The Two Gay Geeks are pleased to bring you this official press release about CoKoCon.
We will be there at the host hotel mingling with guests, doing interviews of all kinds, and releasing our popular ConCast where we give a what’s in store for today and what did we do yesterday.
Come out and join us for some geeky nerdiness all weekend long.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below. As always, we welcome your feedback on all of our content.
CoKoCon is a traditional science fiction and fantasy convention in Phoenix, AZ. For the second anniversary CoKoCon will take place on Friday, August 30th to Monday, September 2nd, Labor Day weekend at the DoubleTree by Hilton Phoenix North.
We will be hosting an art show, dealers room, gaming room, and filk room. As with all fan based science fiction and fantasy cons there will be a ConSuite so people can relax as well as get something to eat.
Memberships for CoKoCon 2019 are currently $50 for an adult (12 and older), $25 for kids (7 – 12), and ‘kids-in-tow’ (under 7) are free (limited to two per adult member). We are capping the membership to only 500 people! So make sure you get your memberships quickly before we are sold out!
For the second year in a row we will be at the DoubleTree by Hilton Phoenix North at 10220 N Metro Parkway E., Phoenix AZ, 85051. That is by the Metrocenter Mall right off of I-17 and Peoria Ave. Rooms are $92 a night and suites are $102 per night. Please mention CoKoCon when making the reservation so you can get the correct hotel rate.
CoKoCon is proud to announce Emily Devenport as Local Author Guest of Honor, Professor Sparks as Weird Science Guest of Honor, Gilead as Artist Guest of Honor and Alexander James Adams as Filk Guest of Honor! More details can be found on our website – www.cokocon.org
Local Author Guest of Honor – Emily Devenport
We are very happy to honor Emily Devenport as our Local Author Guest of Honor. Nine of her novels were published in the U.S. by NAL/Penguin/Roc, under three pen names. She has also been published in the U.K., Italy, and Israel.
Her novels are “Shade”, “Larissa”, “Scorpianne”, “EggHeads”, “The Kronos Condition”, “GodHeads”, “Broken Time (which was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award), “Belarus”, and “Enemies. Her ebooks, “The Night Shifters” and “Spirits of Glory” are available from Amazon. Her most recent novels are from Tor: “Medusa Uploaded” and “Medusa in the Graveyard”.
Her short stories were published in Asimov’s SF Magazine, the Full Spectrum anthology, The Mammoth Book of Kaiju, Uncanny, Cicada, Science Fiction World, Alfred Hitchcock, Clarkesworld, Longshot Island and Aboriginal SF, whose readers voted her a Boomerang Award. She blogs at emsjoiedeweird.com.
Weird Science Guest of Honor – Professor Sparks
We are very happy to honor Professor Sparks as our Weird Science Guest of Honor. Professor Sparks presents unique and spectacular high voltage shows, demonstrating some of the rare and unique electrical artifacts and apparatus he has been collecting for decades.
By day a safety expert training OSHA compliance officers all across the U.S., Professor Sparks presents spectacular visual displays of high voltage arcs, sparks and bolts of electricity with a 500,000 volt Tesla coil and equipment from Ken Strickfaden’s set for the 1931 Frankenstein, including the Cosmic Ray Diffuser, the Digital Disputer and the Nebularium, not to forget the 75,000 volt lightning screen.
Artist Guest of Honor – Gilead
We are very happy to honor Gilead as our Artist Guest of Honor, kindly sponsored by LepreCon, Inc.
Growing up in the magical fairyland of Prescott, AZ – located in the Bradshaw Mountain range just west of Cimmeria, east of Barsoom and near the mines of Moria – Gilead spent his youth sketching the dragons, goblins and fairies who always surrounded him but whom, sadly, most other people couldn’t see.
He continues to travel between worlds to draw an paint on location in such places as Narnia, Hyborea, and Central Arizona, usually after convincing the most beautiful woman of those realms to take their clothes off for him. It’s a tough gig.
“Fantasy and science fiction are so strongly associated with the illustration of books that it confuses people to meet a fantasy artist who isn’t an illustrator, but I got my fill of commercial art in the sign business. My style is realism with a heavy dose of whimsy. It’s all in good fun. I don’t take myself too seriously; I just like to make cool pictures.”
