ConNooga Review

Con Nooga is the last weekend of February. It is a convention held in Chattanooga, TN, located about two hours north of Atlanta, GA. Our family has attended every year since 2010, with the exception of last year (2017) when I was a bit preoccupied with having a baby.

Con Nooga is a multi-fandom and genre convention. I tend to explain it to friends as a less crowded and more family friendly version of [that overwhelmingly huge multi-fandom downtown Atlanta convention that shall not be named]. Con Nooga has a little bit of everything. It has cosplay, gaming, various fandom tracks, a great children's track, and of course vendors and fan tables.

For several reasons, this is probably our family's favorite convention. One major reason is that it feels more like a vacation and an adventure to us since it's far enough that we have to stay the weekend. It becomes more of a trip than other more local Cons. It's also very family focused and there's usually a great track with activities for families of all ages.

The best thing about Con Nooga is probably the size. It is rapidly growing and yet not an overcrowded event. There is plenty to do without the insane crowds you might experience at other conventions. They do a great job of spreading out the areas. It's basically the best convention an introvert could ask for, with room for extroverts to have a blast too. There are costuming contests, karaoke, a large area for all variety of gaming, laser tag, and this year there was even an escape room.

One of our favorite things to do every year as a family is to visit the table sponsored by the local public library. They always have a large supply of materials to make pin back buttons out of old library materials, which my daughter and I especially enjoy. This year they also held free classes on how to make a choker necklace with a bell and how to make cat ear barrettes. We always enjoy visiting them and seeing what events they've planned each year.