CONfabulation
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| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | CONfabulation |
| Dates: | 2017-onwards |
| Frequency: | Annual |
| Location: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Type: | Fan-run Media Con/Fan Con |
| Focus: | 2017-onwards (Multi-fandom). |
| Organization: | Winconferences, LLC |
| Founder: | Cee_M |
| Founding Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | CONfabulation Official Website CONfabulation Official Twitter |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Called CONfabcon or CONfab for short. Twitter hashtag is #confabcon. Not to be confused with non-fandom entity Confab Events (twitter hashtag #confab).
CONfabulation is a by-the-fans, for-the-fans operation. It's goal is to provide an annual multi-fandom gathering for fans and provide a safer space for women, queer people, people of color, and under-represented fans of popular media and culture in all its infinite varieties to come and meet, hang out, discuss their fandoms, the fic written about them, the fanart made for them, and have a good time.
"It's the best parts of the internet come to life. It's a place where you can be yourself and feel comfortable in all your geeky glory. No official personnel from any show or fandom is affiliated with this convention, nor will there be any appearances by any show actors, celebrities, writers, or other personnel. It’s all about us, the fans, and the way we express ourselves and our love for fandom."
CONfabulation is an adult-only (18+) convention and continues in the tradition of its parent convention, Wincon. Wincon ended its ten year run in 2015, when it was rebranded as CONfabulation. The name was chosen because the definition of 'confabulation' (a memory error defined as the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world) was reminiscent of the fan experience, like when fandom and canon mix and fans can have trouble remembering if an scene happened in a fanfic or if it happened in the show/movie/book.
Venues
First CONfabulation 2017 - May 25-28, 2017 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Chicago CONfabulation 2018 - October 25-28, 2018 - Chicago, Illinois.
Chicago CONfabulation 2019 - September 26-29, 2019 - Chicago, Illinois.
First Virtual CONfabulation 2020 - November 6-8, 2020 - Virtual.
Virtual CONfabulation 2021 – October 22-24, 2021 – Virtual.
Virtual CONfabulation 2022 – October 21-23, 2022 – Virtual.
Virtual CONfabulation 2023 – April 29-30, 2023 – Virtual.
Chicago CONfabulation 2023 – October 19-22, 2023 – Chicago, Illinois.
Chicago CONfabulation 2024 – October TBA, 2024 – Chicago, Illinois.
Reoccurring CONfabulation Events
- Thursday Meet & Greet - Located in the Fandom Lounge room. Great chance for new attendees to get the lay of the land and meet new people, and for repeat attendees to reunite with old friends!
- Plushie Workshop - Hosted by Bryn (brynspikess) and She!Sam (youngloveleroy). For the entire convention a table is laid out with a range of plushie-making supplies: felt, fabric, stuffing, needles, thread, buttons, pins, etc. The table also includes printed instructions for designing plushie clothing (pdfs of the instructions are available online). Ziplock bags are available for attendees to store their selected supplies in (and to write their name, phone, and room numbers on in case the bag goes missing). Attendees are encouraged to come and go during the weekend - Bryn and She!Sam are near the table during certain schedule slots to assist and provide sewing advice, but can also be flagged down or reached via Twitter anytime during the weekend. All supplies are provided by Bryn and are free to attendees!
- Fandom Trivia - Started in 2017, this trivia contest hosted by GirlPhenom was a hit and immediately became a staple of CONfabulation! Participants form groups, which then compete to have the most correct answers per round. Questions come in a variety of forms (Name-that-actor, complete-the-lyric, etc.) and cover a multitude of fandoms. Groups are also judged on their chosen group name, with puns earning extra points.
- Fanfic Madlibs - Attendees are given a chance to participate with filling in prompts. These stories are read aloud. Replaced Badfic Idol.
- Dance Party - The Dance Party typically consists of several round tables (for sitting and conversing) circling a central dance floor, the awesome Cathybites serving as DJ, and is decorated to fit the chosen theme of that year. Light snacks are included and a cash bar is usually available. There is no set dress code - attendees often will wear anything from semi-formal dresses to elaborate costumes, however attendees are also welcome to come dressed in normal street clothes or pajamas. The Dance Party often ends in group hugs and crying, and the attendees will sing along to the last song of the night. (2017-2019 the last song was "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. 2023 the last song was "Raise Your Glass" by P!nk.)
- Straggler's Dinner - Sunday night. Location to-be-determined, but anyone who is still around is welcome to join. Pay-your-own-meal, and enjoy spending a little more time with other attendees who can't bear to say goodbye just quite yet.
Retired CONfabulation Events
- Badfic Idol - Attendees are given a chance to write and submit short fanfics that are purposefully written badly. These stories are read aloud in front of a panel of judges who take turns critiquing it. A winner is chosen and the author receives a prize. Retired in 2023, replaced by Fanfic Madlibs.
CONfabulation Customs
- Badges - CONfabulation badges are issued upon check-in with the attendee's swag bag. Badges hang on a lanyard around the neck, and list both the attendee's online handle and the name the attendee prefers to be called. This makes it easier for attendees to exchange their online handles to keep in touch (since they can just hold up their badge when asked how to spell their username). Attendees are encouraged to decorate their badges, but it is not required. There is also a "My Pronouns:" section with a blank for attendees to write in the pronouns they identify with. Badges are required to be worn in all convention spaces.
- Alumni Pins - Each year a pin is handed out to the attendees of that year's con, designed uniquely for that year. It is each attendee's responsibility to hold onto their buttons from previous years - only the current year's button will be available at each convention. It is encouraged but not mandatory for repeat attendees to wear all of their buttons on their lanyard.
- Stickers - Every year in the Fandom Lounge, there is a table full of stickers that is available for attendees to sift through. It is traditional for attendees to decorate their badges as well as the cups from their swag bags with whatever stickers they like to make them unique and easily identifiable, including using alphabet stickers to spell their names on the cups.
- Charity Raffle - Each year the convention holds a raffle to give back to the community. A local charity is chosen and announced prior to the convention. 50% of the proceeds from the raffle go to the charity after the convention closes (the other 50% goes towards the cost of running the convention). CONfabulation focuses on charities that support women, POC, and/or LGBTQIA+, and is open to suggestions. Past charities they have donated to include: Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania (2017), Center on Halsted (2018), Howard Brown Health (2019), Brave Space Alliance (2023). The raffle items are all donated by attendees and range anywhere from handmade items to official merchandise, and often include items like scarves, gloves, charm bracelets, swag from other conventions, DVDs, fandom t-shirts, tea mixes, posters, books, art drawn by CONfabulation attendees, as well as other fandom-centric, female-positive, and/or LGBT-positive creations. Every convention attendee gets one ticket in their swag bag, with additional tickets available to purchase for $1 each. The items are displayed throughout the convention, and the raffle winners are drawn and announced on Saturday during the dance party.
- Overheard At CONfabcon - Traditionally, overheard snippits of weird and wacky conversations will end up on Twitter. There is no official hashtag, but most tweets contain "#confabcon" or "@confabcon". (Not to be confused with non-fandom entity Confab Events whose twitter hashtag is #confab)
First CONfabulation 2017
CONfabulation 2017 Alumni pin
CONfabulation 2017 attendee name badges. Decorated with stickers from the Fandom Lounge.
CONfabulation 2017 swag pen, included in swag bag
The First CONfabulation was held May 25-28, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was located at Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, 112 Washington Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15219.
- Attendee Swag Bag: The backpack was purple with the CONfabulation logo printed on it in black.
- It included a green plastic cup, a purple pen, glowstick bracelets, and candy.
- Also included program and alumni pin.
- CONfabulation's official colors this year were Green, Purple, and Gold.
- The dance party theme was Masquerade.
- The charity raffle raised $580 for Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania.
- Fandom Trivia - The winning team this year was "Otter Space Squad" with 48 points. Runners-up were "One for the Money Shot" with 41 points, "Hot Crossed Gender Roles" with 39 points, and "2Post2Modern" with 37 points.
- Bad Fic Idol - The winner this year was "The Existensial Primary Struggle Against The Patriarchy: A Study" by clex_monkie89.
- The vendor section of the Fandom Lounge hosted: poorlyformed: art by CS Smith, Sarah What illustration, Lacey Shreffler, Richelle's Therapy, Nightengale Needles, IanSharpley, veep illustration
2017 CONfabulation Con Committee
Bryn (Brynspikess): Chair of Public Relations
Clex (clex_monkie89): Chair of Attendee Affairs
Emily (scarylullabies): HR Coordinator
Jess (ofjustimagine): Social Media Coordinator
Laura (chaneen): Chair of Programming
GirlPhenom: Chair of Logistics
Lisa (lisaradgirl): Special Events Coordinator
Mary (ro_mm_ck/cee_m): Team Leader
Mel (jane_anon): Panel/Workshop Coordinator
She!Sam (youngloveleroy): Raffle Coordinator
Special Thanks:
Cathy (stupidlullabies): CONfab Hero
2017 CONfabulation Panels/Programming
Programming items typically run 50 minutes with 10 minute breaks in between in order to allow time for participants to chat or visit the restroom, with enough time for them to make it to the next item or panel that they’d like to see. There is also an hour-long break for lunch.
Programming items are divided into three tracks (Panels, Small Panels & Workshops, and Roundtables) with a room dedicated to each track. There was also a Quiet & Crafty room for additional workshops.
Thursday, May 25th
- 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Meet & Greet.
- 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Fandom Speed Dating - Come share a 1-minute ad for your favorite fandom or get crowdsourced recs. Big, small, books, movies, comics, celebrities, video games...anything! Panelists: goseaward
Friday, May 26th
Friday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:30 am - 10:50 am - Opening Ceremonies
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 20 Years Later - On March 10, 1997, a new teen drama aired on the WB. Let's discuss favorite bits and least favorite bits, and how Buffy has affected our lives. Panelists: Wick Lobo, brynspikess
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Historically (In)accurate: Fans, fics, and history - Let's talk about researching and rewriting history! Our panelists will present on WWII and medieval history, then open for discussion of any period. Panelists: Megan Genovese, schisty
- 02:00 pm - 02:50 pm - Ohana Means Family - Not all families are bound by blood. Let's discuss our favorite found families, tropes, origin stories, and what makes found families so compelling! Panelists: GirlPhenom, pryxis
- 03:00 pm - 03:50 pm - A Galaxy Far, Far Away - Star Wars canon is coming thick and fast at the moment, and there's a lot to talk about! Long-time fans and brand new ones are welcome. Panelists: becka, balefully
- 04:00 pm - 04:55 pm - First In Person CONfabulation Vid Show - An hour of new vids (some never before seen!) in a variety of fandoms.
