MisCon

08/01/2024

Spooky Season is Coming!

And with it, hopefully some cooler weather? Read more...

06/08/2024

Thanks to everyone that filled out the survey! If you haven't had a chance yet, please try to find a moment or two to full it out.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbHJKEG00Jk6AUS9USmNJYS_9Gtzu4GIOn5PTsXIHYhATxLw/viewform

06/01/2024

I'm working on the theme for MisCon 39: Hive of Scum and Villainy.

05/28/2024

Thanks again for all your help!

Thanks everyone for all your help and support this year. See you again soon! Read more...

05/27/2024

Survey time! Thanks so much for spending your long weekend with us! If we could trouble you for a few more minutes of your time, we would appreciate any and all feedback about your experience.

Please tell us about your experience at MisCon 37: Monster Mash Up

05/26/2024

Safety at Con

As a reminder we have a Code of Conduct and a Zero Tolerance Policy regarding harassment of MisCon participants in any form. Read more...

As a reminder we have a Code of Conduct and a Zero Tolerance Policy regarding harassment of MisCon participants in any form. MisCon Missoula's Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention Laughter through the trees, rustling leaves, then silence. Was it a goblin? A korok? Totoro? Mist clings to the ruins of...

05/25/2024

Where do I park?

Just a reminder, parking is free on weekends and holidays! This means parking is free until 8am Tuesday morning! Read more...

05/25/2024

Check out this awesome Helldiver Cosplay from the Live Stream of the Costume Parade!

05/25/2024

Watch the cosplayers at MisCon tonight!

05/23/2024

Artists: the Art room is open for setup today 5/23 until 7pm and again tomorrow 5/24 from 9am to noon. See you soon!

05/21/2024

Food Trucks for MisCon 38:

The hours are approximate. If the trucks want to stay later, they will.

Friday 3pm-8pm
Wild We**ie
Puffy's PoBoy
Pattie Wagon
Servin Thyme

Saturday 12pm-8pm
Wild We**ie
Puffy's PoBoy
Servin Thyme
Fire and Ice
Pattie Wagon (after 3PM)
Aikos

Sunday 12pm-8pm
Wild We**ie
Puffy's PoBoy
Fire and Ice
Servin Thyme (after 3pm)
Aikos

Monday 12pm-3pm (con officially finishes at 4pm)
Wild We**ie
Puffy's PoBoy
Pattie Wagon
Servin Thyme

05/20/2024

This year, we've got 3 alcohol tastings happening throughout the weekend. You can buy discounted tickets to each on our website at www.miscon.org/store

The tastings are only open to MisCon attendees age 21 and over.

Friday:
SAKE TASTING in the Dragon Pavilion from 9pm-11pm. This year, Sake brewer Andy Neyens of Tahoma Fuji Sake in Ballard, Washington will take us on a fun journey through different kinds of traditional style sake, as well as some interesting non-traditional sake cocktails.

Saturday:
MEAD TASTING in the Dragon Pavilion 7pm-9pm. This year we're mostly bringing in mead from the Sky River Meadery in Redmond, WA as well as some special meads, as usual.

Sunday:
WHISKEY TASTING in Room 436. This year we're bringing in a variety of whiskies, mostly from Japan. Some are done in the style of Scotch, some aren't. It'll be different than our usual lineup and should be interesting.

05/19/2024

Friday night at MisCon 38, don't miss the Moonlight Ball. It's happening in the Dungeon (the old restaurant/bar) from 9-12-ish, although the bar will be open until 2am. We'll have music you can dance to, but you'll also be able to talk to other people (it's not going to be wild--we're saving that vibe for the Nerd Prom on Sunday). There will be a photo booth, some of our artists will be doing our usual Drink and Draw event, where they draw/sketch/paint cosplayers.

Bring a mask and get into the masquerade mask contest. Judging will be at 10pm.

This event is for tweens to adults. The bar in the Dungeon will be open and serving, but the hotel and MisCon Security will strictly enforce drinking laws (as we always do).

