CONvergence runs many parallel programming tracks, filling several convention rooms simultaneously with panels, speeches, demonstrations, recognitions, and screenings. It is one of the most-attended fan-run conventions in North America, with paid attendance just under 6,000.
The convention is known for several unique attractions including Cinema Rex, a couch-and-recliner-filled movie room; Theater Nippon, featuring anime; Connie's Space Lounge, a music and entertainment venue; COF2E2, a free coffee bar; CONsuite, hospitality and food; Harmonic CONvergence, which features musical acts; and the Dorian Gray Memorial Literary Lounge, a reading-and-writing setting.
There is also gaming (board, card, and roleplaying), an art show, an art auction, a dealer's room, all-night bardic music circles, and dozens of room parties of various themes. The walls of the convention are usually plastered with advertisements for different parties.
Multiple tracks of panel programming are provided in the plaza and atrium meeting rooms.
Cinema Rex hosts movies, while the Anime room shows anime throughout the weekend. Both rooms provide free drinks, popcorn and candy. Cinema Rex has sofa seating. In the past, Cinema Rex provided free pizza with one of its movies, usually one starring Kurt Russell.
Main Stage
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies are held on the Main Stage.
The highly regarded Masquerade is held Saturday night, displaying the best in costuming and cosplay creations, usually with short skits.
Music events are also held on the main stage.
Various events are held in the huge indoor Garden Court, which also serves as a mingling area. The east side of the Garden Court & pool area contains the Consuite rooms on the upper level, and other hospitality rooms on the lower level, such as the CoFFee bar and book swap library. The Garden Court is surrounded by two levels of Cabana rooms, north and south which serve as party rooms during the convention.
The convention is famous for its themed room parties given by various community and fan groups. Two levels of cabana rooms surround a pool and activity area, each with varied themes.
The con's mascot is the gynoid "Connie", who is occasionally opposed by Connie's scheming younger sister, "Connie Mk. II".
An inflatable tyrannosaur named Rex serves as Cinema Rex's mascot and is often involved in the Masquerade as well.
Annual themes and guests of honor
The number in parentheses after each guest's name is how many times they have been a CONvergence guest of honor as of the year in question.
1999 - "After All, it's Just a Party"
Forrest J. Ackerman† (1) - SF historian and collector
Pam Keesey (1) - Author of Vamps! and other fiction
Harry Knowles (1) - Ain't It Cool News
Jay Knowles (1) - Ain't It Cool News
Gordon Purcell (1) - Comic book artist
Gary Russell (1) - Producer of the Doctor Who audio series
2000 - "No one can tell you what CONvergence is... you have to experience it for yourself." (The Matrix and similar fiction)
(this is the only CONvergence not to be held at the Bloomington Radisson/Sheraton/DoubleTree. This CONvergence was held at the Radisson (now the Crowne Plaza) in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota)
Neil Gaiman (1) - Author of books, comics and film
Peg Kerr (1) - Award-winning author
Regina Pancake (1) - Hollywood prop creator
Ruth Thompson (1) - Fantasy artist
Keith Topping (1) - Author of Doctor Who novels and more
Cast and crew of Go To Hell! (1)
2001 - "Curioser and Curioser" (Alice in Wonderland and similar fiction)
Harry Knowles (2) - Movie critic and web entrepreneur
Peter Mayhew (1) - Chewbacca in Star Wars
Michael Sheard† (1) - British SF movie and television actor
Eleanor Arnason (1) - Award-winning author
Crist Ballas (1) - Movie makeup artist
Jay Knowles (1) - Web entrepreneur
C.H. Morgan (1) - Sci-fi and fantasy artist
2002 - "If Adventure Has A Name..." (Adventure themes in speculative fiction)
Diane Duane (1) - Popular author of books and television
Peter Morwood (1) - Sci-fi and fantasy author
Mark Altman (1) - "Trekspert" and co-creator of Free Enterprise and
Robert Meyer Burnett (1) - Co-creator of Free Enterprise and director
Nene Thomas (1) - Popular award-winning fantasy artist
Daren Dochterman (1) - Designer and illustrator for over 35 feature films
Adam 'Mojo' Lebowitz (1) - author and former lead animation supervisor for Foundation Imaging
2003 - "Time Flies" (Time travel)
Michael Sheard† (2) - Actor in Star Wars, Last Crusade, and many other projects
Andrew Probert (1) - Production designer for Star Trek
Eric Flint (1) - Author and editor of many books
John Kovalic (1) - Dork Tower and Dork Storm Press
Katherine Kurtz (1) - Author of the Deryni trilogies and stories
2004 - "Out of the Shadows" (The dark side of speculative fiction)
Denise Garner (1) - Romantic fantasy artist
David Gerrold (1) - Science fiction/fantasy author of many books
Larry Niven (1) - Author of many science fiction books, including the Ringworld series
Vincent Truitner (1) - Animation and CGI artist