Friday Track 2: Small Panels & Workshops:
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Dress Like A Woman (With The Blood Of Your Enemies Gracing Your Lips): Part I - Makeup Q&A, techniques, trends, tutorials, and lots of reinforcing that there's no wrong way to do makeup, so long as you like the end results. Panelists: clex_monkie89
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Baby's First Vid - Have you wanted to make a fan vid but were lost as to where to start? We're going to have a basic workshop on placing clips/songs, some editing tips, and Q&A. Panelists: RO_mm_CK
- 02:00 pm - 02:50 pm - Forgive Me Word Count, For I Have Sinned - If you're a writer, you've met the Writer's Block. We'll discuss what it is, what causes it, and ways to cope with it and the ensuing depression. Panelists: tsukinofaerii, clex_monkie89, dimeliora
- 03:00 pm - 03:50 pm - The Post Audiofic Archive Life - Where does podfic fandom stand after the lost backups of the Audiofic Archive? What should we be focusing on and doing? What are you working on/excited about?! Panelists: ofjustimagine
Friday Track 3: Roundtables:
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - NINE-NINE!!! - A Discussion (and Celebration) of the Best Comedy on TV - Come join us for an in-depth discussion of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Panelists: stupidlullabies
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries - Badass ladies in 1920s Melbourne solving murders and looking impeccable whilst doing so. Let's talk about how great this show is and how much we need a S4. Panelists: chaneen, oftenadamanta
- 02:00 pm - 02:50 pm - Slapshots and Stick Saves and Things Like Chemistry - The long summer hiatus is about to begin. How's the expansion draft looking for your team? Who's already on a great Instagram vacation? Just who is the #BestKessel? (We all know it's Amanda.) Panelists: ofjustimagine, celli
- 03:00 pm - 03:50 pm - You Can Certianly Try - All things Critical Role! Bring your questions, your theories, and your love of Vox Machina. We'll also talk D&D so bring your character sheets and roll for initiative! Panelists: ratherastory
Friday Track 4: Quiet & Crafty:
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Open for crafts and quiet time
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Plushie Workshop - the Plushie!Phoenix rises again! Part 1 - Learn how to make your own plushie! Bryn & She!Sam will be available to answer questions and offer advice to beginner sewers. Supplies are free! Panelists: brynspikess, youngloveleroy
- 02:00 pm - 03:50 pm - Open for crafts and quiet time
Friday Evening Events:
- 8:00 pm - 1:00 am - Masquerade. Join us for an evening of mystery and enchantment. Enjoy drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and dancing! From casual to formal, from festive to cosplay, all attire is welcome.
Saturday, May 27th
Saturday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - Female Characters: From Action Girl to Wrench Wench - Good and bad, heroes and villains, past, present and future - let's talk about the ladies! Panelists: Megan Genovese
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Book Recs for the People - We'll exchange works by and about women, POC, queer folks, disabled folks, and more. Come share your fave titles, and leave with a diverse rec list! Panelists: GirlPhenom
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - The Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Good, The Bad, and Your Problematic Faves - Let's talk about the first almost-decade of the MCU in both movies and TV, from genuine faves to problematic faves to things we wish they'd never done. Panelists: chaneen, ratherastory, schisty, stupidlullabies
- 02:00 pm - 02:50 pm - OT3: A Love Story - Join us to discuss our favorite OT3s, why they’re better than ship wars and love triangles, and how they can improve diversity in our fandoms! Panelists: oftenadamanta, acidquill, chaneen
- 03:00 pm - 03:50 pm - Fandom as Genre OR Our Tropes, Ourselves - Fandom is a community, but is it also a genre? We'll talk about fandom tropes, fanfic genre expectations, and just what makes fanworks so special. Panelists: ifshehadwings
Saturday Track 2: Small Panels & Workshops:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - Disability in Media - Disabled characters (and the lack thereof) in media, fic, and fandom. Panelists: clex_monkie89, Hannah Orlove
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Invisible Unicorns: The Trifecta of Magical Orientations - Bisexuality, Asexuality, Pansexuality. Fandom experience and media representation of those orientations everyone likes to pretend don't exist. Panelists: ifshehadwings, tsukinofaerii, clex_monkie89
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Classic Ships - Know your history: how have classic ships shaped fandom? What can they tell us about ourselves? How has fandom changed and stayed the same? Panelists: Megan Genovese
- 02:00 pm - 02:50 pm - A/B/OMG - We'll discuss history, what you like about A/B/O, favorite fics, wish lists, and lots of other stuff relating to this unique fandom genre! Panelists: goseaward, ofjustimagine, RO_mm_CK
- 03:00 pm - 03:50 pm - Screening and Production of Banner's Predicament - After screening Banner's Predicament, this session will chronicle our experience and teach valuable lessons for producing your own FanFilm! Panelists: David Banner
Saturday Track 3: Roundtables:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - whatmakesyouhaha.mp3 - Do you like One Direction and suffering? But I repeat myself. A hiatus support group to discuss what the hell children have been up to lately. Panelists: ifshehadwings, goseaward
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Totally 80's Toons - Let's talk the 80s! Cartoons - the ones driven by toys, and the ones making comebacks in other media. Panelists: schisty
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Magic Comes From Pain - The Magicians is hitting its stride in S2. From Fillory Clinton to stuff touchers to Best Bitches, there's lots to talk about! Panelists: exsequar
- 02:00 pm - 02:50 pm - Harry Styles: Past, Present, and Future - Come chat about the life and times of our favorite flower child: his solo album, Dunkirk, and whatever else his future might have in store! Panelists: GirlPhenom
- 03:00 pm - 03:50 pm - Talents & Dragons - Anne McCaffrey - 20+ books on dragons, 8 books on parapsychic talent. Let's talk what we love about the series and how you would fan fic the stories better. Panelists: schisty
Saturday Track 4: Quiet & Crafty:
- 10:00 am - 11:50 am - Open for crafts and quiet time
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Plushie Workshop - the Plushie!Phoenix rises again! Part 2 - Learn how to make your own plushie! Bryn & She!Sam will be available to answer questions and offer advice to beginner sewers. Supplies are free! Panelists: brynspikess, youngloveleroy
- 02:00 pm - 02:50 pm - Open for crafts and quiet time
- 03:00 pm - 03:50 pm - Stitch 'n Bitch - Bring your projects and hang out while we talk about our favorite nerdy crafts, share expertise, and dish about our favorite CONfab programs! Panelists: oftenadamanta
- 04:00 pm - 08:50 pm - Open for crafts and quiet time
Saturday Afternoon/Evening Events:
- 04:00 pm - 04:30 pm - CONfab In Person Raffle - Come find out what wonderful things you have won!!! All of these fandom treasures have to find a home and it MAY BE YOU!!
- 07:30 pm - 08:50 pm - Fandom Trivia - Show off your fannish brains! Star Wars, hockey, Buffy, Harry Potter... anything goes. Host: GirlPhenom
- 09:00 pm - ?? - Badfic Idol - Get ready for dramatic readings of tentacles, magic fairy princes, and the beauty of everything being so wrong. Write a story either by yourself or with friends. It can be from any fandom/genre. Fics can't be longer than 400 words. All works due by 7:30pm on Saturday; just put your masterpiece in the box marked "Badfic Idol" in the Fandom Lounge, or email it to [email protected] with the subject line "Badfic Idol Submissions". Winner enjoys an awesome/random prize!! Host: RO_mm_CK. Judges: gigglingkat, dimeliora.
Sunday, May 28th
Sunday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - The State of Fandom - Fandom is amorphous, adapting to fit changing platforms and times. From fanfiction.net to AO3, from LJ to Tumblr - what's the state of fandom today? Panelists: exsequar, celli
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Hamilton: Who Tells Your Story? - We'll be talking about history, race, queerness, and politics in Hamilton, media coverage of the play, and its fandom. Panelists: Megan Genovese
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Family Affairs: Reading and Writing Incest in Fandom - Looking for that Folgers feeling all year long? Let's talk fandom's varying attitudes towards incest fic and which incest ships are dearest to your heart. Panelists: becka, ifshehadwings, ofjustimagine
- 01:00 pm - 01:50 pm - Closing Ceremonies
Sunday Track 2: Small Panels & Workshops:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - Dress Like A Woman (With The Blood Of Your Enemies Gracing Your Lips): Part II - Makeup Q&A, techniques, trends, tutorials, and lots of reinforcing that there's no wrong way to do makeup, so long as you like the end results. Panelists: clex_monkie89
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Magical Realism & Soulmate AUs - the Good, the Bad, and the Wince-Worthy - What is Magical Realism? What are the pros and cons to a Soulmate AU? Why are we so invested in seeing two (or more) idiots fated to fall in love? Panelists: brynspikess, clex_monkie89
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Femslash - I know this may come as a shock, but sometimes fandom can be all about the (white) dudes. Let's take a break from that and talk about ladies loving ladies. Panelists: stupidlullabies
Sunday Track 3: Roundtables:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - #justiceforbarb - Stranger Things - Let's discuss everything you loved in S1 (the characters! the Stephen King-esque vibe! all the 80s pop-culture references!) and what you're excited about for S2. Panelists: chaneen
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Born to Make History - Can you feel ... my heart beat? Are you anime figure skating trash? Come discuss/cry over Yuri!!! on Ice and how it's ruined all our lives. Panelists: ifshehadwings
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Watney Watch: Special Edition - Come and discuss The Martian! We'll trade tips and tricks for writing realistic science, boners in space, and Mark Watney's special brand of humor. Panelists: oftenadamanta
Sunday Evening Events:
- 7:00 pm - 11:59 pm - Straggler's Dinner. Pizza and a movie in the Fandom Lounge (movie ended up being "The Martian").
2017 CONfabulation Vid Show
Click here to see the 2017 Vid Show playlist.
2017 CONfabulation Convention Reports
- CONfabulation 2017 by KateKintail
- prepare for a thread abt @ConFabCon by sophie_448
- #confabcon write-up by scary_lullabies
- ConFabCon 2017 by hannah
- "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 20 Years Later" Survey Results! by brynspikess
Overheard at CONfabulation 2017
Collected from Twitter.
- "...welcome to #ConFabCon, this is not a place for shame."