05/18/2024

MisCon 38 Miniature Painting Contest:

Bring a miniature down to the Art Show and get registered in both your class and your mini’s category. We’ll put your handiwork on display until Sunday when we meet up in the Artist’s Corner in the Dungeon and reveal the winners of each category.

Compete in 1 of 3 Skill Classes.
Novice: New to the hobby.
Advanced: Been painting for a few years.
Masters: Been Painting since birth.]

Guidelines:
Models must be put on bases so they can be examined.
You are allowed one entry per card.

Mini Categories:
Single model.
Squad – 5 in squad.
Vehicle
Large Model (bust or diorama).
There will be a couple of Display cases available, but space is limited.

Rules:
No explicitly adult themed miniatures will be allowed as this is a family friendly event
Personally painted entries only, Please do not enter anything including but not limited to Commission Painted Works, Pre-Painted miniatures, etc.
You will be judged in the following areas (Detail, Color Scheme, Finishing Work, and Overall Look).

Detail: This is where we will judge how much time you spent taking that extra bit of time to capture the small little details of the miniature.

Color Scheme: Did your color scheme match the miniature or otherwise provide for a visually appealing display.

Finishing Work: This includes any highlight painting, Basing, or other small things added to make the miniature pop and stand out.

Overall Look: This is a broad overview of the miniature as a whole and how it is received by the judges
• Please select a category you feel fits you, However the judging panel withholds the right to move you up or down.

Recommendations & Notes:
• Larger scale dioramas will not affect your score as this is designed as a show of skill for a single miniature, Though we will not disqualify your diorama simply designate a single miniature in it as the judging piece.
• Your speed of painting will hold no weight in the scoring.
• Media used (paints, brushes, airbrush, etc.) will not be taken into account for final judging.

Judge Information:
Here I will outline some information for the judging process.

Scoring:
Each area (Detail, Color Scheme, Finishing Work, Overall Look) will be scored 1-4
• 1 - Lowest score (little to no effort, visually unappealing)
• 2 - (Reasonable effort, visually stable)
• 3 - (Much effort, visually appealing)
• 4 - Highest score (Great effort was taken, visually and artistically appealing)

05/18/2024

MisCon 38 Mini Painting Contest

MisCon 38 Miniature Painting Contest

Bring a miniature down to the Art Show and get registered in both your class and your mini’s category.... Read more...

MisCon 38 Miniature Painting Contest Bring a miniature down to the Art Show and get registered in both your class and your mini’s category. We’ll put your handiwork on display until Sunday when we meet up in the Artist’s Corner in the Dungeon and reveal the winners of each category. MisCon Mis...

05/18/2024

Checking your registration status

If you think you paid for a badge, but want to check your registration status, you can log in to miscon.org/store. This will show your order as... Read more...

05/18/2024

Rio Grande Games sent us 3 play to win games for this years con!! We will have Monster Factory, Shipyard, and Temporum!! Swing by Gaming HQ to check these games out and be entered into a chance to win your own copy!!!

05/17/2024

MisCon 38: the Dark Forest dice arrived today.

05/15/2024

Volunteer Apps Close today

Don't forget to sign up as a volunteer at MisCon 38. Read more...

05/11/2024

Last night I started looking through the first English language volume of the Demon Slayer manga and realized MisCon 38 Gaming Guest of Honor Stan Brown handled the English adaptation!

I asked him what exactly that meant, and he sent me this:

"When bringing a comic from one language into another, the first step is translation—in the case of manga, converting the kanji and kana into the appropriate English words. But it doesn’t end there (or at least it shouldn’t ). We all can think of badly dubbed movies or anime where what the lines V. O. actors are saying seems nonsensical, and almost always that’s because the script is a literal translation without any reworking. Doing the English Adaptation for manga is the work of massaging the text from literal correctness so that it reads like something a native English speaker would actually say. Often this involves reworking idioms and making sure that Japanese concepts and contexts are clear to readers who are unfamiliar with the culture. It also includes A LOT of converting sound effects (which in Japanese are very robust, subtle, and communicative) so they convey the right feeling to an English-speaking audience.

