Ithaca College

This student run convention has become a unique hands-on experience for the campus community and for pop-culture enthusiasts nationwide.

Ithaca’s long running comic and pop-culture convention, ITHACON, will be completely virtual this year.  The convention, scheduled for Saturday, April 24, will be held on platforms such as Zoom and Discord.  Although online, this will be the 45th year of operation, and the showrunners are planning a variety of experiences, including panels,  virtual dealers’ room, movies, cosplay, and activities suited for all ages.

The show is unique collaboration with Ithaca College. Ed Catto, an instructor in the School of Business, teaches a course on tradeshows and conventions, and also provides students the opportunity to plan, publicize and manage this convention. 

These students work with the “senior management team” of ITHACON  – longtime enthusiasts and volunteers – through a unique partnership with Ithaca College.

“I've been to a few different virtual events during Covid but I'm excited for Ithacon because I got to be a part of how this virtual event came to be,” said Maddie Jacobs, an Ithaca College senior.

Highlights for this year’s ITHACON include

·       The Lost Stan Lee Tapes: Stan Lee’s 1975 Lecture at Ithaca College

·       ITHACON hosts Ross Richie, CEO & Co-founder of BOOM! Studios. Young entrepreneurs are invited to pick Ross Richie’s brain and share their own ideas and thoughts with him while gaining advice and constructive feedback.

·       Illustrating for Beginners with comics artist Steve Ellis

·       Publisher Spotlights with entrepreneurial start-ups Aftershock and AHOY.

·       A virtual dealers’ room featuring retailers, entrepreneurs and artisans

·       WandaVision panel -a deep dive into the series and a creator spotlight with writer Roger Stern – the creator of Monica (Captain Marvel) Rambeau, the breakout character from this Disney+ series.

While these panels and experiences are expected to be the highlight of the online convention, there will be a number of gaming rooms via Discord with multiple different games ranging from social deduction games like Among Us to party games like The Jackbox Party Pack.

Senior Tess Kneebone shared some thoughts too. “Ithacon 45 is allowing me to put my Live Event minor into action while adapting to real world circumstances like the pandemic,” said Tess.  “This experience has changed my close-minded perspective on virtual events and has allowed me to see the endless possibilities virtual events can offer. As graduation is just around the corner, I can confidently say that I am ready for anything the world throws at me.”

The convention’s founder, Bill Turner is still involved with the planning and managing of this event. Professor Katharine Kittredge who championed the collaboration with Ithaca College is also very involved, coordinating the Graphic Novel Advisory Board’s participation in this year’s ITHACON.

Attendees are encouraged to visit the ITHACON website, Ithacon.org , for additional details and information about the event. And feel free to follow our socials: Instagram (@ithaconny), Twitter (@ithaconNY), and Facebook Group (Ithacon). Admission for this online event is free.

This year’s Ithacon logo was created by Ithaca College’s Caleigh Clarke.