- #confabcon "No, Pissy, the heterosexual barrier is NOT knotting!"
- "What are we doing? Cards Against Humanity?" "No, were having an orgy" "... but that's a completely different outfit" #ConFabCon
- "Marvel has not been very good at doing the emotional work in their movies." "We do it for them" #confabcon
- "YOU get a tragic backstory! And YOU get a tragic backstory!" #confabcon
- "and then there's an emoji heart." #confabcon #badficidol
- "That isn't locked shouldn't it be?" "What isn't locked?" "nothing" (Certainly not the door labeled restricted access) #ConFabCon
- "Can't we just be best friends even though we sometimes punch each other?" "Sometimes that's just how you show that you care!" #CONfabcon
- "Is she going to fuck the horse? I think she's going to fuck the horse!" Does it count as overheard at #ConFabCon if we're in the car home?
- "If all of the men are off together, some of them are gonna be fucking." #CONfabcon
- "but what kind of lipstick should you use if you want to make the penises kiss?" #confabcon
- "He's a dumpster fire with a heart of gold." #CONfabcon
- "There's desperation and large object body penetration and that's all I want." #CONfabcon
- ""Body language"" there are two quotes because air quotes. #ConFabCon
- "I generally gloss over porn. You know, it's just tab A, slot B. Or sometimes tab B, slot A. But...heh, butt." #ConFabCon
- "How's the fic quality?" "Well it's not on AO3. Let's put it that way." #confabcon
- "And then he goes into a murderous rage ... I know, feelings, right?" #confabcon
- "He'll be back, and then he'll bone his sister, like he should!" #confabcon
- "Wow, they've been here since it was black and white." #confabcon
- "This is my budget Apple Watch." *talking about having a phone on her boobs. #CONfabcon
- "You don't have to do anything in there. Bring your knitting!!" #CONfabcon
- "Your tombstone is going to say 'No judgement' on it." #CONfabcon
- "It only takes a minute to become vampires." #ConFabCon
- raptor jesus i am being coopted into hockey fic #confabcon
- "Batman doesn't use lipstick; it leaves evidence!" #OHatconfabcon #confabcon
- Abracaducken: newest word born in Pittsburgh (6yos are the greatest) #confabcon
- "How is Mark Watney eating better than us?" #ConFabCon #dinnerandaMartian
- "I don't think fanpeople know how to lie about chocolate, really." #Confabcon
- A scientist is always fine. #TheMartian
- "How do we feel about Thor's new hair?" "It's okay. I think it's gonna get cut on screen." "NO, YOU TAKE THAT BACK." #ConFabCon
- "I'm always a pretty princess" --Batman, absolutely canonically 😂😂#ficrec
- "It's been seven days since I ran out of ketchup." Mark Watney is a man after my own heart #confabcon
- "We are often interrupted by the cunnilingus." #confabcon
- "That man was the worst. He was like moldy tofu in human form." Overheard @ConFabCon
- "I may or may not be writing a fic that is several years in the making-" "Oh yeah, you should finish that." Overheard @ConFabCon
- "Now you're just blowjob guy forever!" #confabcon
- "Okay... the taste of poor choices in my mouth." #CONfabcon
- "Oh, like gen fic?" "...from what I remember, it was gen..." #CONfabcon
- "So I was raised not a dick so I think some" #confabcon
- Robots are taking over our fanfic jobs and I do not approve!!! #ConFabCon
- Fucking Kevin. Fucking otters. #confabcon
- "If I'm ever that heterosexual, just shoot me." #ConFabCon
- It's not non consensual but ... it ... look the point is he has really adorable baby now ok? #ConFabCon
- "I can't see through time enough" #ConFabCon
- "Coca-cola is an invisible fandom in Pittsburgh." #CONfabcon
- "You can't do anything right, you have to just roll around in rags." #CONfabcon
- "All of Jupiter? It's really big." #CONfabcon
- "I gotta find someone to arm wrestle me..." #CONfabcon
- "What if I just eat cheetos until the razors arrive?" #CONfabcon
- "You get a tragic backstory and you get a tragic backstory.... check under your chairs." #CONfabcon
- "Have we had the talk? The licking things talk?" #ConFabCon
- There's incest at noon. #overheardatconfab #okaytechnicallytheconcomm
- "Zack is like the bandom Dana!" #ConFabCon
- "In your OTP who is the contractor and who is the real estate agent?" #seriousquestions #confabcon
- "Fuck yeah, synergy!" #roundtable #confabcon
Chicago CONfabulation 2018
CONfabulation 2018 Alumni pin, art by Cathybites
CONfabulation 2018 attendee name badges. Front and back decorated with stickers from the Fandom Lounge.
Swag bag given to attendees of the 2018 convention.
Pumpkin and Cauldron mini buckets; a random one was in each swag bag.
Green, Purple, Pink, and Orange neon Vampire Teeth; a random one was in each swag bag.
Monster Teeth, Eyeballs, Witches, Mummies, and Skeletons; a random wind-up toy was in each swag bag.
Skeleton Army mini figurines; a random one was in each swag bag.
Chicago CONfabulation 2018 was held October 25-28, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. It was located at SpringHill Suites Chicago O’Hare, 8101 West Higgins Road, Chicago, Illinois, 60631.
- Attendee Swag Bag: The bag was orange with a black pocket and the CONfabulation logo printed on it in orange.
- It included a plastic cup w/orange logo and black lid, and a black & orange pen with stylus tip.
- Each bag had a mini candy bucket, neon vampire teeth, a wind-up toy, a skeleton army figurine, black bottle of bubbles, and Halloween stickers.
- Also included program and alumni pin.
- CONfabulation's official colors this year were Black and Orange.
- The dance party theme was Halloween, a.k.a. The Nightmare Before CONfab.
- Cathybites was unable to attend this year as DJ, so the dance party music was opened to requests from attendees prior to con, and a playlist was arranged by Mary (and is available on Spotify).
- The charity raffle raised $467 for Center on Halsted.
- The vendor section of the Fandom Lounge hosted: Nightengale Needles and Undercover Geek
2018 Chicago CONfabulation Con Committee
Mary (ro_mm_ck/cee_m): Team Leader
Bryn (Brynspikess): Chair of Public Relations
Clex (clex_monkie89): Chair of Accounting
DC: Volunteer Coordinator
Emily (scarylullabies): Special Events Coordinator
Kristen (k9plus1): Social Media Coordinator
Laura (chaneen): Chair of Programming
GirlPhenom: Chair of Logistics
Melissa (jane_anon): Panels Coordinator
She!Sam (youngloveleroy): Raffle Coordinator
Special Thanks:
Cathy (stupidlullabies): CONfab Hero
2018 Chicago CONfabulation Panels/Programming
Programming items typically run 50 minutes with 10 minute breaks in between in order to allow time for participants to chat or visit the restroom with enough time for them to make it to the next item or panel that they'd like to see. There is also an hour-long break for lunch.
Programming items are divided into two tracks (Panels & Group Discussions/Workshops) with a room dedicated to each track.
Thursday, October 25th
- 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Meet & Greet. Meet your fellow attendees, make new friends and reconnect with old ones. Do some crafts, eat some snacks, and play some games at this chill gathering to kick off the con!
Friday, October 26th
Friday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:30 am - 10:50 am - Opening Ceremonies. Welcome to the second annual CONfabulation! Introductions, announcements, and everything you need to know about the weekend ahead.
- FACILITATORS: CONfab Con Comm
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - There and Back Again: Your Fannish Story. There’s no end to fandom but there’s always a beginning. Which fandoms were stops on your journey? Learn about your fellow fans and tell us about yourself.
- FACILITATOR: countessmry
- FANDOM: Meta/Personal History
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Animated Gay. In space, on ice, fighting evil by moonlight: queer rep in animation has come a long way. Come discuss animated gay in all forms, and flail over your faves.
- FACILITATOR: acidquill
- FANDOMS: Voltron Legendary Defender, Yuri On Ice, Sailor Moon, Legend of Korra, etc.
- 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm - Video Games. RPGs, MMOs, fighting games, single-player, co-op. Join us to discuss all things video games, from your favorites to new games you can’t wait to play.
- FACILITATORS: chaneen, saintawesome
- FANDOMS: Mass Effect, The Last of Us, Tomb Raider, Skyrim, Dragon Age, all video games welcome!
- 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm - Fandom History: From Zines to AO3. An overview of fandom history, from prehistory to the rise of modern copyright law, digital platforms and how Fandom has always been here.
- FACILITATORS: tsukinofaerii, ifshehadwings
- FANDOMS: Fandom is my Fandom
Friday Track 2: Group Discussions/Workshops:
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Soulmate AUs Are My Fandom - Names on each other, first words, timers, colorblind, matching wounds: give me all your Soulmate AUs and I’ll rec you mine.
- FACILITATOR: Clex (Clex_monkie89)
- FANDOM: Multi-Fandom
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Tabletop RPGs: Level 0 - Roll a new character, create new worlds, and discuss TTRPGs in the digital age. All experience levels welcome
- FACILITATORS: tsukinofaerii
- FANDOM: Dungeons and Dragons and other Tabletop RPGs
- 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm - The Clex Monkie School for People Who Can’t Makeup Good - Not only will you learn makeup basics, but you’ll learn just how problematic so many of your makeup faves are. At least it’ll save you money?
- FACILITATOR: Clex (Clex_monkie89)
- FANDOM: Makeup
- 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm - How Do Podfic? - Podficcing requires many skills, but whether you’re a newbie or vet, there’s always more to learn. Grab your mics and let’s record!
- FACILITATORS: ofjustimagine
- FANDOM: Podfic, Multi-Fandom
Friday Evening Events:
- 4:00 pm – 4:50 pm - Vid Show. CONfabulation’s annual vid show will feature an hour of new vids in various fandoms, some never before seen!
- 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm - Fandom Trivia. Think you know the most about your fandom? Show off your stuff at fandom trivia! Star Wars, Buffy, Harry Potter… anything goes!
- 9:00 pm – ??? - Badfic Idol. Prepare yourself for live, dramatic readings of truly, deliberately terrible badfic with Badfic Idol. Tentacles, angel wings, eggpreg… the world is your badfic oyster. Write a badfic alone or with friends and submit it to be read by our talented panel of judges. Fics cannot be longer than 400 words and are due by 8:30pm on Friday. Please place your masterpiece in the box marked “Badfic Idol” in the fandom lounge, or email it to [email protected] with the subject line “Badfic Idol Submissions.” The winner will receive an awesome prize and lifelong notoriety. If you would like to volunteer to be a Badfic Idol Judge, please see a member of the Con Comm or email us at [email protected].
