Arisia
Arisia is an ambitious, four-day Boston-area regional convention, usually but not always held on Martin Luther King Day weekend. Recent attendance has been between 3000 and 4000. Arisia will next be held in the Westin Boston Waterfront on January 17-20, 2014.
Years of being held in the Boston Park Plaza hotel, with its many small function rooms, has led Arisia down the path of diversity, and having hundreds of hours of programming (including multi-track Children's Programming) is now considered by the organizers to be a hallmark of the convention. Arisia is also distinguished by hosting third-party awards ceremonies, by having one of the largest competition Masquerades on the East Coast, by frequently bringing in 3D or otherwise unusual Artist Guests of Honor, and by being the one of the very few regional conventions still doing 35mm film.
Arisia's attendance and volunteer base are generally younger than that of other regional conventions, and the organization has been relatively quick to adopt or develop new technologies. The organization is also unusual in that the staff tend to change jobs from year to year.
