CONfabulation 2017

The First Annual CONfabulation was held May 25-28, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was located at Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, 112 Washington Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15219.

The charity raffle raised $580 for Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania.

2017 Panels/Programming

Programming items typically run 50 minutes with 10 minute breaks in between in order to allow time for participants to chat or visit the restroom, with enough time for them to make it to the next item or panel that they’d like to see. There is also an hour-long break for lunch.

Programming items are divided into three tracks (Panels, Small Panels & Workshops, and Roundtables) with a room dedicated to each track. There was also a Quiet & Crafty room for additional workshops.

Fandom-specific Programming:

  • A Galaxy Far, Far Away – (Star Wars)
  • Born to Make History – (Yuri!!! on Ice)
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 20 Years Later
  • Hamilton: Who Tells Your Story?
  • Harry Styles: Past, Present, and Future
  • #justiceforbarb – (Stranger Things)
  • Magic Comes From Pain – (The Magicians)
  • Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
  • NINE-NINE!!! – (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
  • Slapshots and Stick Saves and Things Like Chemistry – (Hockey RPF)
  • Talents & Dragons – (Anne McCaffrey’s books)
  • The Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Good, The Bad, and Your Problematic Faves
  • Totally 80’s Toons – (80’s Cartoons)
  • whatmakesyouhaha.mp3 – (One Direction)
  • Watney Watch: Special Edition – (The Martian)
  • You Can Certainly Try – (Critical Role)

Fandom-generic Programming:

  • A/B/OMG – (A/B/O tropes)
  • Book Recs for the People – (works by and about women, POC, queer folks, disabled folks)
  • Classic Ships – (Fandom history)
  • Disability in Media
  • Fandom as Genre OR Our Tropes, Ourselves
  • Family Affairs: Reading and Writing Incest in Fandom
  • Female Characters: From Action Girl to Wrench Wench
  • Femslash
  • Forgive Me Word Count, For I Have Sinned – (Writer’s Block)
  • Historically (In)accurate: Fans, fics, and history – (WWII and medieval history)
  • Invisible Unicorns: The Trifecta of Magical Orientations – (Bisexuality, Asexuality, Pansexuality)
  • Magical Realism & Soulmate AUs – the Good, the Bad, and the Wince-Worthy
  • Ohana Means Family – (Found families tropes)
  • OT3: A Love Story
  • The Post Audiofic Archive Life – (Podfic)
  • The State of Fandom – (Modern fandom)

Workshop Programming:

  • Baby’s First Vid – (Music video editing)
  • Dress Like A Woman (With The Blood Of Your Enemies Gracing Your Lips) – (Makeup Q&A)
  • Plushie Workshop – the Plushie!Phoenix rises again!
  • Stitch ‘n Bitch – (Knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, etc.)

Other Programming:

2017 Convention Reports

Overheard at CONfabulation 2017

Collected from Twitter:

  • “…welcome to #ConFabCon, this is not a place for shame.”
  • #confabcon “No, Pissy, the heterosexual barrier is NOT knotting!”
  • “What are we doing? Cards Against Humanity?” “No, were having an orgy” “… but that’s a completely different outfit” #ConFabCon
  • “Marvel has not been very good at doing the emotional work in their movies.” “We do it for them” #confabcon
  • “YOU get a tragic backstory! And YOU get a tragic backstory!” #confabcon
  • “and then there’s an emoji heart.” #confabcon #badficidol
  • “That isn’t locked shouldn’t it be?” “What isn’t locked?” “nothing” (Certainly not the door labeled restricted access) #ConFabCon
  • “Can’t we just be best friends even though we sometimes punch each other?” “Sometimes that’s just how you show that you care!” #CONfabcon
  • “Is she going to fuck the horse? I think she’s going to fuck the horse!” Does it count as overheard at #ConFabCon if we’re in the car home?
  • “If all of the men are off together, some of them are gonna be fucking.” #CONfabcon
  • “but what kind of lipstick should you use if you want to make the penises kiss?” #confabcon
  • “He’s a dumpster fire with a heart of gold.” #CONfabcon
  • “There’s desperation and large object body penetration and that’s all I want.” #CONfabcon
  • “”Body language”” there are two quotes because air quotes. #ConFabCon
  • “I generally gloss over porn. You know, it’s just tab A, slot B. Or sometimes tab B, slot A. But…heh, butt.” #ConFabCon
  • “How’s the fic quality?” “Well it’s not on AO3. Let’s put it that way.” #confabcon
  • “And then he goes into a murderous rage … I know, feelings, right?” #confabcon
  • “He’ll be back, and then he’ll bone his sister, like he should!” #confabcon
  • “Wow, they’ve been here since it was black and white.” #confabcon
  • “This is my budget Apple Watch.” *talking about having a phone on her boobs. #CONfabcon
  • “You don’t have to do anything in there. Bring your knitting!!” #CONfabcon
  • “Your tombstone is going to say ‘No judgement’ on it.” #CONfabcon
  • “It only takes a minute to become vampires.” #ConFabCon
  • raptor jesus i am being coopted into hockey fic #confabcon
  • “Batman doesn’t use lipstick; it leaves evidence!” #OHatconfabcon #confabcon
  • Abracaducken: newest word born in Pittsburgh (6yos are the greatest) #confabcon
  • “How is Mark Watney eating better than us?” #ConFabCon #dinnerandaMartian
  • “I don’t think fanpeople know how to lie about chocolate, really.” #Confabcon
  • A scientist is always fine. #TheMartian
  • “How do we feel about Thor’s new hair?” “It’s okay. I think it’s gonna get cut on screen.” “NO, YOU TAKE THAT BACK.” #ConFabCon
  • “I’m always a pretty princess” –Batman, absolutely canonically ??#ficrec
  • “It’s been seven days since I ran out of ketchup.” Mark Watney is a man after my own heart #confabcon
  • “We are often interrupted by the cunnilingus.” #confabcon
  • “That man was the worst. He was like moldy tofu in human form.” Overheard @ConFabCon
  • “I may or may not be writing a fic that is several years in the making-” “Oh yeah, you should finish that.” Overheard @ConFabCon
  • “Now you’re just blowjob guy forever!” #confabcon
  • “Okay… the taste of poor choices in my mouth.” #CONfabcon
  • “Oh, like gen fic?” “…from what I remember, it was gen…” #CONfabcon
  • “So I was raised not a dick so I think some” #confabcon
  • Robots are taking over our fanfic jobs and I do not approve!!! #ConFabCon
  • Fucking Kevin. Fucking otters. #confabcon
  • “If I’m ever that heterosexual, just shoot me.” #ConFabCon
  • It’s not non consensual but … it … look the point is he has really adorable baby now ok? #ConFabCon
  • “I can’t see through time enough” #ConFabCon
  • “Coca-cola is an invisible fandom in Pittsburgh.” #CONfabcon
  • “You can’t do anything right, you have to just roll around in rags.” #CONfabcon
  • “All of Jupiter? It’s really big.” #CONfabcon
  • “I gotta find someone to arm wrestle me…” #CONfabcon
  • “What if I just eat cheetos until the razors arrive?” #CONfabcon
  • “You get a tragic backstory and you get a tragic backstory…. check under your chairs.” #CONfabcon
  • “Have we had the talk? The licking things talk?” #ConFabCon
  • There’s incest at noon. #overheardatconfab #okaytechnicallytheconcomm
  • “Zack is like the bandom Dana!” #ConFabCon
  • “In your OTP who is the contractor and who is the real estate agent?” #seriousquestions #confabcon
  • “Fuck yeah, synergy!” #roundtable #confabcon