Arisia is a convention for fans of science fiction and fantasy, in all forms of media, held annually in January on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in the Boston area. We strive to uphold our commitment to creating a space for science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages, ethnicities, genders, abilities, and orientations to explore, learn, and just plain have fun.
Arisia is produced by Arisia, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization. While the annual convention is undoubtedly its largest project, Arisia, Inc. does much more, including distributing grants to organizations or projects that further its mission to promote science fiction and fantasy.
History and Governance
The first Arisia convention was held in 1990 with a total attendance of just over 800 people. We've come a long way since then, with over 4,500 registered attendees in 2017. If you want to find out more about the Arisias of the past, check out the History page on Arisia, Inc.’s website. Arisia, Inc. signs our contracts, sets our policies, elects and appoints senior leadership, owns all our stuff, and handles incident investigation between conventions.
Our Commitment to Safety
Arisia rolled out its first Code of Conduct in the 1990s, but it hasn’t stayed stagnant! We are listening, learning, and improving our processes every year to make sure that our diverse community of attendees feels safe at our convention and trusts that if they bring an issue to our attention, we’ll take it and them seriously. Our current Code of Conduct, as well as our Incident Reporting Process, are always available to review on our website.
A Little Something For Everyone
We pack a lot of activities into our four day event. Want to learn about what books from the last year you can't miss? Check out our Literature Track over in the Programming schedule. Is a song or drum circle more up your alley? We've got the Filk for you! Whether you come to science fiction and fantasy through anime, gaming, costuming, or elsewhere, you'll find entertainment and a community of like-minded people at Arisia.
That includes the next generation of science fiction and fantasy fans! Many of our activities are family-friendly, but we work hard to put together an amazing assortment of activities specifically for children and teens. Make sure to check out all the options at the 19 & Under section of our website.
We also include programming about interests of our attendees that fall outside of the core science fiction and fantasy circle. Come learn the basics of how to brew beer or join us for a session on brainstorming the best ways to gamify household chores for fen. We as a community have so much more knowledge to share than just our favorite books and movies!
Run By Fans, For Fans
Arisia is a volunteer-run convention, from the bottom all the way up to the top. With a staff of over 200 people working pre-con and an at-con volunteer corps of over 500, it takes a pretty large village to keep Arisia going year after year. While no mere material gift could adequately express our thankfulness, we do our best to provide useful and fun perks to our volunteers. If you’re interested in joining us, head on over to the Team Arisia page to learn more and sign up. We look forward to working with you.
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