Saturday, October 27th
Saturday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - Keeping it in the Family: Incest in Fandom. We like our fictional family members a little too close, and we’re not sorry. Don’t forget to bring your recs for new and/or underappreciated ships!
- FACILITATORS: ifshehadwings, saintawesome
- FANDOM(S): Multi-Fandom (may include: Supernatural, Game of Thrones, Flowers in the Attic, MCU, Star Wars, That Folgers Commercial, AND MORE)
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - My DVR is Intersectional: How TV Bridges Communities. TV is more diverse in more ways than ever. We’ll chat about our fave TV melting pots and daydream about intersections we want to see in the future.
- FACILITATOR: GirlPhenom
- FANDOM(S): Multi-Fandom, all television (potentially B99, Sense8, Queer Eye, The Good Place, DCTV, unscripted TV, more TBD)
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - The Marvel Cinematic Universe: WTF Do We Do Now?!. It’s been 10 years, 20 movies, 2 network TV shows, 6 Netflix shows, and a whole lot of fan theory. Let’s talk highs and lows and what’s yet to come.
- FACILITATORS: chaneen, GirlPhenom
- FANDOMS: MCU (all movies and TV)
- 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm - Joy in the Apocalypse. When the world is terrible, sometimes you need a little bit of joy to soothe your soul. Come rec your favorite self care escapes and get new ones!
- PANELISTS: ofjustimagine
- FANDOM(S): Multi-Fandom
- 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm - The Future is Female. Let’s talk about all-female and non-binary female-identifying casts, Smurfette men, and what franchises should be rebooted next (Hint: it’s ALL of them).
- FACILITATOR: brynspikess
- FANDOMS: Ghostbusters, Mad Max: Fury Road, Doctor Who, Ocean’s 8, Steven Universe
- 4:00 pm - 4:50 pm - Invisible Unicorns 2: The Winter Soldier. APPEARING ONE WEEKEND ONLY! THE MYTHICAL ASEXUAL! THE RECLUSIVE BISEXUAL! THE MYSTERIOUS PANSEXUAL! COME OOH AND AH AT THESE WONDERS!
- FACILITATORS: Clex (Clex_monkie89), ifshehadwings, tsukinofaerii
- FANDOMS: Human Beings?
Saturday Track 2: Group Discussions/Workshops:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - Vidding Is A Fandom. Learn where to find vids, how to talk about them, and ways to flesh out your feedback to vidders.
- FACILITATORS: colls, countessmry
- FANDOM: Vidding Fandom
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Plushie Workshop: 2 Soft 2 Cute. Learn how to make your own plushie! Bryn and She!Sam will be available to answer questions and offer advice to beginner sewers. Supplies are free!
- FACILITATORS: brynspikess, youngloveleroy
- FANDOMS: Multi-Fandom, Crafting
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Vintage Fandoms. If your fandom got cancelled, forgotten, or never broke into the mainstream to begin with, come get nostalgic, side-eye reboots, and rec hidden gems!
- FACILITATORS: Megan
- FANDOMS: Starsky & Hutch, MASH, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and whatever else people bring to the table
- 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm - Post-Infinity War Support Group. Wailing, gnashing of teeth, rending of garments, and raining curses down upon the House of Marvel. We have to do something until May 2019, right?
- FACILITATOR: ifshehadwings
- FANDOM(S): Avengers: Infinity War, MCU
- 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm - Please Stop Saying “Back When I Was In _____:” A Support Group For Dying Fandoms. You’re flailing with a group of fans and they suddenly start commiserating about all the ways your fandom is dead and over. Come seek shelter with us.
- FACILITATORS: Dimeliora, Clex (Clex_monkie89)
- FANDOMS: Multi-Fandom
- 4:00 pm - 4:50 pm - Fandom Stitch ‘n’ Bitch. Bring your project bags and hang out while we talk about our favorite nerdy crafts, share expertise, and dish about our favorite CONfab programs! Showing off your latest creative effort is highly encouraged. Beginners are welcome, too!
- FACILITATOR: often adamanta
- Spare needles and yarn will be available for newbies who want to learn to knit.
Saturday Evening Events:
- 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm - The Nightmare Before CONfab. Join us for a ~spooky~ evening at our annual dance. Enjoy drinks, hors d’oeuvres, dancing, and good times with your fellow attendees. Formal or pajamas, street clothes or Halloween costumes, all attire is welcome.
- 9:00 pm - CONfab Annual Raffle. Find out if you have won any of CONfabulation’s delightful collection of fandom and non-fandom treasures at the annual raffle. You do not need be present to win, but your name must be on your ticket.
Sunday, October 28th
Sunday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - Fuck Reality: The Importance Of Magical Realism and Happy Endings in Fiction. Every day the news gets more depressing. Reality is important to craft a relatable story, but there’s no reason to make the fake world as sad as ours.
- FACILITATOR(S): Clex (Clex_monkie89), Dimeliora
- FANDOMS: Supernatural, DCEU, MCU, and any others brought up during discussion
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Participation Award. How to participate in fandom if you don’t write, vid, or draw.
- FACILITATOR: countessmry
- FANDOMS: Meta, Fandom as a fandom
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - It May Be Garbage But it’s Mine. A chance to talk about all of the garbage TV, movies, and media that we love but that we acknowledge may be silly, bad, or problematic.
- FACILITATORS: countessmry
- FANDOMS: Multi-Fandom (Trash Fandoms)
- 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm - HBIC: The Marginalization of Outspoken Women. Driven, unapologetic women are often demonized in modern media. We’ll cover egregious examples – then discuss our fave media where girlbosses shine!
- FACILITATOR: GirlPhenom
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom (Star Trek, MCU, Netflix Originals, Star Wars, 90s/00s TV vs today, etc.)
Sunday Track 2: Group Discussions/Workshops:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - Murder, Politics, and the Wrongly(?) Accused: Podcasts For Everyone!. Let’s talk podcasts! From fiction to non-fiction, comedy to drama, what we like, why we like it, and what else we should be listening to.
- FACILITATOR: chaneen
- FANDOM: Podcasts of all kinds
- 11:00 am - 11:50 pm - Writers Support Group. Join your fellow writers to whine about writer’s block, have a dialogue about dialogue, and trade tips to make erotica a little less hard.
- FACILITATOR(S): often adamanta
- FANDOMS: All, as it focuses on writing
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - A Brief History of Boy Bands. What was the first boy band? Who invented boy bands? Are boy bands still a thing? This and more at a panel sure to be equal parts education and squee!
- FACILITATORS: chaneen, GirlPhenom
- FANDOMS: Boy Bands (1D, Backstreet Boys, The Monkees, The Beatles, 5 Seconds of Summer, In Real Life, O-Town, Menudo, Take That, *NSYNC, etc. etc. etc.)
- 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm - It’s Still A Dad Joke If The Dad Is In Labor. Why do we like mpreg so much? Do we even care why? Come squee about it and trade recs/ideas!
- FACILITATORS: Clex (Clex_monkie89), Dimeliora
- FANDOMS: Multi-Fandom
- 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm - Closing Ceremonies. We hate to say goodbye, but eventually the fun has to end. Come say goodbye until next year and have a chance to ask questions of the Con Comm and make suggestions for future CONfabs.
- FACILITATORS: CONfab Con Comm
Sunday Evening Events:
- 7:00 pm - 12:00am - Straggler's Dinner. (Takeout was ordered from the hotel's attached "Outback Steakhouse" and stragglers hung out in the Fandom Lounge playing a game of "Honey Heist".)
2018 Chicago CONfabulation Vid Show
Click here to see the 2018 Vid Show playlist.
Overheard at CONfabulation 2018
Collected from Twitter.
- “I refuse to accept that Johnny Depp ruined the entire concept of pirates!” Playing Cards Against Humanity at #confabcon
- "Goddammit, where'd my object permanence go?!" #ConFabCon
- Chicago, I am in you! #confabcon
- "Sometimes your teeth are just your teeth." #confabcon
- "I like vehicular manslaughter, but I'm going to go with the fear and hatred in men's hearts." #confabcon
- "It’s basically Tupperware for corpses!” #confabcon
- "If you see bubbles, you've met your soulmate." #confabcon
- "He has as many medals for being queer as he does for ice skating." Re: Viktor #ConFabCon
- "But it’s not my arm, it’s your arm!" "I will leave it to you in my will!" #confabcon
- "okay, i have the map upside down. that’s my bad." #confabcon
- Overheard at #confabcon “space was great, but then they gave me a queer!"
