It has been three long years since the Skirmisher staff has been to a convention, ever since that unfortunate episode at Magnum Opus Con, when one of our people went on a drunken rampage, collapsed under a decorative plant, and had to be delivered to his room on a luggage cart. So, it figures that we are really excited about Imagine Con 2000, a humongous four-day fantasy, science fiction, horror, comic, and toy convention that promises to be a fantastic event.

Imagine Con 2000 will be held April 20-23 at the Virginia Beach Pavilion in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This makes it pretty easy to get to for people in the Mid-Atlantic region, and a lot easier to get to for those of us on the East Coast than GenCon, the only thing we know of that might be bigger this year.

A lot of big names from the worlds of sci-fi and fantasy will be there, including artist Larry Elmore, special effects wizard Terrence "T-Man" Masson, Writer Kevin J. Anderson, and (best/worst of all) Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax.

Highlights of Imagine Con will include celebrity appearances, book signings by authors, "how-to" seminars, movie screenings, contests, a gaming competition with cool prizes, and more than 200 vendors of comics, fantasy, horror and sci-fi accessories, and toys.

Events will include the Imagine Con awards, where attendees get to pick the winners; an Independent Edge Films "Scream" Test conducted by award-winning film producer Michael D. Fox and his crew, the winner of which will be cast in an upcoming feature film (costumes encouraged!); an art show and print shop where people can show and sell their artwork or prints; seminars tailored to miniatures gamers and modelers; book and art signings; and auctions.

Gaming will also play an important role at the Con, as well it should. There will be special areas for roleplaying games, miniatures gaming, collectible card games, around-the-clock open gaming, computer gaming, and--increasingly omnipresent at conventions--a number of live-action roleplaying games (LARPS).

LARPS will be a big deal at Imagine Con and will include the largest Star Wars LARP ever, an obligatory Vampire LARP, and the piece-de-resistance, a mind-bending Cthulhu Live mega-event that will run over three full days for 24-hours a day and incorporate elements of the not-yet-released Lost Souls supplement.

Other features will include live musical and theatrical performances; miniature painting, Lara Croft look-alike, quick draw comic sketch, best diorama, best new amateur game system, and masquerade contests; and two video rooms (running 24 hours a day, naturally), one dedicated solely to Japanese Anime' and the other running theme films on a daily basis (Horror on Thursday, Fantasy on Friday, and Sci-Fi on Saturday).

The Skirmisher staff will be running a booth, where we will be recruiting writers and selling vintage and hard-to-find games, and our editor-in-chief, Michael J. Varhola, will be speaking on a number of panels about author H.P. Lovecraft, demonstrating the Skirmish miniatures game system, and selling signed copies of his books.

To register for the convention, see its schedule of events, or get more information, check out the Imagine Con Website. Try to make it! And if you do, come by and talk to us at booth 627.