MarsCon is a science fiction convention held in

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...

, United States. It was first held in February 1999 with the goal of appealing to a diverse audience of fans in Minnesota and the vicinity. It is a mid-sized convention with a wide variety of events including panel discussions, guest of honor presentations, music of many kinds, art show, film room (including anime), science room, dealers room, charity auction, and a masquerade. Past guests have included actors, authors, artists, scientists, musicians, producers, and even the occasional pooka. The '' Minneapolis Star-Tribune'' describes MarsCon as "for the sci-fi serious nerds". Since 2003, MarsCon Minnesota has also included a strong presence of the "Dementia" (comedy/novelty/filk) music genre, making the convention one of the largest events in the country to showcase such music.

Conventions

Past

MarsCon 1999: Celebrating 60 Years of Fandom :Where: Radisson South Hotel :When: February 26-28, 1999 :Guests of Honor: Carl David, Jeff Grubb, Kate Novak MarsCon 2000: Don’t Panic! (Alternate Subversive Theme: M’00) :Where: Radisson South Hotel :When: May 12-14, 2000 :Guests of Honor: Mark Allen Shepherd,

Lisa Getto Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), ...

, Margaret Weis,

Don Perrin Don Perrin (born 1 October 1964) is a Canadian writer and former military officer. Early life and education Born in Iserlohn, Germany, Perrin grew up in Kingston, ON, Canada, McMasterville, QC, Canada, Bromley, Kent, England, and Ottawa, ON, Can ...

, Denise Boie, Jack Borkowski, Donald R. Schmitt, Chesley Bonestell (Posthumous) MarsCon 2001: A Space Oddity :Where: Radisson South Hotel :When: May 11-13, 2001 :Guests of Honor: Jane Yolen, Bill Blair, Carl Talliaferro, Christopher Jones, Michael Liebmann,

David Arneson David Lance Arneson (; October 1, 1947Minnesota Department of Health. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004. – April 7, 2009) was an American game designer best known ...

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

(Posthumous) MarsCon 2002: The Magic of Fantasy :Where: Airport Hilton :When: March 1-3, 2002 :Guests of Honor:

Lyda Morehouse Lyda Morehouse (born November 18, 1967) is a science fiction and fantasy author. Her first four books, the AngeLINK series (''Archangel Protocol'', ''Fallen Host'', ''Messiah Node'', and ''Apocalypse Array''), blend cyberpunk technology with u ...

, Peter Woodward, John Levene, Robin Wood, Harvey (See Harvey (play)) MarsCon 2003: No One Here is Exactly What He Appears :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: February 28-March 2, 2003 :Guests of Honor: Sharon Lee,

Steve Miller (science fiction writer) Steve Miller (born July 31, 1950) is an American science fiction writer from Waterville, Maine, best known for his works set in the Liaden universe, written in collaboration with his wife Sharon Lee. Background Miller was born July 31, 1950 ...

Julie Caitlin Brown Julie Caitlin Brown ( née Andrich; born January 27, 1961) is an American actress and singer known for her role as Na'Toth in the first and fifth season of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5''. Career Her first stage role was as ...

Lev Mailer Lev may refer to: Common uses *Bulgarian lev, the currency of Bulgaria *an abbreviation for Leviticus, the third book of the Hebrew Bible and the Torah People and fictional characters *Lev (given name) * Lev (surname) Places * Lev, Azerbaijan, ...

John Garner (artist) John Garner may refer to: *John Nance Garner (1868–1967), Vice President of the United States (1933–1941) *John Garner (golfer) John R. Garner (born 9 January 1947) is an English professional golfer. During his playing career, Garner won on ...

David Mendez David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, Douglas Adams (Posthumous) MarsCon 2004: Let’s Play Doctor! :Where: Airport Hilton :When: March 5-7, 2004 :Guests of Honor: John M. Ford, Richard Biggs, Barry Hansen “ Dr. Demento”, Dawn Devine Brown “ Davina (costumer)”, Luke Sienkowski “ The Great Luke Ski”, David E Romm MarsCon 2005: Galactic Pirates and Mercenaries :Where: Airport Marriott :When: March 4-6, 2005 :Guests of Honor: Richard Herd, Jeremy Bulloch, Stephanie Gannaway-Osborn, Timothy Zahn, Todd Coss, The Great Luke Ski, Ron Ross,

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MarsCon 2006: Things That Go Bump in the Night :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: March 3-5, 2006 :Guests of Honor: Gigi Edgley, Dean Haglund, Beth Hansen,

Walter H. Hunt Walter H. Hunt (born 1959) is a science fiction novelist from Massachusetts, United States. Career Walter Hunt wrote a number of role-playing game books, including '' MechWarrior'' (1986) for FASA. His writings currently include the ''Dark ...

, Paul Lawrence (producer), Tom Smith (filker), Hugh Gregory MarsCon 2007 :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: March 2-4, 2007 :Guests of Honor: Don S. Davis,

Patricia Tallman Patricia J. Tallman (born September 4, 1957) is an American actress, stunt performer, and studio executive best known for her starring roles in '' Night of the Living Dead'', ''Star Trek'' and '' Babylon 5''. She is the former CEO and executive ...

, Todd Lockwood, Eric Larson, Eleanor Arnason,

Ookla the Mok ''Thundarr the Barbarian'' is an American Saturday morning animated series, created by Steve Gerber and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. The series ran for two seasons on ABC from October 4, 1980, to October 31, 1981, and was rerun on N ...

