Spa-Con V, the multi-genre comics and pop culture convention that had been scheduled for this September 18 – 20, was canceled today due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
Spa-Con 2021 will be held September 23 – 26 of next year.
“There are many factors that led to this decision,” said Bill Solleder, marketing director for Visit Hot Springs and one of the founders of the event, which began in 2015. “Some of our special guests expressed a reluctance to travel during the pandemic, and there were other issues involving the health and safety of convention-goers, volunteers and staff.”
“Spa-Con joins some of the largest comic conventions in the world, such as Comic Con San Diego, which have also canceled due to the pandemic,” he said.
Solleder said those who have purchased advance admission passes will receive refunds, as will vendors who have booked space in the Hot Springs Convention Center for Spa-Con V.
Solleder said, “Our celebration of pop culture and comics brings together a diverse audience that loves everything from Batman to ‘Stranger Things,’ Pac-Man to Mario Smash Bros, Dungeons and Dragons to Pokemon and everything in between. We look forward to getting everyone back together in 2021 for another edition of Spa-Con.”
He said Spa-Con provides “possibly the best people-watching fun in the state. Previous conventions had hosted celebrities from ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Twin Peaks,’ ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ and ‘Stranger Things,’ not to mention NASA scientists and 12-foot-tall robots.”
For more information call Bill Solleder at 501-321-2027.