I've been thinking about SF conventions lately. I reckon it'd be cool to visit one, soak up the atmosphere, meet some people I've read about or talked to online, attend some panels, and maybe blow some dough in the dealers room. I've read tonnes of con reports here on Journalscape and elsewhere, talking about things like Worldcon, WFC, and dozens of smaller regional conventions.

The problem is that funds are tight and these things cost money! I'd love to visit the Boston Worldcon (aka Noreascon Four) in early September, but until I'm employed that'll remain nothing but a wistful dream. We've already planned an anniversary trip to New Orleans later this year, so that'll pretty much eat up our travel budget.

There is one con that might be doable though : Wiscon, held this May in Madison, Wisconsin. That's a mere 1.5 hour drive for us, which means a large component of travel expenses (ie airfare) are unnecessary. I'd probably drag Carrie along too, and we could see the sights around Madison if there was nothing of interest at the con on a particular day.

I posted some questions about Wiscon on the Asimov's forum but received no response, so I can only assume nobody there had been to this particular con in the past!

Soooo.... I'm hoping some Journalscapers (or anyone else) can help convince me that I really need to come to Wiscon this year :) It sounds interesting, but I'm sitting on the fence at the moment ;)

What's Wiscon like? They call it the "World's Only Feminist Science Fiction Convention". I don't know that that's a big selling point for me personally, but surely there must be more to it than that! How about the other aspects - the panels, workshops, facilities, and so forth?

Lemme hear your thoughts!