MarsCon 2008: Press Start To Continue :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: February 29-March 2, 2008 :Guests of Honor: Bill Blair, Jeff Easley, Naomi Kritzer, C. Robert Cargill, Hot Waffles MarsCon 2009: Invasion! :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: March 6-8, 2009 :Guests of Honor: Musetta Vander,

Scott Rosema Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saskat ...

, Suzanne Hiza-Rezema, Jeanne Cavelos,

Wally Pleasant Wally Pleasant is an American musician from Michigan. He plays humorous songs based on folk music and 1950s–60s rock and roll influences. Throughout the 1990s he was a fixture in the East Lansing indie-rock scene, alongside fellow local acts like ...

MarsCon 2010: Dark Lords and Femme Fatales :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: March 5-7, 2010 :Guests of Honor: John Garner, Loretta McKibben, Nick Atoms, Gwynyth Walsh MarsCon 2011: Days of Magic! :Where: Holiday Inn Select :When: March 4-6, 2011 :Guests of Honor: Lois McMaster Bujold, Joe Rheault, Megan Rheault, Bjo Trimble, John Trimble, Worm Quartet MarsCon 2012: Rockin' the Apocalypse :Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel and Suites :When: March 9-12, 2012 :Guests of Honor: Lukas Effinger,

Catherine Asaro Catherine Ann Asaro (born November 6, 1955) is an American science fiction and fantasy author, singer and teacher. She is best known for her books about the Ruby Dynasty, called the Saga of the Skolian Empire. Biography Catherine Asaro was ...

, Rob Callahan, Consortium of Genius MarsCon 2013: Ctrl/Alt/Del... Thriving into the future :Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel and Suites, 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 1-3, 2013 :Guests of Honor: actress Claudia Christian, author Harry Turtledove, science author Gerald Nordley, artist Sarah Clemens, comic artist W.C. Carani, fan/costuming The Thrift Brothers, and music Flat 29. MarsCon 2014: Time is the Key :Where: DoubleTree by Hilton, Bloomington-Minneapolis South :When: March 7-9, 2014 :Guests of Honor:

J. G. Hertzler John Garman Hertzler Jr. (born March 18, 1950) is an American actor, author, screenwriter, and activist best known for his role on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' as the Klingon General (later Chancellor) Martok, whom he portrayed from 1995 un ...

, Esther Friesner, Mickie Erickson, Rae Lundquist, Henry Phillips, Dave Duca,

Bridget Landry Bridget is an Irish female name derived from the Gaelic noun ''brígh'', meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue". An alternate meaning of the name is "exalted one". Its popularity, especially in Ireland, is largely related to the popularity of ...

, and the Klingons of IKV RakeHell. MarsCon 2015: Heroes & Wizerds & Fae OHhh MYyy!! :Where: Airport Hilton :When: March 6-8, 2015 :Guests of Honor:

Spice Williams-Crosby Spice Williams-Crosby (born Marceline Ann Williams, April 26, 1952) is an American actress, with a career in film and television which spans more than 40 years. Biography Williams-Crosby was born in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. He ...

Antoinette Bower Antoinette Bower is a British-American retired film, television and stage actress, whose career lasted nearly four decades. Early years Bower was born in Baden-Baden to a German mother and an English father. She lived in England, Vienna and M ...

, Robert Odegard,

, Richard Tatge, Eric Wile, Rob Paravonian, Dave Duca, and Mike Glielmi. MarsCon 2016: Parallel Dimensions :Where: Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 4-6, 2016 :Guests of Honor: actor

William Morgan Sheppard William Morgan Sheppard (24 August 1932 – 6 January 2019) was an English actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes, in a career that spanned over 50 years. Stage career Sheppard graduated from the Royal Academy of ...

, artist Christine Mitzuk, author

Ruth Berman Ruth Berman is an American writer of weird science fiction and speculative poetry. In 2003, she won the Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem. She was also the winner of the 2006 Dwarf Stars Award for her poem ''Knowledge Of''. In 1973, she was a f ...

, filmmaker Christopher R. Mihm, game designer Eric Wile, musician Luke Ski, propmasters Dave Brown, Dave Duca, Michael Glielmi, and Ann Neubauer. MarsCon 2017: Dragons In Space :Where: Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 3-5, 2017 :Guests of Honor: actor Jeffrey Combs, artist Ralph Ryan, authors Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, comedy and music Judy Tenuta, sciences Benjamin Higginbotham & Cariann Higginbotham MarsCon 2018: Robots, Rayguns, & Rockets: The 3 R's of Sci-Fi :Where: Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 2-4, 2018 :Guests of Honor: actor Roger Cross, artist Steve Thomas, author MaryJanice Davidson, musician Brent brentalfloss Black, planetary scientist

MarsCon 2019 “Legends In Our Own Mind” :Where: Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Airport/Mall of America, 3800 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425 :When: March 1-3, 2019 :Guests of Honor: actors Bill Blair &

, author A. Merc Rustad, artist Luke Ski

Upcoming

MarsCon 2023 “When Books Come Alive” :Where Hilton Minneapolis/St Paul Mall of America :When: March 10 - 12, 2023

References

External links

MarsCon official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marscon Science fiction conventions in the United States Conventions in Minnesota Recurring events established in 1999 Bloomington, Minnesota Tourist attractions in Hennepin County, Minnesota