ChimaeraCon
San Antonio, Texas

When: mid-March [check this year's dates]

Where: Crossroads Convention Center, located in the Crossroads Mall at 4522 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, Texas.

Like the mythical creature for which it was named, ChimaeraCon is an amalgam of sorts-- part celebrity meet and greet, with appearances by a scifi star or fantasy artist, part shopper's paradise, with dealer booths featuring the latest CCG cards or that must-have World of Warcraft T-shirt or Xiaolin Showdown action figure, topped off with a generous portion of family-oriented fun, complete with board games and costume contests.

Events: Game on! Get ready for three days of Frag, Scion, Heroscape and D&D tournaments, interspersed with doorprize drawings and Q&As with film personalities (Gunnar Hansen, better known as Leatherface to his fans, dropped by in 2007, and the "Beastmaster" himself, Marc Singer, sat for a viewing of his fantasy flick in 2008).

From anime to Xena: Warrior Princess, fantasy frocks will be on display as CCG, RPG and scifi fans take the stage for a costume contest. Enthusiasts can even set up a short skit to enthrall the audience. (All prop weaponry used will be peace-tied, as is the case with any fake weaponry brought into the convention center.)

Children's Events: "Colonel Mustard did it in the library with a candlestick." Clue is just one of the classic board games available for both the young and the young at heart. Players can also decide whether they want to be the top hat or the thimble before distributing money in Monopoly, strategize where to hide a submarine in a game of Battleship or sharpen your vocabulary skills with a round of Scrabble.

Video Resource
An interview with the original Leatherface from "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" at the 2007 ChimaeraCon:

Map to convention site:

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For more information:

• visit www.chimaeracon.com