At this point I’ve worked on more than 200 volumes of manga. Here are some of the best known titles:

Legend of Zelda

Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Adventures

Ultraman

Gundam: Thunderbolt

Demon Slayer

Slam Dunk

Resident Evil

Record of Ragnarok"

I'm so excited that Stan! has had such an interesting career. He's not "just" a game designer with decades of experience working on D&D, Paranoia, and other games, he's a manga pro!

Also, I love Demon Slayer.

05/09/2024

I was just texting with Dragon, working up a cosplay patterning panel with him and Steven K Smith. I sent Dragon a link to Steve's YouTube channel so he could see the cool stuff Steve makes. Steve's most recent videos are of an EVA foam Starship Troopers suit he made (you can download his patterns for free).

Then it occurred to me that Dragon worked on Starship Troopers and still has some of the pieces kicking around. Years ago, when I was new to the concom, he donated a helmet from the movie that had also been used in Firefly later on.

Dragon sent me this pic from his shop where he's making a katana for a video game company. To the left of the jersey hanging on the wall? Starship Troopers suit.

One of the things I love about putting on MisCon is bringing together so many creative, positive people so we can share ideas and help energize each other.

05/08/2024

One week to Volunteer

The volunteer application closes in 1 week! Read more...

Thank you in advance for your interest in volunteering at MisCon and helping us to keep MisCon fun for all attendees. Please complete the form below and the volunteer chair will review your application and work with you to schedule what you may be best able to help with. If there are any questions,....

05/03/2024

Last Day for Early Bird Reg

For real this time! Today is your last chance to get in on Early Bird Registration. Get your order on here by midnight! Read more...

05/01/2024

Early Bird Extended!

You read that right, we're extending Early Bird Registration through May 3rd! Get your badge here: Read more...

05/01/2024

MisCon 38: the Dark Forest

Laughter through the trees, rustling leaves, then silence.

Was it a goblin? A korok? Totoro?

Mist clings to the ruins of a cottage built of gingerbread and decorated with candy, making the sun an almost-forgotten memory. It's safe enough here, I think, if the oven isn’t lit.

You’d never know this used to be a convention hotel with a nice normal park behind it.

I still remember the time before the fairies returned to claim MisCon, when sunlight was bright, days were long, and bargains didn't involve love and blood and firstborn children. Things made sense then, before trees sprouted up everywhere, twilight crept in, and geese started laying golden eggs.

Now, sprouted implies youth, but this wandering wood is ancient, much like its residents who lurk among the gnarled trunks and shiny toadstools, watching, waiting for opportunities to draw you away from the convention.

Many are friendly to humans, of course, especially MisCon attendees, but don't go getting lost down an unfamiliar leafy path. You never know what kind of strangers you’ll meet.

Why, just yesterday a rude Githyanki strode up babbling about a mind flayer ship, demanding if I knew anything about some sort of missing artifact. I told her I most certainly did not, but I gave her one of the special apples I brewed up for my pesky step-daughter.

Fairest in the land? Yuck.

Say, you haven’t seen a spoiled princess around here, have you? High-pitched screechy singing voice, really nasal? Loves birds and squirrels and fraternizes with dwarves?

Bah, nevermind. I’ll find her.

Is that a flute in the distance? An ocarina?

Over the years, MisCon has been plagued by zombies, became a ruined wasteland, ascended to the future, lost all its heroes, and leveled up. It’s been filled with doors to many times and places. Once it became a fairy tale that attracted none other than George R.R. Martin, one of the greatest wizards of our age.

This year, let's explore our fascination with forests, whether they’re deciduous, coniferous, bamboo, or fungal. They’re usually murky or forgotten. Many are enchanted refuges home to elven choirs, dwarf cottages, and unicorns, but they’re also haunted, dangerous places full of tengu, big bad wolves, dark magics, and bewitching glades.

