| TFcon | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Transformers |
| Venue | Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale, Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport |
| Location(s) | Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Orlando |
| Country | Canada, USA |
| Inaugurated | November 10, 2002 |
| Most recent | October 21–23, 2022 |
| Attendance | 3000+ |
| Organized by | Colin Douglas |
| Website | http://www.tfcon.com |
TFcon is a Transformers fan convention held annually since 2002. TFcon will be held for the 21st consecutive year in 2023 with events occurring in Baltimore, Maryland in October and Toronto, Ontario, Canada in December to celebrate the 37th anniversary of the Transformers.
TFcon is the world's largest fan-run Transformers collectors convention.[citation needed] The event features a specialised dealer room for Transformers merchandise, guest question and answer panels and autograph sessions, a third-party product presentation, Transformers trivia, and a Transformers costume contest.
The first TFcon was held in Hamilton, Ontario in 2002, with 190 attendees. In 2003, Joe Ng and the Dreamwave Productions team were the first special guests at the conference. In its first two years the convention was moved around Ontario, before finding a regular location in Toronto. As of 2008, this convention changed its name from TransformersCon to TFcon at the request of Hasbro. In 2009 TFcon expanded to a 2-day convention. Starting in 2012, TFcon has been hosting a charity auction for the Make-A-Wish Foundation each summer, raising over $50,000 for the charity.[1]
In 2014 TFcon expanded to two shows a year, one in Canada and one in the United States. In Spring of 2019, TFcon hosted a Transformers Generation 1 cast reunion in Los Angeles, featuring 50 cast members from various Transformers media. In 2020 TFcon was held online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ran as a virtual event.
In 2023, following the signing of a bill which restricted drag shows in venues where children might be present, crossdressing was restricted at the convention, with refunds available for individuals who felt it was unsafe to attend the event.[2] Following the response from the fan community, the rules were altered to permit cross-dressing, with the organizers arguing that cross-dressing does not break any Florida state law.[3]