- "Mind if I change my shirt?" "Nah, I'm looking at my eggs and sausage." "...I don't want to hear about your sausage while I'm naked." #confabcon
- "Always loot the body, especially if they're your friend." #confabcon
- "You have bears?! I’ve always wanted to play a bear! I’ve never realized that until just now!" #confabcon
- This is your eye... the protagonist (it’s purple) #confabcon
- (while drawing a huge eyeball) "This is our protagonist..." #confabcon
- "honk if you like honking!" #confabcon
- "There were two fish, and they were married!" #ConFabCon
- "i didn’t realize this is what would emotionally traumatize me this weekend." #confabcon
- I 💚 the analogy of fandom as an invasive species on social media platforms. #ConFabCon
- "I have been over 18 since I was 13." #confabcon
- "I've got a song for your sad backstory." *plays John Cena theme song* #ConFabCon
- "Let me explain why that mattered in my head." #CONfabCon
- have so many imposters questions after the vidshow: who are they? are the dudes brothers? is this a threesome? please raptor jesus tell me it's a threesome #ConFabCon
- "Professional musicians who have to fly often buy a second seat for their large instruments." "So what you’re saying is I should buy a second seat for these Supernatural cast body pillows?" "This is America!" #confabcon #OHatCONfabCon
- "Talk fast, one of those assholes is typing." #CONfabCon #BadFicIdol
- "Sara, WHO DIDN'T WRITE THIS FIC." #CONfabCon #BadFicIdol
- Dum-E, off stage: *Beeps* #BadFicIdol #CONfabCon
- "Words are made up of spelling!!!" #ConFabCon
- "well i've been a monsterfucker for a long time." #venomfandom #confabcon
- "Yeah, but if they didn't share a womb, is it really real?" #confabcon
- "Steve Rogers will NOT die. He will go into the west and remain Galadriel" #ConFabCon #OHatCONfabCon
- "I didn't think I was going to go there, but then I read a fic and I went there." #confabcon
- "But Pietro Maximoff didn’t get snapped away by Thanos." "How do we know? Did he check the website?" #confabcon #OHatCONfabCon
- "Captain Kirk to bridge: there's a bunch of ghosts down here getting head." #confabcon
- "what did you do last saturday? i blew a bunch of ghosts!" #confabcon
- "What is Dungeons & Dragons?" "You roll dice, and then you fuck." #confabcon
- On Black Sails: "In the first season, it’s like, ooh, pirates love sex and money. And by the fourth season it’s like..." "Pirates love civil liberties!" #confabcon
- This section of you hair is problematic #CONfabCon
- "I just. Have dreams in my heart hole." #ConFabCon
- "The power of virginity and love kills the monster." #confabcon
- "You accept that but you don’t accept vore you cowards" #ConFabCon
- "Oh my God, what did I buy in Canada?" #CONfabCon
- "There is space on your dress!" #confabcon
- "Quick, do the human 'go away' symbol!" Everyone: (middle finger) #ConFabCon #HoneyHeist
- A gentle leaf, blowing in the wind, waiting for a duck to fuck. #ConFabCon
- "T-rex Pope wants to be the only pope in this town!" #ConFabCon #HoneyHeist
- "Is this just a human thing?" "I think it's a human thing." "Humans are weird." #ConFabCon #HoneyHeist
- "That was unintended reverse furry." #honeyheist #confabcon
- "I always have room in my trunk for a Winchester." #confabcon
- "It's clearly some high tech, fucked up shit." #ConFabCon #HoneyHeist
- "We're bears, of course we can read!" #ConFabCon
- "The whole pope! Every part of the pope!" #honeyheist #confabcon
- "Only you can prevent forest fires. By giving me your day pass." #honeyheist #confabcon
- "Maybe while he's distracted by being threatened by the bear pope." #honeyheist #confabcon
- "I'm taking all the Pope related supplies." #ConFabCon
- "I think we should not take the haunted pirate boat." "It's probably fine." #ConFabCon
- The hard limit for #ConFabCon has been found. It is baby ducks because raccoons at least have thumbs @ConFabCon
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a bull whip. #ConFabCon
- "first of all, if it's abo and there's no knotting, then what's the point?" #confabcon
- "skulls are soft, they'd crush real easy!" #confabcon
- magical tissue exit chute. #confabcon
- "I don't know what this is, but I'm into it." #ConFabCon
- "i can't be dreaming because i can read." - a foolproof way to tell if concussed... #confabcon
- "no, there's no virgin love in the cat." #confabcon
Chicago CONfabulation 2019
CONfabulation 2019 Alumni pin, art by Cathybites
CONfabulation 2019 attendee name badges. Decorated with stickers from the Fandom Lounge.
Swag bag given to attendees of the 2019 convention.
Space spin tops and mini pinball games; one of each toy was in each swag bag.
Space-themed sliding mini puzzles; a random one was in each swag bag.
Green aliens, Blue aliens, and Silver alien shooters; all three aliens were in each swag bag.
Chicago CONfabulation 2019 was held September 26-29, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. It was located at SpringHill Suites Chicago O’Hare, 8101 West Higgins Road, Chicago, Illinois, 60631.
- Attendee Swag Bag: The bag was blue with a black pocket and the CONfabulation logo printed on it in blue.
- It included a purple plastic cup w/black logo, and a black & fuchsia pen.
- Each bag had one green alien, two blue aliens, a silver alien shooter, a space puzzle, space spintop and space pinball game.
- Also included program and alumni pin.
- CONfabulation's official colors this year were Blue, Purple, and Fuchsia.
- The dance party theme was "Space Jam".
- The charity raffle raised $646.36 for Howard Brown Health.
2019 Chicago CONfabulation Con Committee
Bryn: Director of Marketing & PR
Celli: Budget Manager
Clex: Director of Outreach
DC: Director of People Operations
Emily: Special Events Coordinator
Kristen: Social Media & Marketing Strategist
Laura: Senior Director of Programming
GirlPhenom: Senior Director of Operations
Liz: Associate Director of Programming
Mary: Senior Director of Membership
Melissa: Associate Director of Programming
Phnee: Discord Coordinator
Scary: Registration Associate
She!Sam: Raffle Coordinator
Tsukinofaerii: Website Coordinator
Special Thanks:
Cathy (stupidlullabies); Program Front Cover and CONfab Hero
Celli: Tax Guru
2019 Chicago CONfabulation Panels/Programming
Programming items typically run 50 minutes with 10 minute breaks in between in order to allow time for participants to chat or visit the restroom with enough time for them to make it to the next item or panel that they'd like to see. There is also an hour-long break for lunch.
Programming items are divided into two tracks (Panels & Group Discussions/Workshops) with a room dedicated to each track.
Thursday, September 26th
- 10:00 am - 3:30 pm - Thursday Outing. Come explore Chicago with your fellow attendees! Stick with the group or explore on your own, we will be heading into the city to check out the downtown district. Go to a museum, take a tour or just walk around, the choice is yours. More details: https://confabcon.dreamwidth.org/7611.html Cost is approximately $5 for Blue Line round trip ticket, plus money for lunch.
- 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Meet & Greet. Meet your fellow attendees, make new friends, and reconnect with old ones. Do some crafts, eat some snacks, and play some games at this chill gathering to kick off the con!
- 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Small Fandom Lightning Round. Do you want people excited about your small fandom? Spread the word with a 2-minute lightning talk. Find friends with the same interest, convert others to your cause, and discover tiny fandom jewels! (A second session will be held in the Fandom Lounge on Friday during lunch.)
Friday, September 27th
Friday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:30 am - 10:50 am - Opening Ceremonies.
- FACILITATORS: CONfab Con Comm
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Five Miles In The Snow. Barefoot! And Both Ways! Remember when "squick" was common fannish vocab? The fights about the Morality of RPF in the 00s? And the 90s? History repeats itself, sometimes badly. How do we deal with Fandom Kids These Days?
- MODERATOR: clex_monkie89
- FANDOMS: Fandom itself
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Reccing the Oldies. It's time to go back and make sure your fellow fans haven't missed out on your favorite fandoms and fanworks of yesteryear. Come prepared with your best recs, and be ready to get invested in some canons that ended multiple decades ago!
- MODERATOR: ofjustimagine
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm - Whump: Why We Hurt the Characters We Love. An expansive look at whump across fandoms. What kind of characters do we love to hurt? How do we like to hurt them? What, if anything, does this say about the kinds of characters that we fans most easily identify and empathize with?
- MODERATOR: scarylullabies
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm - Thirst for Your Fandom. Join us for a chat about the objects of your thirst. Photos and videos will be submitted to view on the big screen as we talk about the characters and people who inspire the thirst.
- MODERATOR: countessmry
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
Friday Track 2: Group Discussions/Workshops:
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - It’s a Real Bisexual Alien Blast Around Here. The CW's Roswell, New Mexico has all the delicious alien drama of the original show with 100% less whitewashing, great queer rep, and praise the fandom gods, the characters are adults. Let's discuss!
- FACILITATOR: ifshehadwings
- FANDOMS: Roswell, New Mexico (2019)
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Invisible Unicorn Petting Zoo (No Petting Allowed). Marginalized sexualities, genders, gender expressions, and intersectionality. Where do we exist, and how do we find ourselves in media?
- FACILITATORS: clex_monkie89, waterofthemoon
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm - Plushie Workshop III: The Search for Sequins. Learn how to make your own plushie! Bryn & She!Sam will be available to answer questions and offer advice to beginner sewers. Supplies are free!
- FACILITATORS: brynspikess, youngloveleroy
- 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm - Fandom Stitch ‘n’ Bitch. Come hang out as we craft, share expertise, and flail about fandom! Showing off finished items is highly encouraged, the nerdier the better. Spare needles and yarn will be provided for newbie knitters.
- FACILITATOR: often_adamanta
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
Friday Evening Events:
- 4:00 pm – 4:50 pm - Vid Show - CONfabulation's annual vid show will feature an hour of new vids in various fandoms, some never before seen!
- 7:30 pm – 8:50 pm - Fandom Trivia - Think you know the most about your fandom? Show off your stuff at fandom trivia! Star Wars, Buffy, Harry Potter… anything goes!
- 9:00 pm – ??? - Badfic Idol. Prepare yourself for live, dramatic readings of truly, deliberately terrible badfic with Badfic Idol. Tentacles, angel wings, eggpreg… the world is your badfic oyster. Write a badfic alone or with friends and submit it to be read by our talented panel of judges. Fics cannot be longer than 400 words and are due by 7:30pm on Friday. Please hand your masterpiece to a member of the con com or email it to [email protected] with the subject line "Badfic Idol Submissions." The winner will receive an awesome prize and lifelong notoriety. If you would like to volunteer to be a Badfic Idol Judge, please see a member of the Con Comm!
Saturday, September 28th
Saturday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - Alternate Universe Fic: Small (or not so small) Changes, Amazing Fanfiction. Creators can speculate and craft amazingly different worlds from canon and yet the characters are still recognizable. Even a tiny detail can throw canon into a beautiful tailspin and make for huge differences in how story arcs unfold.
- MODERATOR: countessmry / PANELISTS: Mythplaced_Logic, Feathered Schist
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Wait, Where Does The Baby Come Out? MPreg in all its glory. If you're reading this, you probably already want to attend anyway.
- PANELISTS: clex_monkie89, dimeliora
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Whatever It Takes: The MCU from Iron Man to 2019. Phase 3 has come to an end, and the MCU will never be the same. Come cry with us about your faves, discuss what you think the MCU could've done better, and squee about those Phase 4 announcements.
- PANELISTS: chaneen, GirlPhenom
- FANDOMS: The Marvel Cinematic Universe
- 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm - Heavenly Bodies. Big, bold, beautiful. But easy to miss? Let's talk about fat experience in media: how we're seen, how we want to be seen, why the largest bodies seem to be the most invisible (until they're convenient).
- PANELISTS: acidquill, chaneen
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm - Crossovers in Fandom: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Crossovers give us and our favorite characters new worlds to explore. Let's chat about fandoms that work as great canvases and which characters just keep popping up, no matter what fandom you love!