Why do we love forests so much? Is it mere escapism or is it deeper than that? While you work on costumes, panel ideas, and game scenarios, think about classic fairy tales, fantasy epics, and things that lurk in the woods.

Will you dress as Hestu, a druid, or a gnomish mushroom seller? How about a simple woodcutter? Treebeard? Inosuke, King of the Mountain?

Work on your cosplay and prepare for the Moonlight Ball on Friday night. King Oberon promises it will outshine anything Queen Titania has planned. Even Princess Mononoke said she'd attend, and she's not much of one for parties.

If you're old enough, attend the Mead Tasting (or the Sake Tasting or the Whiskey Tasting).

As you wander around MisCon 38's Dark Forest, don't accept gifts from strangers, and be careful what you eat or drink (unless you got it from one of our food trucks parked in the glade outside).
–
Watch LOTR, Grimm, Princess Mononoke, Game of Thrones, Totoro, and read some fantasy and fairy tales to get in the mood. There are mysterious forests in just about every story, so it shouldn't be hard.

Even though we’re going forest-themed this year, you can still put on Mandalorian armor, become Space Ghost, a cyberpunk, or the Staypuft Marshmallow man. Or don't wear any costume at all (I mean, wear clothes and follow our dress code, but regardless of what you look like, let your geek flag fly).

Oh, and please leave your basket of poisoned apples at home.

MisCon 38 Guests of Honor:
Author: Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Cosplay: Steven K Smith of SKS Props
Artist: Cait May
Gaming: Jeff Grubb
Gaming Stan! Brown
Special: Paul Jenkins

Featured Professionals:
Author David Gerrold
Thinker/Writer Jim Wright of Stonekettle Station
Author/Artist: Todd Lockwood
Author Carol Berg
Special Effects Master Dragon Dronet
Artist Jeff Sturgeon
Artist Rob Carlos

04/30/2024

Early Bird Reg Closing!

Last day for Early Bird Registration! Make sure you get you professionally printed badge and full color program book! Read more...

Register for MisCon, Montana's longest running science fiction and fantasy convention, offering something for all fans of science fiction, speculative fiction, role-playing, fantasy, or horror genres. Missoula's Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention Laughter through the trees, rustling leaves, then s...

04/26/2024

28 Days left!

Only 28 days until Con and 5 more days to get in on Early Bird Registration. Check out the registration page for more details! Read more...

Register for MisCon, Montana's longest running science fiction and fantasy convention, offering something for all fans of science fiction, speculative fiction, role-playing, fantasy, or horror genres. Missoula's Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention Laughter through the trees, rustling leaves, then s...

04/10/2024

Last Day for Writer's Workshop Entries

Today is the last day to submit your manuscript entry for the Writer's Workshop! Read more...

Today is the last day to submit your manuscript entry for the Writer's Workshop! MisCon Missoula's Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention Laughter through the trees, rustling leaves, then silence. Was it a goblin? A korok? Totoro? Mist clings to the ruins of a cottage built of gingerbread and decorate...

04/08/2024

MisCon's Annual Costume Contest

MisCon's annual costume contest is coming up fast! Are you ready to have some fun and show off your hard work? Read more...

MisCon's annual costume contest is coming up fast! Are you ready to have some fun and show off your hard work? MisCon Missoula's Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention Laughter through the trees, rustling leaves, then silence. Was it a goblin? A korok? Totoro? Mist clings to the ruins of a cottage bui...

04/05/2024

MisCon 38: the Dark Forest is coming up May 24-27 in downtown Missoula. Meet authors, artists, cosplayers, game designers, comic writers, Hollywood special effects master, and many more. Check out www.miscon.org to learn more and get tickets.

MisCon is a 4-day celebration of fantasy, science fiction, and horror that takes over the Holiday Inn Missoula Downtown every Memorial Day Weekend.