With the extended flu season, SARS, Swine flu, COVAD-19, NOVAD-20 and varied variants out there the conventions are starting to cancel and reschedule.

As such I thought it might be a good idea to have some sort of running list to help our members coordinate vacations, appearances, drops, and such.

To my knowledge the following have been cancelled and rescheduled
SXSW
Emerald City Comic Con (EMCC)
Niantic labs Safari zone event
South by South West in Austin, TX

The following have been semi cancelled but had some sections carry on:
The Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio (competition happened, other parts cancelled or severely reduced)

The following groups and organizations have cancelled appearances through the end of the year:
DC comics

The following news outlets are sources of breaking news regarding the virus outbreak:
Sirius XM channel 121

Please respond with any others and I will update the list as appropriate.

Also please bear in mind this flu season and corona virus outbreak is getting overly hyped, but the convention scene is notorious for spreading illness that folks take home with them. DO NOT over react, DO be careful and follow more stringent hygiene protocols. Also be aware that these illnesses are only potentially fatal to folks with compromised immune systems, so if you are in good health the illness concern is not as great but is still there. We have among one of the best emergency health care systems in the developed world so do not be afraid of catching things, but do be prepared to take care of yourself. The key is to not panic, do not buy into the hype, do not make reactionary or panic purchases. Only listen to experts and do not buy into a media talking head who is not a subject matter expert on virology giving opinions and advice. Study the facts, figures, and reality, not opinions and hype. Form an opinion and understanding based upon facts, not hype.

So as the first line in the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy says: Don't Panic.

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The impossible takes a while longer and goes over budget too...

I've gotta say, this was really well worded and had genuinely sound advice. Thank you for that, truly.

It looks like July or September may be the earliest we might see conventions resume. October I think folks will tell many municipalities to stick it, nothing really happened we do not care about your rules. Full on Containment and Control will not be possible with anything more than 3 large cities simultaneously so I fully expect things to start resuming to some semblance of normalcy as the those in power do not want to risk a loss of face with an inability to control their population base. There is also the risk to challenges to many of the lock downs on a constitutional basis causing even more issues and municipalities do not want to risk liabilities there if they start getting too terribly aggressive on things.

Even then expect new sanitation and hand shake protocols. Many outfits have cancelled through the end of the year so do not expect a full experience.

Lack of ozone air purification and filtered recirculation systems being established (recurring yearly maintenance costs on top of a standard system setup) in large facility air handling systems means that large groups will always remain a vector for the spread of disease. Otherwise there would be no such thing as, "con crud."

Many actors/actresses are advancing in age and have their own fair share of health issues which has been shown to increase the likelihood of health complications from the corona virus disease family. Convention scenes in many cases are where they go to semi retire and enjoy and love on their fan base.

There has also been a rise in online conventions (on-cons) so expect that to start becoming a thing.

In the meantime dig through your business card collections from conventions and place random orders to help support your favorite vendors who have lost so much during this forced economic inactivity.

Things will resume and return to normal. Things will change.

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The impossible takes a while longer and goes over budget too...