- MODERATOR: countessmry / PANELISTS: Mythplaced_Logic, Feathered Schist
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 4:00 pm - 4:50 pm - There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done? Fifteen years later, the show that didn't know if it would survive is finally coming to an end. Reminisce with us about the show, the boys, the fandom, and the Good Old Days of yakfic and Mayhem.
- PANELISTS: clex_monkie89, rainbowslinky, dimeliora
- FANDOMS: Supernatural
- 5:00 pm - 5:50 pm - Nuttin' More Important Than Family: Incest in fandom and mainstream media. A bunch of fanpeople in a room yelling about fictional incest and why we love it. We'll talk about what we love, where our lines are, and what happens when someone outside the family gets involved. There will be time for fanwork and canon recs.
- MODERATOR: seascribe / PANELISTS: solarcat and Beckawhy
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
Saturday Track 2: Group Discussions/Workshops:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - Makeup For People Who Don't Makeup (And People Who Do). A Workshop that's also part Group Discussion. Whether you're not sure the difference between bronzer and contour, or can tell the La Mer from La Prairie, there's something in this for you.
- FACILITATOR: clex_monkie89
- FANDOMS: Makeup
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - Superhero Cross-Stitch. Learn the classic art of cross stitch by making a tiny superhero/ine! Supplies will be provided. Limit of 15, must have completed the signup form.
- FACILITATOR: celli
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - The Art of The Graphic. Writing isn't the only way to contribute to fandom! Fanmix covers to Tumblr photosets: come learn some graphic design basics, specifically tailored to fandom creations. No drawing skills necessary!
- FACILITATOR: ofjustimagine
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm - Rebellions Are Built On Hope. Movies, books, comics, games, animated & live action shows: what's your fave? Pine for the EU or revel in Disney canon? Wishes for the new installments? Who is today's Empire? (Also: DOOR PRIZES!)
- FACILITATOR: colls
- FANDOMS: Star Wars
- 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm - Writers Support Group II: Dialogue and Action. Fandom writers unite to support each other! This year the discussion focuses on dialogue and action, so we'll share tips and resources on how to make your characters walk the walk and talk the talk.
- FACILITATOR: often_adamanta
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 4:00 pm - 4:50 pm - Why Bryn Is Obsessed With Young Hercules (And You Should Be Too). Bryn has been a ride or die fan of Young Hercules for 20 years. But why? And how? How does she even participate in a long-dead fandom? And why should you consider watching a kids show from the 90's?
- FACILITATOR: brynspikess
- FANDOMS: Young Hercules
Saturday Evening Events:
- 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm - Space Jam!. Join us for an out of this world evening at our annual dance. Enjoy drinks, hors d'oeuvres, dancing, and good times with your fellow attendees. Formal or pajamas, street clothes or a stellar space-themed costume, all attire is welcome!
- 9:00 pm - CONfab Annual Raffle. Find out if you have won any of CONfabulation's delightful collection of fandom and non-fandom treasures at the annual raffle. You do not need be present to win, but your name must be on your ticket.
Sunday, September 29th
Sunday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - How To Mourn A Fandom. The fandom itself may live on, but when the source material comes to a close it can produce genuine feelings of mourning. PANEL MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS, BUT ATTEMPTS AT SPOILER WARNINGS WILL BE MADE.
- MODERATOR: clex_monkie89
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom, with an emphasis on shows/series ending this year.
- 11:00 am - 11:50 am - #robotfeels. From Cyclons to Wall-E, the idea of an artificial intelligence finding its place within a human world opens the door for limitless concepts, often times leaving us more attached and emotional than a story between humans would.
- MODERATOR: rainbowslinky
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom (Wall-E, Terminator, Bicentennial Man, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Westworld, Pacific Rim)
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Get in the Car, Angel: Being a Panel of Certain Episodes on Amazon Prime in Accordance with the Novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Let's discuss representation, the changes from the book, Crowley's sideburns, Aziraphale's tartan, the Them's themness, Vivaldi's Bohemian Rhapsody, a Certain Flaming Sword, and 6,000 years of pining.
- PANELISTS: celli, waterofthemoon
- FANDOMS: Good Omens
- 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm - SPACE! A Fandom Odyssey. A discussion of all things spacey! Come discuss your favorite space dramas, spaceships, and space ships (if you know what we mean). Tell us about what drives you into the depths of our galaxy and beyond.
- PANELISTS: wick, waterofthemoon
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom (Firefly/Serenity, Star Trek, Stargate, Doctor Who, The Orville, The Martian, and a variety of other space movies and shows.)
Sunday Track 2: Group Discussions/Workshops:
- 10:00 am - 10:50 am - Press X to [insert clever video game pun]. From first-person shooters to role playing, puzzles to strategy, video games are here to stay in the fandom experience. Let's talk about the games we love and the fandom around them.
- FACILITATOR: saintawesome
- FANDOMS: Video games
- 11:00 am - 11:50 pm - Remakes, Reboots, and Reimaginings. Hollywood is obsessed with nostalgia. Let's discuss the trend of remaking all of the things. Do we like or hate this, and why do we think the concept of the remake is so darn appealing?
- FACILITATORS: chaneen, often_adamanta
- FANDOMS: Multi-fandom
- 12:00 pm - 12:50 pm - Five For Licking (also: Fighting). Rimming it around the boards, knotted scores, riding the d in the slot, being good down low, closing up tight gaps, & coming in the back door. Come yell about the nonsense hockey has for us each week.
- FACILITATORS: Wick, ofjustimagine
- FANDOMS: Hockey RPF
- 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm - The Umbrella Academy: Super. Dysfunctional. Family. Eccentric billionaire adopts 7 super-powered babies, gives them numbers instead of names, and turns them into adolescent vigilantes. I'm sure they'll grow up to be well-adjusted adults. Oh… wait.
- FACILITATOR: ifshehadwings
- FANDOMS: Umbrella Academy (Netflix Series)
- 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm - Closing Ceremonies. We hate to say goodbye, but eventually the fun has to end. Come say goodbye until next year and have a chance to ask questions of the Con Comm and make suggestions for future CONfabs.
- FACILITATORS: CONfab Con Comm
Sunday Evening Events:
- ?:00 pm - ?:00am - Straggler's Dinner. TBA (Stragglers hung out playing Cards Against Humanity.)
2019 Chicago CONfabulation Vid Show
Click here to see the 2019 Vid Show playlist.
Overheard at CONfabulation 2019
Collected from Twitter.
- "We have a smaller skyline but I like it. Less is More." "Not to be a size queen, but sometimes Bigger is Better." (Columbus vs. Chicago) #confabcon #Overheard @ConFabcon
- “We need to know how many inches...” #CONfabcon
- "Home is where nobody shames your kinks." #confabcon
- "Monsterfucking and Incest is our brand." overheard @CONfabCon #confabcon
- “Maybe that’s why I like space so much. In space, nobody can hear the manbabies whine” - overheard at #CONfabCon
- “Tell me about this ‘Star Wars’ you mentioned. Are the stars at war?” - overheard at #CONfabCon
- "Hannibal can be anywhere." #confabcon
- How to Mourn A Room Key #ConFabCon
- OH at #confabcon: "We're voting you off this threesome."
- OH at #confabcon: "Click click, motherfucker."
- “You still have clothes on so this is not the right video.” #confabcon
- “There’s no penises out yet” #confabcon
- OH at #confabcon: "I'm not THAT monofannishly maniacally obsessed."
- "I came out here to be attacked, and honestly I'm having such a good time right now." #confabcon
- “There’s a Dominant fandom and a submissive fandom” #confabcon
- "Same hat!" "Same hat?" "Same hat." #ConFabCon #CrossOver
- “they love each other so much and it’s fucking gross” aka the fandom story. Overheard @ #CONfabCon
- “Gotta have a sparkle, bitch” #confabcon
- “The whole point of this movie was to watch this idiot Hufflepuff fall in love with everyone he meets.” Re: Solo #confabcon
- “Girls do it differently sometimes” OH at #confabcon
- “Rage Bog is adjacent to the Bog of Eternal Stench” #confabcon
- “Your head WILL pass through the side of your body!!” #confabcon
- “I just almost fell off the chair!” “That’s how I feel about watersports too!” OH #CONfabcon
- “I love the fish tales!” “I can’t tell if you’re talking about porn or hair.” #monsterfucking #braidsbyisweedan #confabcon
- “I have read Merry/Pippin/Treebeard.” “That would take...so long.” “The kink you have there is edging.” #monsterfucking #OH #CONfabcon
- “It’s plant shaped” #confabcon
- “You don’t know how xeno we’re going til the pants come off” #confabcon
- "one of these people only have a certain number of limbs..." #confabcon
- “A friendship was just made and ended in five minutes” - overheard at #CONfabCon
- "it's as furry or not, as you want it to be." #confabcon
- "I was wrong, the voodoo one *does* have ghost mpreg." #confabcon
- “Lizard brain says knock that one up.” #confancon
- Who knew cross-stitch was so porny? #crossstitchorporn #CONFabCon #CONFab2019
- "you're not knotting anything." #confabcon
- “If I liked coffee shops, I could read a thousand fics by someone who knows how to use spellcheck but because I like mpreg I’ll read grammically indecent fic so I can get to where the man has the baby come out.” OH at #confabcon
- OH at Confab: "stop non-con caring about me, dammit!" "sit still and let me groom you!" #confabcon
- “Okay, go make your waffle while we talk about cannibalism” - overheard at #CONfabCon
- OH at #confabcon: "Uncle Fester is not appetizing."
- "I'm not here to judge." "I mean, you kind of are." "Oh shit, you're right!" #ConFabCon #BadFicIdol
- “Pants are for genitals” #confabcon
- "What part of 'I don't watch the show' was vague?" Overheard @CONfabCon #confabcon
- “How?! How do you get it out of your crevices!!!?!” #confabcon
- OH at #confabcon: "Just because they look hot in their uniforms doesn't mean we need the EMTs to visit us."
