended Hurricane Who.
However, if meeting guests was not that high on my agenda, I might have chosen to attend this weekend's Time Lord Fest. That's something that each person will have to decide, but I really wish the conventions would try to space themselves out a little better so that it's easier for fans to attend as many as they possibly can. But that's just my two cents.
The next Time Lord Fest is this weekend (November 9th, 2013). I won't be making this one, since it comes one weekend after Hurricane Who. However, if you're in the Central Florida area and you missed Hurricane Who, or you want another chance to party and hang out with your fellow Whovians, Time Lord Fest can fit this bill very nicely.
Timegate - Atlanta, Georgia (May 24th-26th, 2013)
Caveat: I'm a staff member at Timegate, where I run one of the programming tracks.
Timegate is a more traditional convention, unlike Time Lord Fest. This year, the headliner guest was Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor). Other highlighted guests included Colin Spaull (guest star on both the Classic and the New Series) and Andrew Cartmel (script editor during the Sylvester McCoy years).
Timegate is also notable that while it does feature a full weekend of Doctor Who programming, it also features a full weekend of Stargate programming (the 'Gate portion of the con) along with a full programming track covering other fandoms, a costuming track and a literary track.
As such, Timegate has a major advantage over the other conventions listed for those who might be attending with wives/husbands/boyfriends/girlfriends/etc. who might not necessarily be into Doctor Who (sacrilege!). It also allows oneself a break as well, without actually having to leave a convention. Star Trek - Into Darkness had just come out a week prior to this year's Timegate, and Timegate had a panel on Saturday to talk about the film.
The disadvantage of Timegate is apparent, however. Since it must serve two different fandoms (Doctor Who and Stargate), sometimes the guest list will lean heavily towards Stargate. This year, the guest list was Doctor Who heavy due to the 50th anniversary of the show. Next year, the big name on Timegate's guest list is Paul McGillion from Stargate Atlantis, in order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Stargate franchise.
Still, the convention does try to have guests from both shows at each convention. This coming year, Paul Kasey and David Banks have already been announced as Doctor Who guests (among others). Banks played the Cyberleader in the Classic Series, while Kasey has performed as various monsters throughout the New Series and its spin-offs.
The hotel layout also gives Timegate, despite its size, a buzz that can be lacking sometimes at these smaller conventions. The Timegate Charity Cabaret is also something unique to the convention scene, as various guests perform skits, routines and songs with all proceeds going to various charities over the years.
The costuming track is also unique amongst the various conventions, and can be a great place to get ideas for your next Doctor Who costuming project.
The next Timegate will be held on Memorial Day weekend, 2014 (May 23rd-25th)
Con Kasterborous (June 8-9, 2013)
Con Kasterborous is held in Huntsville, Alabama. Unlike Timegate, Con K focuses squarely on Doctor Who. This year, their main guest was Caitlin Blackwood, who played young Amelia Pond opposite Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor.
I attended the convention on Sunday, and there's a review of my visit on this blog. Con K felt very similar to Timegate, with the exception that the Stargate and other programming wasn't there.
Sadly, the fact that only two weeks separated Con K and Timegate I think precluded most people from attending both conventions. Most of the people that I saw at Timegate chose not to attend Con K, and vice versa. I can only surmise that the close proximity of both conventions had a great deal to do with this.
Fortunately, next year an entire month separates Con K and Timegate, which might allow more people to attend both conventions. Con K's headliner guest next year will be Sylvester McCoy, the Seventh Doctor himself.
Next year's Con Kasterbourous takes place on June 28th-29th, 2014.
Hurricane Who (November 1st-3rd, 2013)
You can read my review of Hurricane Who right here on this blog.
Hurricane Who is a very different beast than Time Lord Fest. Time Lord Fest, as I mentioned, is one big party. Hurricane Who is a fan-run convention that takes its fandom very seriously. Unlike Time Lord Fest, it does bring in big name Doctor Who guests to the Central Florida area. Also, unlike Timegate in Atlanta, it can focus on bringing in Doctor Who guests, since it's a Doctor Who-only convention.
It does feature some alternate programming, including some costuming panels for the costumers. While perhaps not to the extent of Timegate, Hurricane Who also features panels on subjects beyond Doctor Who. Hurricane Who has invited Jim Korkis, a noted Disney historian the past two years to talk about various aspects of Disney fandom. In addition, this year they had two guests from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to celebrate that show's 20th anniversary. These are great additions to the programming mix, and I hope that this continues at future Hurricane Who conventions.
Conclusion
So, which convention should you attend. Well, if your plans are to attend Time Lord Fest, that's this weekend so you better plan quickly!
If you're planning to party, Time Lord Fest is probably your best bet. Since it doesn't feature guests, it allows one to hang out and party without the fear that you might be missing out on your autograph and photo opportunities.
If meeting guests, collecting autographs and photos from the actors is your big thing, any of the conventions with the exception of Time Lord Fest will fill the bill.
If having additional programming beyond Doctor Who is something that appeals to you, Timegate is your best bet, followed distantly by Hurricane Who.
The biggest issue I suspect anyone will find is the close proximity of some of the conventions. The two Florida conventions are one week apart, which isn't a very good idea as that forces people to choose between the two. I'm hoping this is simply a one-off for Time Lord Fest for the anniversary, as I think it was much better being held in January and away from Hurricane Who.
Con Kasterborous and Timegate also had the same problem this year in that they were too close to each other. With one month's separation between the two, it should make it much easier for people to attend both rather than forcing people to choose between the two.
In the end, it's up to you to decide which convention you'd like to attend. With Time Lord Fest and Hurricane Who being one week apart, I had to choose which convention I would travel to attend. Since I do like meeting guests, the decision was easy and I attended Hurricane Who.
However, if meeting guests was not that high on my agenda, I might have chosen to attend this weekend's Time Lord Fest. That's something that each person will have to decide, but I really wish the conventions would try to space themselves out a little better so that it's easier for fans to attend as many as they possibly can. But that's just my two cents.
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