SiliCon with Adam Savage (formally
Silicon Valley Comic Con) is an annual
pop culture and technology convention, at the
San Jose Convention Center in
San Jose, California. The
convention was founded by
Steve Wozniak,
Stan Lee and Rick White. The inaugural event was held March 18–20, 2016 at San Jose's McEnery Convention Center. The convention was rebranded as SiliCon in early 2020 and
Adam Savage was appointed as the creative director.
History
Silicon Valley Comic Con was first announced April 17, 2015 through an online video featuring Steve Wozniak and Stan Lee. The aim was to bring together popular culture touchstones such as comics, movies, genre TV and technology together as one convention. Including panels featuring creative artists, writers, actors, directors, producers, and science communicators.
Silicon Valley Comic Con will be the San Francisco Bay Area's first large multi-genre convention since the departure of WonderCon after that convention's 2011 show. Since WonderCon's departure the largest convention left in the Bay Area had been Big Wow! Comicfest, which is being added to Silicon Valley Comic Con's schedule.
On July 13, 2016, the second annual event was confirmed to be occurring April 21–23, 2017 at the San Jose Convention Center as well as expanding into several additional venues nearby.
On February 20, 2020, the convention was renamed SiliCon, and Adam Savage was named the new creative director. The 2020 event was to have taken place October 16–18 at the San Jose Convention Center, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced officials to move to a virtual show.
SiliCon 2023 was cancelled, with the organizers alluding to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and funding issues.
Features and events
The convention aims to include both popular culture and technology in what Wozniak hopes will be a uniquely Silicon Valley flavor. In that spirit the convention will have typical comic convention staples such as an "artists alley", but will also have an "app alley" featuring new and emerging technology items. Several movie and television studios will be represented at the inaugural event including Warner Bros. Pictures, Lionsgate and AMC. Additionally several technology-focused guests will be involved as well including astrophysicists and technologists.
Convention Locations
| Dates |
Location |
Attendance |
Guests
|
| March 18–20, 2016
| San Jose Convention Center
San Jose, California | 60,000 | Steve Wozniak, Stan Lee, William Shatner, Jeremy Renner, Ray Park, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Christopher Lloyd, Astro Teller, Jon Heder, Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Tim Miller, Vic Mignogna, Nichelle Nichols |
| April 21–23, 2017
| San Jose Convention Center, City National Civic, The California Theater
San Jose, California | 65,000 | Steve Wozniak, William Shatner, Grant Gustin, Tom Felton, Billy Boyd, Steven Yeun, John Cusack, Gina Torres, Adam West, Burt Ward, Gary Fisher, Buzz Aldrin, Anjali Bhimani, Kari Byron, Ming Chen, Chad Michael Collins, Denise Crosby, Gigi Edgley, Robert Englund, Jackie Dallas, Jonathan Frakes, Matt Frewer, Pam Grier, Sam J. Jones, Chase Masterson, Gates McFadden, David Newell, Nichelle Nichols, |
| April 6–8, 2018
| San Jose Convention Center
San Jose, California | 70,000 | David Tennant, Krysten Ritter, Christina Ricci, Mads Mikkelsen, Ian McDiarmid, Freema Agyeman, Temuera Morrison, Daniel Logan, Chris Kattan, Martha Higareda, Katee Sackhoff, Ray Park, Nichelle Nichols, Adam Savage, Stan Lee, Sean Astin, Andy Weir, Jewel Staite, Dean Devlin, Judy Greer, Matthew Lewis, Kevin Eubanks, Mae Jemison, Michio Kaku, Roger Penrose
|
| August 16–18, 2019
| San Jose Convention Center
San Jose, California | | Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Momoa, Chris Hadfield, Will Wright, Jim Cummings, Adam Savage, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong, Ben McKenzie, Julie Benz, Lou Ferrigno, Andy Weir
|
| August 28–29, 2021
| San Jose Convention Center
San Jose, California | | Adam Savage, Lou Ferrigno, Andy Weir, Jake Roberts, Mark Sheppard, Catherine Coleman, William Shatner |
See also