Now a retired sign painter and something of an environmentalist, Gilead likes to paint on recycled materials such as lumber, cabinet doors and old signs. “What I do take seriously is the environment and ways to make it better. My current focus is mostly on the social and environmental impact of making art with recycled materials.”
Filk Guest of Honor – Alexander James Adams
We are very happy to honor Alexander James Adams as our Filk Guest of Honor, kindly sponsored by the Phoenix Filk Circle.
A professional musician of over forty years, Alec has always used magic in his performances to transform and inspire his listeners into states of being and realms of desire that leave them changed for the better. Using stories and songs of Antiquity, he creates places where the audience can find unspoken secrets and address them with new inspiration.
With twenty albums, a few spoken word stories and many collaborations with other musicians, Alexander applies transformational magic to his music in hopes of changing things that need to be changed.
Heir to the music legend of Heather Alexander, Alec performs her music, and his own with a style that goes beyond reality and into the imagined.
Other Activities at CoKoCon
Art Show: We will be hosting an Art Show during CoKoCon 2019. A commission of 15% on all art sales from the art will go to the convention. For sales of multiple prints of artists’ more popular works, we will be offering a Print Shop. There is no print shop fee for artists who purchase a panel space in the show. If a panel space is not purchased, a $5 print shop fee will be charged. An 18% commission will be taken on all print shop sales. Please remember CoKoCon is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror convention all art displayed should adhere to that subject matter and theme.
Panels:CoKoCon will fill two panel rooms with programming throughout the convention, along with dedicated rooms for gaming, workshops and other programming. A further larger room will be used for events.
Our mobile-friendly programming grid is live but won’t populate for the most part until a month or two out from con.
Workshops:We’ll be hosting a number of special events at CoKoCon, including many that are traditional to phandom, and ALL of them are FREE with your membership. Note: workshops may have a token charge to cover materials.
If you have any questions, please contact Dee Astell at programming@cokocon.org.
Apocalypse Later Roadshow
The Apocalypse Later Roadshow is a mini-film festival hosted by Hal C. F. Astell of Apocalypse Later. He’ll present a curated 90 minute set of quality international short sf/f films on opening night, many of which are still working their way through the festival circuit.
The Apocalypse Later Roadshow began at LepreCon 39 in 2013 and has spread to a variety of conventions across the southwest. This will be Roadshow #37.
At The Movies:At the Movies is a favorite local fandom panel where you will get a sneak peak at trailers for some exciting upcoming movies. After the trailer presentation we will hold a free raffle for movie promotional material (T-shirts, baseball caps, special posters and whatever else the studios have sent us). If you like movies and like free stuff please come on in.
At the Movies has been a mainstay of the Phoenix con scene for decades, initially run by Barry Bard and, in recent years, by Len Berger.
CoKoCon will also feature a special 18+ version of At the Movies, where Len will give you a sneak peek at Red Band trailers for upcoming indie movies, with the more blood and gore the better.
Book Discussion
Michael Senft, who runs the Sci-Fridays Book Club at the Poisoned Pen, will be leading a discussion on All Systems Red by Martha Wells. Read or listen to it ahead of the event or come in blind, but beware of spoilers!
CoKoCon Gives Back
Charity and Charity Auction: We are pleased to announce that our charity for this year’s con is Y-Achievers! Y-Achievers is a YMCA workforce program for disadvantaged young adults.
The Charity Auction is a live auction that’s open to all CoKoCon members. We guarantee that everyone who shows up will have a good time and plenty of opportunity to bid on and take home cool stuff. 100% of the funds raised at the Charity Auction will go to Y-Achievers.
Book Drive: Children First Academy is a charter school with a goal to provide services directed toward poverty-level and homeless children in grades K-8. Their buses drive 450 miles each day all over the Phoenix Valley and the school provides services that go beyond the responsibilities of regular schools by providing the children and their families with services such as medical and dental assistance; clothing including socks and shoes; food; personal hygiene supplies; and school supplies.
Food Drive: Joshua Tree Feeding Program (JTFP) is a 501(c)3 non-profit food pantry for the HIV/AIDS Community for Maricopa and Pinal counties. JTFP is a social, supportive and welcoming place for persons living with HIV/AIDS. JTFP offers a safe and comforting environment for sharing empathetic conversation, receiving relevant health and nutritional guidance. JTFP offers a place where you can select from a wide assortment of nutritional foods to take home.
Thanks for visiting. Let us know what you think.