Pandemic cancels this year's SoonerCon
SoonerCon organizers have announced the cancellation of the 2021 pop culture convention that was to be held in Norman.
According to a post on the organization's Facebook page and website, the continuing fallout of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of planning for a June event led to the cancellation.
SoonerCon is the Oklahoma City metro area's sci-fi/fantasy convention that dates back to 1986. The original iteration of the show ran from 1986-1997; the show was revived in 2006. More than 100 panelists and professional guests are featured at the show, including comic-book artists and writers, novelists, painters, actors and more. The 2019 SoonerCon drew about 3,100 attendees to Norman.
The 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19.
The convention generally hosts dozens of panels on a wide variety of topics; holds a cosplay contest; features autograph signings, workshops and presentations; and features game rooms for tabletop and video gaming.
“We cannot in good conscience host a 3,000-plus participant event that brings in people from all over the nation and internationally in June 2021,” organizers wrote on the SoonerCon.com website and on the organization's Facebook page. “Presently, hosting such an event would be in violation of City of Norman ordinance, and statewide mandates, and we do not know what the future holds.”
The event had been set for June 25-27 at the Embassy Suites Hotel Norman.
The volunteer-run event currently plans to return in 2022.
“SoonerCon's yearover-year financials rely on thousands of participants to remain solvent,” the post reads. “Without the revenue for the 2020 event — and now 2021 — we find it necessary to prepare for our June 2022 con with the hope we can safely return to similar operating levels.”
SoonerCon is produced by the Future Society of Central Oklahoma, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to promoting the arts, literature, and sciences through the lens of pop culture.