Christian Colquhoun (1) - Physical effects artist
Crist Ballas (2) - Physical effects artist
2005 - "Snikt! Bamf! Thwip!" (Super-heroes and comic books)
Len Wein (1) - Writer for comics and animation, creator of Swamp Thing, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine
Dr. Jim Kakalios (1) - University of Minnesota physics professor, author of The Science of Superheroes
Mercedes Lackey (1) - Author of many popular novels, including the Valdemar and Bardic Voices series and folk music lyricist
Larry Dixon (1) - Co-author of Mage Wars and Dariens Tale series, author of many short stories and game material and fantasy artist
Marv Wolfman (1) - Writer for comics and animation, creator of Blade, Bullseye, and The New Teen Titans
Harry and Jay Knowles (3) - Ain't It Cool News
2006 - "Boldly Go." (space exploration)
Eric Flint (2) - Author and editor of many great books
J. G. Hertzler (1) - actor on Star Trek as General Martok
Ken Hite (1) - role-playing game author and designer
Bridget Landry (1) - astronomer and engineer on the Cassini probe mission
Robert O'Reilly (1) - Actor in many well-known science fiction TV series including Star Trek as Chancellor Gowron
Miles Teves (1) - set designer
David Weber (1) - author of military sci-fi
Greg Weisman (1) - TV and comic book writer
(Originally, Gary Russell had been scheduled to attend but had to decline due to conflicting obligations)
2007 - "Creature Feature" (horror and monsters)
Emily Hagins (1) - Writer and director of the zombie movie Pathogen
Brian Keene (1) - Author
Bernie Wrightson (1) - Comic book artist, co-creator of Swamp Thing
Lois McMaster Bujold (1) - Sci-fi and fantasy author
Wally Wingert (1) - Voice actor
John Kovalic (2) - Dork Tower, Out of the Box Games
2008 - "Ten Years 1999-2008" (10th CONvergence)
Crist Ballas (3) - make-up artist
Trace Beaulieu (1) - Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Doctor Clayton Forrester and Crow T. Robot) and Cinematic Titanic
Robert Meyer Burnett (2) - Co-creator of Free Enterprise and director
Christian Colquhoun (2) - Physical effects artist
Larry Dixon (2) - Co-author of Mage Wars and Dariens Tale series, author of many short stories and game material and fantasy artist
Daren Dochterman (2) - Designer and illustrator for over 35 feature films
Mark Evanier (1) - writer of comics and television shows
Eric Flint (3) - author
Ken Hite (2) - role-playing game author and designer
Dr. Jim Kakalios (2) - University of Minnesota physics professor, author of The Science of Superheros
Harry Knowles (4) - Ain't It Cool News
Jay Knowles (4) - Ain't It Cool News
John Kovalic (3) - Dork Tower
Mercedes Lackey (2) - Author of many popular novels, including the Valdemar and Bardic Voices series and folk music lyricist
Bridget Landry (2) - astronomer and engineer on the Cassini probe mission
Peter Mayhew (2) - Chewbacca in Star Wars
Andrew Probert (2) - Production designer for Star Trek
Vincent Truitner (2) - animator
David Weber (2) - author
Len Wein (2) - Writer for comics and animation, creator of Swamp Thing, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine
Greg Weisman (2) - producer and writer
Wally Wingert (2) - voice actor
Marv Wolfman (2) - Writer for comics and animation, creator of Blade, Bullseye, and The New Teen Titans
(Originally, Bernie Wrightson had been scheduled to attend as one of the many returning guests of honor for year ten, but was unable to do so at the last minute.)
2009 - "This Con Goes to 11" (Humor in Science-Fiction and Fantasy, also the 11th CONvergence)
Trace Beaulieu (2) - Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Doctor Clayton Forrester and Crow T. Robot) and Cinematic Titanic
Joel Hodgson (1) - Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Creator and on-air host Joel Robinson (seasons 1-5)) and Cinematic Titanic
Frank Conniff (1) - Mystery Science Theater 3000 (TV's Frank) and Cinematic Titanic
Mary Jo Pehl (1) - - Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Pearl Forrester) and Cinematic Titanic
Brian Keene (2) - Author of The Rising
Kelly McCullough (1) - Author of WebMage (ISBN 0441014259)
Dwayne McDuffie (1) - Creator of Static Shock
Patrick Rothfuss (1) - Author of The Name of the Wind
2010 - "Bring on the Bad Guys" (12th CONvergence)
L.A. Banks - Author of the Vampire Huntress Legend series of novels as well as the Crimson Moon, Dark Avengers and Soul Food series.
Jeremy Bulloch - Actor with credits including The Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi (Boba Fett)
Paul Cornell - Writer for Doctor Who (television, novels, audio), novelist and writer for Marvel Comics (Captain Britain and MI-13).
Bridget Landry (3) - Jet Propulsion Laboratory Engineer (Hubble, Mars Pathfinder, and Cassini missions) and Master-level costumer.
Chuck McCann - Veteran comedian, actor, and cartoon voiceover artist, voice of Sonny the Cuckoo Bird.
Wally Wingert (3) - Voice actor with credits including Invader Zim (Almighty Tallest Red), Bleach (Renji Abarai), and The Garfield Show (Jon).