- “I couldn’t make a mashed potato hedgehog cuz they’re too chunky” #confabcon
- "So, you know how Clex is allergic to women?" (they actually said "lemon", but I misheard) Overheard @ConFabCon #CONfabCon
- “I mean those people wanted to fuck pianos it wouldn’t surprise me they got excited fondling a liver.” I know I didn’t get that quite right but you get it. #confabcon
- "That's why Bucky is my little black dress." #confabcon
- "...you've got this nice veneer of space lasers" #confabcon
- “When I was a kid butts didn’t work that way.” #confabcon
- The queer alien tentacle buddy cop book is getting recced!!!! #confabcon
- “Anthony Bourdain goes to Narnia” #confabcon
- “I try not to patronize dudes because dudes are patronizing enough.” #confabcon
- “Where they’re stepsiblings? You mean the coward’s incest?” “All the joy of incest without the birth defects!”#confabcon
- “No ao3 offended user has ever spelt bestiality correctly.” #confabcon
- “There wasn’t a massive outbreak of incest when everybody watched Game of Thrones.” #confabcon I would read that. Everybody catches the nicest flu.
- “Put your username in your raffle ticket. Not your real name, because there’s too many Sarahs.” #confabcon
- “That is NOT how you ride the feelings train to fandom town.” #confabcon
- "It wasn't a marshmallow pillow, it was a pudding pillow, and it felt wrong." #confabcon
- "Nothing on my back door, the cats already smile." #JeremyRenner #Nomad #ConFabCon
- "That's wrong and bad... and yet, aesthetically pleasing..." #ConFabCon
First Virtual CONfabulation 2020
The First Virtual CONfabulation was held online from November 6-8th 2020 (due to the Covid19 pandemic).
- Because the convention was virtual, panels were run on Zoom with discussions outside of the panels on CONfab's Discord server. Several of the mainstays of the convention (Dance Party, Badfic Idol) were skipped this year.
- Instead of a raffle, an online auction was run prior to the convention. Bidders could choose between the Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation's COVID-19 Relief Fund, the National Domestic Workers Alliance's Coronavirus Care Fund, or a local COVID-19 charity of their choice. There were 24 auction items and raised a total of $680.00.
2020 Virtual CONfabulation Con Committee
Celli - Budget Manager
Chaneen - Senior Director of Programming
GreenBryn - Director of Marketing & PR, Vid Show Host
Ifshehadwings - Associate Director of Team Operations
Lizpopfly - Assistant Director of Programming
Mel - Assistant Director of Programming
Ofjustimagine - Social Media Associate
Tsukinofaerii - Website Coordinator
2020 Virtual CONfabulation Panels/Programming
Programming items typically run 45 minutes with 15 minute breaks in between in order to allow time for participants to chat or visit the restroom with enough time for them to make it to the next item or panel that they'd like to see. There is also an hour-long break for lunch.
Programming items are divided into two tracks, with a dedicated Zoom room for each.
Friday, November 6th
- 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm - Meet & Greet. Meet your fellow attendees, make new friends, and reconnect with old ones. Come hang out with us on Zoom before the programming begins on Saturday. Do some crafts, eat some snacks, and play some games at this chill gathering to kick off the con! We'll also give you a brief rundown of what to expect over the weekend and you'll have a chance to ask questions.
Saturday, November 7th
Friday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:30 am - 11:00 am - Opening Ceremonies. Welcome to CONfabulation 2020! This will be a what you can expect this weekend, including an intro to the Con Comm!
- FACILITATORS: CONfab Con Comm
- 11:00 am - 11:45 am - How To Fandom Discord. A lot of fandom activities have shifted to Discord over the past few years, and the pandemic has sped this up. In this panel, we’ll talk about the advantages and problems of Discord as a fannish platform, and about making the most of Discord as all the fun stuff seems to inevitably move there.
- MODERATOR: MOSCA & SARA (WATEROFTHEMOON)
- 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm - Playing DnD Online Workshop. A quick walk through of a pencil,paper and dice game played on the internet without any of those things. Please see the prep list.
- MODERATOR: GIGGLINGKAT
- FANDOMS: DnD
- 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm - Lunch Break. Time to get up and move around and have something to eat or whatever you need to do that's not sitting at the computer for several hours.
- 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm - Our Monsters Boyfriends. Calling all monsterfuckers! We love sexy monsters, but what makes a monster sexy? What’s a “monster” anyway? Let’s discuss why we love this trope, our favorite monsters and which monsters are sexiest!
- MODERATOR: MAX (SOLARCAT)
- 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm - Fanfic Trope Showdown. Let’s vote our way through a single-elimination bracket of the most popular fanfic tropes. We'll hold a debate on each pair of tropes with volunteer debaters and end up with the best trope of all!
- MODERATOR: GOSEAWARD
- 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm - The Untamed: All the hair and all the feels. So much to love in this story, from the book to the Netflix show and all of the associated media. It has epic heroes and villains, family loyalty (and family secrets), magic and mysticism, and of course true love. Come talk about why this story and these characters are so compelling!
- MODERATOR: TREEWISHES
- FANDOMS: The Untamed / Chen Qing Ling
Saturday Track 2: Panels:
- 11:00 am - 11:45 am - Wheat Googling 201. Tips and tricks on doing research for fic writing purposes, with a focus on free online sources.
- MODERATOR: CORBAE
- 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm - The Old Guard: Murder Family Through The Centuries. The Old Guard are a team of immortal warriors surviving the centuries. Highlights: Charlize Theron with an axe & Unkillable Gays. Join us for a whistle stop tour through the ages with the gang!
- MODERATOR: GIRLMARAUDERS, CELLI, SEASCRIBE
- FANDOMS: The Old Guard
- 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm - Lunch Break Time to get up and move around and have something to eat or whatever you need to do that's not sitting at the computer for several hours.
- 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm - Canon, Fanon, Fever Dream. Based on @svy_fish’s tweet, in this quiz game participants will guess whether “something is official information, widely accepted fan interpretation or just bullshit.” Fanon, canon, fever dream sets will be collected beforehand. If there's time, participants will be invited to take a turn as the host with a set they create during the panel.
- MODERATOR: CORBAE & KITSCHFUL
- 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm - Fannish Pictionary. Fannish pictionary brings characters from disparate fandoms together under strange and often hilarious circumstances. Ever felt a deep yearning to draw Lan Wangji and Yennefer of Vengerberg having a threesome with Dean Winchester? Join us for fannish pictionary to make your dreams come true.
- MODERATOR: CINCODEMAYGIRL & CORBAE
- 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm - Obscure Fandom Lightning Round! We all have that one fannish obsession – the TV show, movie, book, comic, game, or RPF-able celebrity that all of fandom would love, if only they had ever heard of it. This is your opportunity to raise awareness of your underappreciated fave and/or achieve solidarity with the one other person who also loves it. Participants will sign up in advance, then have three minutes each to pitch the fandom of their choice. Time limits will be enforced humorously. Prizes may be awarded.
- MODERATOR: MOSCA
Saturday Evening Events:
- 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm - Vid Show - CONfabulation's annual vid show will feature an hour of new vids in various fandoms, some never before seen!
Sunday, November 8th
Saturday Track 1: Panels:
- 10:00 am - 10:45 am - Advanced Fic Finding. Have the basics of AO3 searching down but want to know more? Learn about Advanced Search, hidden search operators, and tips on using tools like Google, the Wayback Machine, and Fanlore to find the perfect fic.
- MODERATOR: CORBAE
- 11:00 am - 11:45 am - Ask A Tag Wrangler. So, how DO tags on AO3 work? Why isn't this one I want searchable? Ask these and any other buring questions! Tweet #askatagwrangler before or during the panel for answers.
- MODERATOR: CHELSEA & IRINA
- 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm - Fandom History. If you remember zines or newsgroups, or had neon flashing text on your very own Angelfire or Geocities site, or you started with LJ or Tumblr, then come chat about fandom history!
- MODERATOR: CULTUREVULTURE73 & DEBRAHICKS
- 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm - Lunch Break. Time to get up and move around and have something to eat or whatever you need to do that's not sitting at the computer for several hours.
- 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm - Dragonfucking 2020. Join us to discuss dragons, sex, and the magical alchemy when those things combine to form dragonfucking.
- MODERATOR: CORBAE & V. GREYSON
- 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm - The Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Good, The Bad, The Pretty. Now that MCU has made ALL the money, there are signs they are willing to be "risky" with more diversity, in front and behind the camera. Come discuss the hopeful future.
- MODERATOR: CHANEEN & GIGGLINGKAT
- FANDOMS: MCU
- 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm - An Incest Panel Is My Present This Year. Are there siblings who should kiss in your current fandom? Did the Folgers commercial awaken something in you? This panel welcomes recs, rants, and feels about shipping incest in fandom.
- MODERATOR: BECKA & IFSHEHADWINGS
- 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm - Closing Ceremonies
- FACILITATORS: CONfab Con Comm
Sunday Track 2: Panels:
- 10:00 am - 10:45 am - Law in Science Fiction and Fantasy Worlds. Join SF author and lawyer J.R.H. Lawless to explore why legal systems in SFF worlds matter, and how to get them right.
- MODERATOR: SPACELAWYERSF
- 11:00 am - 11:45 am - Starfleet Legal Principles. Boldly discussing legal systems found throughout the quadrants, including strict liability on pantsless planets, admitting an android witness’s arm as evidence, and Cardassian criminal procedure.
- MODERATOR: IPREFERAVIATORS (DANNY) & V. GREYSON
- FANDOMS: Star Trek
- 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm - Does Binge Kill Fandom (And How Do We Prevent It?). It's never been a better time to be a fan, but the overwhelm is real. Open discussion on the merits of season drops or weekly feeds and how the fandom experience changes for each.
- MODERATOR: GIGGLINGKAT
- 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm - Lunch Break. Time to get up and move around and have something to eat or whatever you need to do that's not sitting at the computer for several hours.
- 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm - Crafting for Fandom. Come learn about the different kinds of crafts you can make fannish, and how you can get started.
- MODERATOR: CELLI
- 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm - Queer Romance Book Club. We’ll discuss similarities and differences between fanfic and original (published) queer romance, as well as our favorite works. Come to share recommendations or to get ideas for new things to try!
- MODERATOR: GOSEAWARD
- 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm - How Well Did Apocafic Prep Us For 2020? Who knew being a Internet Fangirl was a survival skillset? Was it surreal to be encouraged to stay home on the internet or did you felt isolated? All fandoms and experiences welcome.
- MODERATOR: GIGGLINGKAT
2020 Virtual CONfabulation Vid Show
Click here to see the 2020 Vid Show playlist.
Overheard at CONfabulation 2020
Collected from Twitter using hashtags #confabcon or #OHatCONfab.
