Hey, remember back in February, when there was a werewolf convention just north of Portland? Remember the comics, creature FX makeup, art, panels, friends and insane music? I sure do. That was HOWL CON, and it was the most fun I’ve had at a convention, ever. And it’s happening again.
Update September 2nd: HOWL CON’s original venue, the Red Lion at the Quay, is closing its doors and laying off its employees on October 31st 2015. HOWL CON has moved to the Red Lion in Kelso, WA, about half an hour north of Portland.
HOWL CON II is going down in Kelso, WA over the weekend of February 6th and 7th, 2016. Registration is open, and it would be extremely rad to see you there.
I recently had a catch-up call with Stephen Couchman, the convention’s organizer / director / best-beard-haver. He gave me a run-down on the plans for HCII, and here are some of the highlights I can share without jinxing anything.
- A celebration of the 75th anniversary of The Wolfman – a classic film worth partying about for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it set the template for 90% of what horror fans tend to think of as “werewolf canon”.
- A special guest, as of yet unnamed, who has some fundamental connections to the previous bullet point. Well, he or she is not unnamed. I know the name. I just can’t share it, yet.
- A renewed focus on art, including a “final reckoning” of featured artists, who will be “lashed to their easels” on a public stage and “forced to battle for their lives” through a real-time art competition driven entirely by the whims of you, the attendees. The event is real; quoted phrases are my own and may not reflect actual details.
- The Larry Awards, where you, the attendees, get to vote on the best werewolf stuff of the year. There may be a trophy involved, or the winners might be launched directly into the full moon as a kind of “nega-award”.
- Continued support of Wolf Haven International, a wonderful organization whose representatives started day 1 of the previous HOWL CON in a state I would describe as “bemused”, but who had graduated to “well into it” by day 2.
This is all great stuff and there’s more to come, but honestly, the best part of HOWL CON for me is meeting people. This year I got to hang out with PDX Werewolf, Kurt from Silver Bulletins, Mordrude, and so many other folks from the werewolf / horror / costume / art scene that I lost track. I even briefly got in the way of GrimWolf while they were loading their gear in. It was a wonderful experience and I can’t wait to see what happens at HOWL CON II. Come check it out!