A relaxacon (sometimes relaxicon) is a science fiction convention which has little formal programming and very few organized activities, as the point is that the organizers can relax during the convention.[1] Though informal, relaxacons can occur on a regularly scheduled basis, such as Arisia Inc.'s Relaxacon, which was held yearly from 2006 through 2019.[2] 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.[3]
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.[citation needed] Some large conventions use relaxacons as a reward for volunteers,[4] 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 can find off-putting.[citation needed]
The first convention that was labelled as relaxacon was Midwestcon in 1950.[citation needed] Science fiction author Jack Chalker suggested the term originated at the 1966 Midwestcon. 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."[1]
Serconedit
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.[5]
Referencesedit
^ ab"relaxacon". sfdictionary.com. The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction. from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 14 Sep 2023.
^"Relaxacon History". relaxacon.arisia.org. Arisia, Inc. from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 14 Sep 2023.
^"MCFI History". www.mcfi.org. MCFI. from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 Sep 2023.
^"Relaxacon". relaxacon.arisia.org. Arisia, Inc. from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 14 Sep 2023.
^"Dr. Gafia's Fan Terms: S,AS". fanac.org. from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
relaxacon, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september, 2023,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Relaxacon news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message A relaxacon sometimes relaxicon is a science fiction convention which has little formal programming and very few organized activities as the point is that the organizers can relax during the convention 1 Though informal relaxacons can occur on a regularly scheduled basis such as Arisia Inc s Relaxacon which was held yearly from 2006 through 2019 2 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 3 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 citation needed Some large conventions use relaxacons as a reward for volunteers 4 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 can find off putting citation needed Contents 1 History 2 Sercon 3 References 4 External linksHistory editThe first convention that was labelled as relaxacon was Midwestcon in 1950 citation needed Science fiction author Jack Chalker suggested the term originated at the 1966 Midwestcon 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 1 Sercon editRelaxacons 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 5 References edit a b relaxacon sfdictionary com The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Archived from the original on 24 March 2023 Retrieved 14 Sep 2023 Relaxacon History relaxacon arisia org Arisia Inc Archived from the original on 29 May 2023 Retrieved 14 Sep 2023 MCFI History www mcfi org MCFI Archived from the original on 26 September 2023 Retrieved 26 Sep 2023 Relaxacon relaxacon arisia org Arisia Inc Archived from the original on 26 September 2023 Retrieved 14 Sep 2023 Dr Gafia s Fan Terms S AS fanac org Archived from the original on 15 August 2018 Retrieved 15 August 2018 External links editMidwestcon The first relaxacon started in 1950 DeCONpression Ohio based relaxacon ConVersation A Michigan relaxacon CodClave NESFA s winter relaxacon Arisia Relaxacon Arisia s summer relaxacon Chambanacon Central Illinois longest running relaxacon since 1971 Fantasy Times Archive nbsp This article about science fiction conventions is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Relaxacon amp oldid 1177919219, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
