10/17/2024
We’re excited to announce that MisCon is moving in 2025!
Kick off the Summer Solstice with us at the Missoula County Fairgrounds at MisCon 39: Hive of Scum and Villainy June 20-23, 2025.
While we loved being downtown, we outgrew the Holiday Inn a while ago and were always trying to figure out better ways to use every bit of available space. It worked, but between hotel construction plans and our continued growth, we needed to move to something bigger and better.
The Fairgrounds has been recently upgraded and remodeled into a nice event center that will perfectly suit the convention. We’re going from around 15,000 square feet of indoor space at the Holiday Inn to 30,000 sf plus the Glacier Ice Rink’s 18,000 sf. It’s also got acres of outdoor space where we’ll set up programming tents, picnic tables, a cosplay hangout pavilion, outdoor vendors, food trucks, and picnic areas.
We think the Fairgrounds is going to be a huge upgrade in just about every way except for the convenience of having a hotel on-site. Luckily there are many AirBnB/VRBO options around Missoula, and there are a bunch of hotels within easy reach. The fairgrounds is also ADA compliant/accessible, and it has tons of parking, which will be a nice change.
Given that it’s more spread out, we’re going to have staff with golf carts on hand to help people get where they need to go.
We’re still working on how exactly we’re going to use the fairgrounds, but the Culinary Arts building will be a centralized hangout area/bar surrounded by programming tents, food trucks, picnic tables, and outdoor vendors.
The main floor of the gigantic Commercial Building will be home to vendors, MisCon Registration, and MisCon Merchandise, while our Art Gallery will occupy the balcony overlooking the vendors below. It’s much larger than the old art room and has room to grow.
Gaming is taking over the Home Arts building next to the Butterfly House. It’s the most modernized building on the grounds, with its own kitchen and nicer bathrooms. It’s a great place to play an RPG for hours, and we’re going to stick food trucks and a picnic area right outside the door so gamers can stay there the whole time if they want.
We’re still working out details for our Cosplay-specific areas, but the Bingo Pavilion will be a Cosplay hangout/programming area, and we’re going to use part of the VIP Lounge as a Cosplay changing/repair area.
While we won’t have a hotel on-site, we’re setting up a dry campground in the huge lot just outside the arena. We’re still working on putting together campground details, but they’ll be available soon. Sites will be available by reservation on our website.
We know this is a big change in both time and place, and while it hasn’t exactly been a secret, most interested people probably haven’t heard much about it.
Our goal is to keep MisCon exactly what it has always been—a fun family reunion where like-minded science fiction, fantasy, horror, anime, gaming, and cosplay fans can get together with experts in their fields and hang out. We’re going to do all the same things we usually do, but with a bit more freedom.
We can have fire performances, can go 24 hours/day wherever we want, can have barbecues, etc. In fact, people can bring whatever food they want and can even set up their own picnic spots in our designated areas.
We've got an FAQ going on the website, which I'll link in the comments.
We welcome ideas, feedback, and can always use more help in putting everything together. You can reach us here and through the website.
You can check out the Fairgounds website here:
There is always something going on at the Missoula County Fairgrounds! The Fairgrounds has a variety of spaces to accommodate a few people or a few hundred. From wedding receptions to holiday parties, and fundraisers to trade shows, the Fairgrounds is the perfect place to host your next event! View
