The best way to describe the Dickens Fair to the uninitiated is as one of those Halloween haunted houses except for Christmas.

Bob Calhoun checks in from the massive Dreamforce convention at Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Every cat is a good cat at CatCon in Pasadena.

Every cat is a good cat at CatCon in Pasadena

Everyone has a ball at Cedar Rapids’ IJA Fest.

There's nothing like cute, stubby doggies to calm one's nerves.

Jack Kirby is the architect of Marvel Comics and blockbuster movie franchises he never lived to see.

There was a surprising lack of zombies at the Walker Stalker con.

Like the creature that inspires them, Bigfoot conventions are where you find them. I’ve been to Bigfoot conferences held in backyards. This newest one, The Bigfoot Bonanza, is booked for three days at San Francisco's Balboa Theatre, just a few blocks from the ocean.

Law students and a real judge debate the rights of superpowered mutants