The Omaha Science Fiction Festival (or
OSFest) will bring the many activities of Science Fiction and Fantasy Fandom
under one roof. Practitioners can show off what they do and teach those
wishing to learn the joys of their hobbies/livelihoods. We want to include
writers, actors, artists, filk-singers, game-masters, costumers, collectors, and
most of all fans, whether you like hard SF or epic Fantasy
WHAT IS A SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION?
THE TYPES OF SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTIONS
Nebraska has been host to several kinds of science fiction conventions over
the years. These cons fall into two main types, specialty and general.
Specialty Conventions - Media, costuming, anime, and gaming:
Specialty conventions are devoted primarily to one area of fandom, such as
gaming, anime, costuming, or media guests, although they may also offer
activities in other areas of fandom. Specialty conventions may either be run by
fans or professional organizations. (Typically, media conventions are run by
professional organizations, such as Creation Entertainment, while the other
types are run by focused fan groups.) Love-Of-Trek, NebrasKon, Nuke-Con,
Lin-Con, Mage-Con, and Ogre-Con are examples of fan-based media, anime, and
gaming conventions that have been held in Nebraska. Costume-Con, a
traveling convention focusing on costume construction, came to Lincoln one year. The Creationcons and
Alphacon were professionally run conventions that came to Omaha.
The Worldcon™ Convention Model:
General conventions are based on the World SF Convention model which began in
1939 and offers a diverse array of activities: panel discussions (scientific,
literary, 'how-to', and fan-oriented),
video and film rooms, games (from role-playing through computer networked games), filksinging, masquerade (costume) contests,
workshops, art shows with attached auction, readings, autograph sessions, dealer's rooms,
and a hospitality suite, as well as time for the attendees to sit around and
shoot the breeze or read through the program book. The Omacon, Con*tretemps,
Impact, and ConCussion conventions in Omaha, Electracon in Kearney, Andromeda
and Maelstrom in Lincoln, and WillyCon at Wayne State College in Wayne,
were and are general conventions. General conventions are usually run by fans
for fans.
