I-CON (short for "Island CONvention") was a (roughly) annual

fan convention Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...

, held on various college campuses in Suffolk County, Long Island,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. First held in 1982 on the campus of

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York syste ...

, I-CON became a very eclectic convention. The programming included things normally found at different types of convention, like speeches by and talks with

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

authors, extensive gaming,

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fandom, comics fandom,

furry fandom The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term ...

, multiple

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

showings, and

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programming, as well as live

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

s. There was also a science track discussing recent developments in various branches of science and exploring the real science behind science fiction technologies. I-CON was jointly held by ICON Science Fiction, Inc., a tax-exempt educational foundation, and the I-CON Campus Chapter of Stony Brook.

History

I-CON was preceded by SUNYcon (April 14, 1973), Mudcon (May 8, 1977), and Brookcon (October 28–30, 1977), held on the Stony Brook campus. I-CON was held annually from 1983 through 2012 at

, except for 2009, when it relocated temporarily to the Brentwood campus of

Suffolk County Community College Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) is a public community college in Selden, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and is funded in part by Suffolk County, New York. Suffolk County Community College wa ...

, due to planned construction at Stony Brook University. In the spring of 2012, I-CON was informed that the Stony Brook Sports Complex would be unavailable due to construction in 2013. ICON Science Fiction, Inc. scouted several possible locations on Long Island as an alternative venue, eventually entering into an agreement with

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of N ...

. Due to many compounding issues including finances and delays caused by

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds span ...

, the board decided to postpone I-CON 32, with plans to raise funds via smaller events and return in 2014, but made no announcements about future dates. I-CON ran smaller conventions, LI-CON, in 2014 and 2015, at other venues on Long Island. I-CON 32 occurred on March 17–19, 2017, at

, Grant Campus,

Brentwood, New York Brentwood is a hamlet in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 62,387 at the 2020 Census, making it the most populous in Suffolk County and on all of Long Island outside of New York ...

. The website was updated February 14, 2019 to announce a trip to a library exhibit, having previously been last updated on August 11, 2016.

Event history

LI-CON

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.iconsf.org/ Defunct science fiction conventions in the United States Defunct multigenre conventions