A relaxacon (sometimes relaxicon) is a

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction subgenre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of ex ...

which has little formal programming and very few organized activities, as the point is that the organizers can ''relax'' during the convention. Though informal, relaxacons can occur on a regularly scheduled basis, such as Arisia Inc.'s Relaxacon, which was held yearly from 2006 through 2019. Starting in 2021 the running of the Arisia Relaxacon was taken over by Massachusetts Convention Fandom, Inc. (MCFI) with an attempt to make it more of a general Boston and east coast area Relaxacon. Relaxacons are generally small, ranging from 50 to 200 attendees. They are often invitation or word-of-mouth only. They are a chance for the organizers of a large convention to get together with the other organizers and relax once the convention is over, and are held a month or more after the regular convention. Some large conventions use relaxacons as a reward for volunteers, and as a way of using up leftover supplies (similar to a dead dog party). This can be seen as contributing to SMOF-ish behavior, which some members of the

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...

can find off-putting.

History

The first convention that was labelled as relaxacon was

Midwestcon Midwestcon is a science fiction convention held annually in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area by the Cincinnati Fantasy Group. Midwestcon is an informal type of convention known as a relaxacon which means that it has no programming. Instead, it is no ...

in 1950. Science fiction author

Jack Chalker Jack Laurence Chalker (December 17, 1944 – February 11, 2005) was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring during 1978 to write full-time. He also was a m ...

suggested the term originated at the 1966

. However, earlier uses of the word have possibly been identified in a 1956 issue of the newszine ''Fantasy Times'' and a 1957 issue of ''Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.'' Both instances used the spelling "relaxicon."

Sercon

Relaxacons are often contrasted with Sercon conventions, ones (purportedly) devoted solely to serious constructive discussion of science fiction topics. Organizers of most of those conventions sometimes described as "sercon" tend to be uncomfortable with the label, since the term originally implied a highly unfannish lack of a sense of fun and self-perspective.

History

Sercon

References

External links