"They have necromanced their gays" overheard at #confabcon
"I'm following strange people into a hotel room to watch a tv show I've never heard of" overheard at #confabcon
weird dicks has entered the conversation. #monsterBoyfriends #conFabCon
Virtual CONfabulation 2021
Virtual CONfabulation 2021 was held online from October 22-24, 2021 (due to the Covid19 pandemic).
- Because the convention was virtual, panels were run on Conline.club and Zoom with discussions outside of the panels on CONfab's Discord server. Several of the mainstays of the convention (Dance Party, Badfic Idol) were skipped this year.
2021 Virtual CONfabulation Con Committee
- TBA
2021 Virtual CONfabulation Panels/Programming
- TBA
2021 Virtual CONfabulation Vid Show
Click here to see the 2021 Vid Show playlist.
Overheard at CONfabulation 2021
- whispering "What if we are willing to be trapped"
- "Do you know Esperanto yet cause I'm about to infodump."
- "Gregor Samsa with a Hogwarts themed birthday party"
- "Human centipede except with deer"
- "That's not shipping, it's decapitation"
- "Imagine joining a BL group and thinking it's about boobs. technically there could be trains in BL but they are not usually the main focus." "but someone usually gets railed"
- "All three of us have ADHD. This might turn into a Loki panel at some point."
- "it's not often that my identities as a raging lesbian feminist and a monsterfucking enthusiast intersect, but here we are"
- re: the grinch - "it's just a seasonal fuck"
- "we are all the same brand of pervert here"
- "Why isn't he mustachioed???"
Virtual CONfabulation 2022
Virtual CONfabulation 2022 was held online from October 21-23, 2022 (due to the Covid19 pandemic).
- Because the convention was virtual, panels were run on Conline.club and Zoom with discussions outside of the panels on CONfab's Discord server. Several of the mainstays of the convention (Dance Party, Badfic Idol) were skipped this year.
2022 Virtual CONfabulation Con Committee
- TBA
2022 Virtual CONfabulation Panels/Programming
- TBA
2022 Virtual CONfabulation Vid Show
Click here to see the 2022 Vid Show playlist.
Overheard at CONfabulation 2022
- "yay lesbians"
- "there are no rituals, and if there were they would not be intricate"
- "On a scale of one to fucking Garfield -"
- "And fucking is not an invective in this case!"
- "fandom is not a sanitary place. we do love our bodily fluids"
- The vidshow mood: "crying a bit now about characters I didn't even know existed"
- "Same daddy, different issue"
- "is that the one with Sting in his underwear?"
- "Unless John is onscreen wiping his butt w a photo of Margaret Thatcher it's not good enough"
- "Oh my god monsterfucker69 just had a heart attack!"
- "He's very dumb and I would kill for him!"
Virtual CONfabulation 2023
Virtual CONfabulation 2023 was held online from April 29-30, 2023 (due to the Covid19 pandemic).
- Because the convention was virtual, panels were run on Conline.club and Zoom with discussions outside of the panels on CONfab's Discord server.
2023 Virtual CONfabulation Con Committee
- TBA
2023 Virtual CONfabulation Panels/Programming
- TBA
2023 Virtual CONfabulation Vid Show
Click here to see the 2023 Virtual Vid Show playlist.
Overheard at Virtual CONfabulation 2023
- "macrame is an orgy"
- "Playing with yourself... is fun."
- "Shakespeare totally wrote RPF"
- "I would do anything for CONfab, including forcing my boyfriend to attend."
- "full nekkid pooh-bear"
- "That's cool! It sounds messed up in a fun way!"
- "On a scale of Boxcar Children to Flowers in the Attic, how well did you survive being trapped with your three siblings?"
Chicago CONfabulation 2023
CONfabulation 2023 attendee name badges. Decorated with stickers from the Fandom Lounge.
Friendship bracelet made by Wick Lobo; one was in each swag bag.
Toys in each swag bag: 2 random sea creature figurines, two mini octopi, several sea creature erasers.
64 GB flash drive with USB and USB-C connections; one was in each swag bag.
Chicago CONfabulation 2023 was held October 19-22, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. It was located at SpringHill Suites Chicago O’Hare, 8101 West Higgins Road, Chicago, Illinois, 60631.
- Attendee Swag Bag: This year leftover 2018 orange swag bags were used.
- It included an orange plastic cup w/blue 2023 logo, and a black & blue pen.
- Each bag had one 64GB USB drive, one friendship bracelet, a sea creature sticker sheet, two sea creature figurines, two mini octopi, and several sea creature erasers.
- Also included program. (Alumni pin was not available this year due to missing button mylars)
- CONfabulation's official colors this year were Orange and Dark Blue.
- The dance party theme was "Monster Bash".
- The charity raffle raised $429.20 for Brave Space Alliance.
2023 Chicago CONfabulation Con Committee
Programming
Chaneen, Senior Director of Programming
Lizpopfly, Associate Director of Programming
Mel, Associate Director of Programming
Emily, Special Events Coordinator
GreenBryn, Vid Show Coordinator
Attendee Affairs
Beanside, Senior Director of Attendee Affairs
Poisontaster, Registration Coordinator
She!Sam, Raffle Coordinator
Operations
GirlPhenom, Senior Director of Operations
Stacy, Associate Sirector of Team Operations
Celli, Budget Manager
Tsukinofaerii, Website Coordinator
Special Thanks
Cathy (Poorlyformedart), Program front cover & logo redesign
Gigglingkat, Discord Mistress of Bots
Lithiumdoll, Conline
2023 Chicago CONfabulation Panels/Programming
Programming items typically run 50 minutes with 10 minute breaks in between in order to allow time for participants to chat or visit the restroom with enough time for them to make it to the next item or panel that they'd like to see. There is also an hour-long break for lunch.
Programming items are divided into two tracks (Panels & Group Discussions/Workshops) with a room dedicated to each track.
Thursday, October 19th
- 10:00 am - 3:00 pm - Thursday Outing. A small group of attendees will visit the Catcade (https://thecatcade.org), an arcade-themed cat cafe and rescue from 12:00-1:00pm. Outing is limited to 6 attendees, first come, first served. Anyone wishing to go into Chicago, but not go to the Catcade, is welcome to travel with us, and can also join us for lunch afterwards. Lunch will be at a Blue Line accessible location, to be determined. Please see this post for more details, including restaurant information: https://confabcon.dreamwidth.org/20152.html
- Cost: $17 for the Catcade, approximately $5 for Blue Line round trip ticket, plus money for lunch.
- 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Meet & Greet. Meet your fellow attendees, make new friends, and reconnect with old ones. Do some crafts, eat some snacks, and play some games at this chill gathering to kick off the con!
2023 Chicago CONfabulation Vid Show
Click here to see the 2023 Chicago Vid Show playlist.
Overheard at Chicago CONfabulation 2023
- "I really need some Muppets!"
- "Thé thing thé capitalistes think they're getting out of going back to the office, we are actually getting."
- "I have a lot of niche kinks, I'm writing a lot of underage, a lot of incest—" applause, wooing
- "Maybe I'm old." "No, it's the children who are wrong."
- "There's not much straight in this room"
- "to make donuts, you need to have donuts. holes are also important."
- "Oh they were "brothers"? That wouldn't stop you if you weren't a coward!!"
- "I mean, it's not like George Washington is going to react to your fic on twitter, so there's that."
- [talking about inciting incidents in RPF] "it's not like they win the Stanley cup, because that's unlikely for drag queens to do." "But not impossible!"
- "...so tied together in your brains and dicks..."
- "I mean you're not not a poser."
- "It is incest to me when it's hot."
- "I think finding how much shame you need in your incest..."
- "The username is havesexwithyourbrother..."
- "I think they're all brothers and they're all fucking!"
- "What the flowers in the attic is going on here?"
- "Oh, I didn't make them do that, they were fucking when I got here!"
- "I mentioned it because, you know, lesbians"
- "Name some Canadians!" "Ted Lasso!"
- "will you take 'the hot guy that died'?"
- "I'm an asshole but I'm not a cheater" - while playing fannish trivia
- "Let's not be the first to bring up our tests"
- "she can conjugate on the fly." "yeah I'm a conjugater from way back"
- "If you die at confab you die in real life"
- "dick shaped nose that's a noun."
- "I don't know if I made his crotch big enough"
- "...so I like a character and then... anybody they just look at."
- "If it's a corporate entity it's ok you can deadname that."
- "I call it longform boyfriend improv."
- "Y'all are out there under your government name talking about omegaverse"
- "Clearly, Steve and Bucky have a lot of friends."
- "They go clang, clang, clang when they fuck because they're wearing armor."
- "I also like Will/Hannibal/Abigail. Like they're her dads, but they fuck about it."
- "That's really fucked up; I appreciate that."
- "sorry, I have a spreadsheet for all my fandoms and I had to refer to it."
- "man up with your feelings in a healthy way"
- "Breed that man!"
- "One point against fix it and one point for A/B/O. First of all, as a certified tragedy enjoyer, I like break it fics."
- "I do want to ask a question of the room....what's a blorbo?"
- "The suffering is IMPORTANT!"
- "No, nothing is ever too horny!"
- "The happy ending can be them developing alpha beta omega traits."
- "Chocolate syrup has many uses around the home."
- "Catch me later, I'm in use on both sides right now"
- "Are you telling me a queer coded that villain??"
- (After someone referred to sentai): "I know what the H one is, but not the S one."
- "What exactly does the penis explosion say?" "Which penis explosion?"
- "I was so hard up I tried to read, like, the Kinsey report for titillation."
- "She just starts mowing people down." "I love that for her."
- "Not as gay as I anticipated based on the gif sets."
- "I mean he does have a taint forward style."
- "I feel like there's a bell I should ring Fraser's foreskin mentioned."
- "Smells like God"
- "It is so distracting that this man is NOT bisexual."
- "The sunk cost fallacy of cannibalism."
- "Is it peer pressure cannibalism or happy party cannibalism?"
- slaps table "It's gentrification of cannibalism!"
- "I don't think enough people who say eat the rich mean it literally."
- "I think Disney movies can be a gateway to cannibalism."
- "What's your favorite color?" "….gay?"
- "We want to go to Denny's and you want to have war."
- "How do you people live??" "…..well, we struggle…"
- My partner is driving me home and accusing me of being weird, so I said "I was in the top ten for normal at the incest con." "That's not the flex you think it is."
- Talking about apples and Frankenstein at the One Shot lead to: "A lot of people think Granny Smith is the apple, but Granny Smith is actually the doctor."