Salt Lake Comic Con is a biannual comic book convention held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is produced by Dan Farr Productions in partnership with MediaOne of Utah. The first convention took place at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. The second event was called Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience and took place on April 17â€"19, 2014. The third event, Salt Lake Comic Con 2014, took place on September 4â€"6, 2014. The event was sold out with over 120,000 attendees and was closed down on several occasions by the fire marshal for safety reasons. The fourth event, the second annual FanXperience, was called Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience 2015 and took place on January 29â€"31, 2015. Ticket sales were capped at 50,000, with attendance measuring just above that, ensuring a more "streamlined" event. The fifth event, Salt Lake Comic Con 2015, is scheduled to take place on September 24â€"26, 2015.
History
The first Salt Lake Comic Con was held September 5â€"7, 2013 and was produced by Dan Farr Productions. Originally, it was planned to be held at the South Town Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah, but due to high ticket sales, it was moved to the Salt Palace Convention Center. Ticket sales continued to increase especially after announcements of special guests like Adam West, William Shatner, and Stan Lee.
On Saturday, September 7, 2013, over 70,000 people attended with ticket sales that exceeded 50,000. Celebrities and organizers including Kevin Sorbo, Lou Ferrigno, Claire Coffee, Dan Farr, and Bryan Brandenburg were invited to meet with Governor Gary Herbert. The attendance made the 2013 Salt Lake Comic Con the largest inaugural Comic Con in North America and the largest convention ever held in Salt Lake City. According to Salt Lake Comic Con officials, between 70,000 and 80,000 people attended on Saturday before tickets sold out.
Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience, the first of two Salt Lake Comic Con events in 2014, took place on April 17â€"19, 2014. Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience was attended by over 100,000 people, breaking Salt Lake Comic Con 2013's own attendance records and making it the third largest Comic Con event in the United States and the largest per-capita comic con event in North America. Special guests included Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Chandler Riggs, Adam Baldwin, Karl Urban, Nathan Fillion, Jason David Frank, Karen Gillan, Billy Dee Williams, Jonathan Frakes and Edward James Olmos.
On July 25, 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International sent Salt Lake Comic Con a cease and desist letter over the use of the word "Comic Con." Salt Lake Comic Con organizers responded to this stating that San Diego Comic-Con International threatening Salt Lake Comic Con could lead to other "Comic Cons" being affected. Salt Lake Comic Con responded with a press release citing their legal position and unwillingness to comply to the cease and desist letter.
Salt Lake Comic Con 2014, the second Salt Lake Comic Con event in 2014, took place on September 4â€"6, 2014. The event was sold out with over 120,000 attendees and was closed down on several occasions by the fire marshall for safety reasons. Salt Lake Comic Con broke its own record as the best-attended convention in Utah and the largest per-capita comic con in North America. Special guests included Stan Lee, Leonard Nimoy (via Skype), Stephen Amell, Manu Bennett, John Barrowman, Ron Perlman, Bruce Campbell, Alan Tudyk, Eliza Dushku, Simon Helberg, Lou Ferrigno, Barbara Eden, Danny Glover, Jon Heder and over 100 other guests.
Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience 2015, the first of two Salt Lake Comic Con events scheduled for 2015 (the other being the third annual Salt Lake Comic Con 2015 in September 2015), took place on January 29-31, 2015. This was the first Salt Lake Comic Con event to take place during the winter months in Utah, as previous events have taken place in either April or September. Salt Lake Comic Con also "utilized RFID technology to fast track registration and access to the show". Special Guests included Matt Smith, Carrie Fisher, Christopher Lloyd Felicia Day, Steven Yeun, Emily Kinney, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Nichelle Nichols, Ray Park, Brandon Routh, Paul Wesley, Tom Felton and many more celebrities from the worlds of film, television, comic books and literature.
Salt Lake Comic Con 2015, the third annual Salt Lake Comic Con event, is scheduled for September 24-26, 2015. Salt Lake Comic Con co-founders Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg intend for the event to be "bigger and better than ever". The event will utilize the entire Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City and will expand the popular "KidCon" section with more kid and family friendly booths, displays, panels and activities. Speaking about the event, Brandenburg also stated that "the real depth of this event is the myriad of features, cosplayers, parties, panels and entertainment that will engage and captivate our fans for three solid days." Special Guests will include Ian Somerhalder, Alex Kingston, Sean Astin Scott Wilson, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Robbie Amell, Austin St. John, Joel Hodgson, Jim Butcher, James Dashner, Terry Brooks, Richard Paul Evans, Kevin Hearne with at least 200 more celebrities from the worlds of film, television, comic books and literature to be announced.
Dates, Locations, and Notable Guests
See also
- Fandom
- Science fiction convention
- Comic Art Convention
References
External links
- Official website