2011 - "Tomorrow through the Past" (13th CONvergence) CONvergence 2011 was the last event held at the Sheraton Minneapolis South before it changed brands to Doubletree on July 12.
Jason Carter - Actor, Dead Matter, Babylon 5
Edward Douglas - Gothic horror Fantasy musician, Midnight Syndicate
Brian Keene (3) - Novelist/comic writer, Grave Conditions, The Last Zombie (returning GoH)
Seanan McGuire - Urban fantasist, October Daye, InCryptid, Newsflesh
Paul and Storm - Special musical performers
Lynne M. Thomas - librarian, author, editor of Chicks Dig Time Lords
Anthony Tollin - Historian/publisher/comics coloorist, The Shadow and Doc Savage reprints
Catherynne Valente - novelist, poet
Brian Van Camp - actor, Dead Matter
Greg Weisman (3) - Animation producer, Gargoyles (returning GoH)
2012 - "Wonder Women" (14th CONvergence), Theme: Female creators and characters of Speculative Fiction
Bonnie Burton - Writer
Jenifer Clarke Wilkes - Game publications editor, Wizards of the Coast
Judith Walcutt - Poet
Lyda Morehouse - Writer
Ruth Thompson - Artist
Sophie Aldred - Actress
Sharyn November - Editor
Tamora Pierce - Writer
CONvergence 2012 had 5,980 members.
2013 - "British Invasion" (July 4–7, 2013), 15th CONvergence, Theme: British creators and characters of Speculative Fiction.
Charlie Jane Anders - Writer and Blogger
Lou Anders - Editor
Caitlin Blackwood - Actress
Bill Corbett & Kevin Murphy – of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax
John Picacio - Artist
Paul Cornell (2) - Writer for Doctor Who (television, novels, audio), novelist and writer for Marvel Comics (Captain Britain and MI-13).
James Moran - Screenwriter Severance (film), Cockneys vs. Zombies, and Tower Block (film)
Melinda Snodgrass - Author and Scriptwriter
CONvergence 2013 had 6,789 members.
2014 - "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (July 3–6, 2014), 16th CONvergence with 6369 attendees, Theme: Urban Fantasy such as the Gargoyles TV series
Greg Weisman (4)
Greg Guler (Gargoyles character designer)
Marina Sirtis (Demona from Gargoyles, and Deanna Troi from STTNG)
Matthew Ebel (musician)
C. Robert Cargill
Scott Lynch
Amy Berg
Emma Bull
Sarah Clemens
CONvergence 2014 had 6369 members.
2015 - "DoublePlusGood" (July 2–5, 2015), 17th CONvergence with 6252 attendees, Theme: Dystopias
Connie Mark 2 - In the tradition of running the convention with volunteers, Connie Mark 2 has stepped up to run the convention: "You know Big Brother. Wait till you get a load of Little Sister!!!"
Wesley Chu
Nicole Dubuc
Chad Frey
Charlotte Fullerton
Lee Harris
Jennifer Ouellette
Gordon Smuder
Toni Weisskopf
Bryan Thao Worra
CONvergence 2015 had 6252 members.
2016 - "...And How Do We GET There?" (June 30–July 3, 2016), 18th CONvergence with 5928 attendees, Theme: The great vehicles and transport of science fiction and fantasy
Amal El-Mohtar
Amy Shira Teitel
Cam Banks
Christopher Jones (professional comic book artist, attendee, and co-founder; designer of Connie and the other mascots)
Daren Dochterman
Greg Weisman (5)
Joseph Scrimshaw (comedian, actor, and playwright)
Khary Payton
Mark Oshiro
Ytasha Womack
CONvergence 2016 had 5928 members.
2017 - "To Infinity And Beyond" (July 6–9, 2017), 19th CONvergence, Theme: Epic tales of space opera!
(Guest and attendance details not yet available.)
CONvergence kicks off on the Thursday before the first full weekend in July. While this can occasionally overlap the 4th of July holiday, some of the best firework viewing in the twin cities is on the 22nd floor of the DoubleTree hotel's north tower, which all members have access to.
The 2008 event was the tenth CONvergence, and the convention theme was the addition of a fourth day of events (Thursday, July 3, 2008) added to the schedule. The four-day schedule permanently replaced the three-day schedule.
In 2008, CONvergence was voted "Best Fan Convention" by the City Pages arts/alternative newspaper. It has appeared in "Best of the Cities" in each year afterward until 2011 (when no award was given for "best fan convention" or "best annual convention").
The convention is held at the Doubletree Bloomington – Minneapolis South. The convention handles booking for the entire Doubletree hotel for the 4-day-weekend. From the 2010-2014 convention cycles, an online hotel room reservation system was established. Since 2015, hotel rooms are allocated through random lottery via pre-registrations. CONvergence also has room blocks at the Sheraton and Crowne Plaza. By 2014 the Convergence room block had expanded to eight hotels in the area, with most events being held at the DoubleTree hotel.
The convention began in 1999 at the Bloomington Radisson South Hotel and (with the exception of the 2000 convention) is held every year at the same location, now known as Doubletree by Hilton Bloomington – Minneapolis South.
