Phoenix Fan Fest discontinued

Phoenix Comicon/Phoenix Comic Fest/Phoenix Fan Fusion owner Square Egg Entertainment has backtracked on earlier statements that it was still planning a fall/winter show in the Valley, which had been known as Phoenix Fan Fest, announcing Thursday evening that the event was being discontinued.

“After careful consideration, we have made the very difficult decision to discontinue our fall/winter show, Phoenix Fan Fest, at this time,” said a statement released by Square Egg marketing manager Kristin Rowan.

The press release came hours after Nerdvana last reached out to the company about Phoenix Fan Fest’s future.

“Phoenix Fan Fest, traditionally held in October or November, has struggled over the years to find its own identity, audience, balance of price, size, and offerings, and community support,” the statement continued. “It is not for lack of love of our fans, but in the best interest of the future of all our shows that we have decided not to host Phoenix Fan Fest 2018.”

Another name change: Phoenix Comicon to Phoenix Comic Fest to Phoenix Fan Fusion

Last year’s Phoenix Fan Fest was Nov. 11-12, 2017, at the Phoenix Convention Center.

The Fan Fest name and concept was expanded to Minnesota, where it was rebranded as Fan Fusion and takes place this year Aug. 3-5 at the Saint Paul Rivercentre; that name then expanded to Las Vegas, where Vegas Fan Fusion is holding its first event Sept. 28-30 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

This past weekend, Square Egg announced that the Memorial Day weekend Phoenix Comic Fest, which started as Phoenix Comicon before rebranding this year, would be known as Phoenix Fan Fusion in 2019.

“We are putting into place more improvements, plans, and ideas to make it our best show yet and we are incredibly excited for the day we can begin our announcements, including our guest line up,” Square Egg said Thursday. “Our goal is to continue working to provide the ultimate attendee experience at one of the most popular comic and pop culture conventions in the United States. We are excited to bring Minnesota Fan Fusion and Vegas Fan Fusion into our family of events and look forward to seeing you all very soon.”