ICon festival
Encyclopedia
ICon is an Israel
i Science Fiction
and Fantasy
fan convention
held annually in the Tel Aviv
Cinemateque during the Sukkot
holiday. The name ICon is a shortening of the phrase Israeli Convention. The first ICon was held in 1998 and was presented as a convention. The earlier ICons lasted for 3 days each, but with the increasing demand, they started lengthening, and to attract more people, it was changed from convention to festival. However, the name ICon remained. ICon 2006 was 5 days long and held about 5000 visitors every day.
The festival is the biggest fan convention in Israel and features lectures, movies, stage play, roleplay, dealer tables and other activities. Each ICon has a main theme and is visited by a famous guest from abroad; past guests include science fiction author Orson Scott Card
and fantasy authors Guy Gavriel Kay
, Steven Brust
and Neil Gaiman
. In addition, since 1999, the Geffen Award
for original and translated science fiction and fantasy literature has been given during the festival. In former years, it featured a battling ring, where people could fight each other using soft LARP weapons. However, this activity was disallowed for security reasons.
Among the organizers of the festival are The Israeli Association for Science Fiction and Fantasy, "Starbase 972" Star trek fan club, The Israeli Roleplaying Association and others.
On 2010, due to some disagreements among festival organizers, the festival was split to two festivals:
One festival is called "Icon Festival". it is organized by "Israeli Society of Science Fiction and Fantasy", on the subject "Through the Looking-Glass".
The other festival's name was changed to "Icon TLV" and its subject for 2010 is "Heroes and Monsters".
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Science Fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and Fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
fan convention
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
held annually in the Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
Cinemateque during the Sukkot
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
holiday. The name ICon is a shortening of the phrase Israeli Convention. The first ICon was held in 1998 and was presented as a convention. The earlier ICons lasted for 3 days each, but with the increasing demand, they started lengthening, and to attract more people, it was changed from convention to festival. However, the name ICon remained. ICon 2006 was 5 days long and held about 5000 visitors every day.
The festival is the biggest fan convention in Israel and features lectures, movies, stage play, roleplay, dealer tables and other activities. Each ICon has a main theme and is visited by a famous guest from abroad; past guests include science fiction author Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
and fantasy authors Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction. Many of his novels are set in fictional realms that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Justinian I or Spain during the time of El Cid...
, Steven Brust
Steven Brust
Steven Karl Zoltán Brust is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He was a member of the writers' group The Scribblies, which included Emma Bull, Pamela Dean, Will Shetterly, Nate Bucklin, Kara Dalkey, and Patricia Wrede; he also belongs to the Pre-Joycean...
and Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
. In addition, since 1999, the Geffen Award
Geffen Award
The Geffen Award is an annual literary award given by the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy since 1999, and presented at the Annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention, ICon Festival...
for original and translated science fiction and fantasy literature has been given during the festival. In former years, it featured a battling ring, where people could fight each other using soft LARP weapons. However, this activity was disallowed for security reasons.
On 2010, due to some disagreements among festival organizers, the festival was split to two festivals:
One festival is called "Icon Festival". it is organized by "Israeli Society of Science Fiction and Fantasy", on the subject "Through the Looking-Glass".
The other festival's name was changed to "Icon TLV" and its subject for 2010 is "Heroes and Monsters".
External links
- Icon Festival held by "Israeli Society of Science Fiction and Fantasy"
- Official site of "Icon TLV" (changed name)