Second Life Sci-Fi Con is one of the grid’s longest-running resident-made events, and if you have not encountered it before, it is worth understanding what it actually is, because it is not just a shopping fair wearing a laser hat.
The current event, Sci-Fi Con 18: Sci-Fi Through the Eras, runs from 29 May to 9 June 2026 across nine themed regions, with proceeds benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research.
What It Is
Sci-Fi Con is an annual resident-led convention celebrating science fiction and speculative imagination inside Second Life. Builders, roleplayers, merchants, performers, DJs, fan groups, and visitors come together each year in a temporary, multi-region event centred on a theme.
Visitors attend as avatars, moving through themed environments rather than scrolling past images. There are stores selling sci-fi clothing, props, spaceships, cybernetic accessories, and roleplay gear. There are also community booths, interactive builds, performances, hunts, and social events tied into the wider sci-fi communities on the grid year-round.
Where It Came From
The convention began in 2008 as a single-region Sci-Fi Meet-and-Greet charity party. By 2015, it had grown into a ten-day programme with over 100 exhibitors across multiple regions, then running in support of Relay For Life of Second Life and the American Cancer Society. Relay For Life of Second Life, which began in 2004, has raised over $6 million for cancer research through virtual-world fundraising, with residents walking 3D laps and donating in Linden dollars.
More recent years have shifted the charitable focus. In 2024, Sci-Fi Con 16 ran across eight regions and supported the Michael J. Fox Foundation through Team Fox and Creations for Parkinson’s in Second Life, with support from Linden Lab. The 2026 event continues that partnership.
Why It Works
Second Life has a deep sci-fi culture that runs year-round space stations, cyberpunk clubs, alien avatars, post-apocalyptic settlements, starfleet-style roleplay, time-travel themes, robot avatars, and futuristic fashion. Sci-Fi Con gives those scattered communities a temporary central stage, making them visible to one another and to new visitors who may not know these places exist.
The stronger argument for its value is simpler. Most modern platforms can host content, but rarely let users build the whole stage. Sci-Fi Con works because Second Life still allows residents to construct the venue, perform inside it, sell work inside it, fundraise through it, and leave behind a shared community memory. That combination is harder to replicate than it looks.
I’ll treat this as the Sci-Fi Con article source pass: official event links first, then reliable SL coverage, then Relay For Life and Michael J. Fox fundraising context. Full URLs are visible because hidden links have been banned from the kingdom. 👑Thought for 10s
Yes. This source list is for your Second Life Sci-Fi Con article. It supports the claims that Sci-Fi Con 18: Sci-Fi Through the Eras runs from 29 May to 9 June 2026, spans nine themed regions, benefits the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and sits within a longer history of resident-led sci-fi conventions, virtual fundraising, Relay For Life, and Second Life’s user-built event culture.
Sources and further reading
Core Sci-Fi Con 18 sources
Second Life Destination Guide, Sci-Fi Con 18
https://secondlife.com/destination/sci-fi-con
Official Sci-Fi Con 18 site, Sci-Fi Through the Eras
https://www.scificon.org.es/
SL Sci-Fi Con group listing
https://world.secondlife.com/group/ae914464-18cd-61dd-5a0b-3edb36840263?lang=en
Second Life official Facebook post, 18th annual Sci-Fi Con in Second Life
https://www.facebook.com/secondlife/posts/celebrate-the-future-at-the-18th-annual-sci-fi-con-in-second-life-running-from-m/1510129833907168/
Second Life official X post, Sci-Fi Con 18
https://x.com/SecondLife/status/2060409030506414348
Essential Inventory, Second Life Sci-Fi Con 18
https://www.essential-inventory.com/2026/ac-slsfc18
Gorean Whip Radio, Sci-Fi Con 18 event listing
https://goreanwhip.com/events/sci-fi-con-18/
Use the Second Life Destination Guide as the cleanest source for the headline facts: 18th annual convention, 29 May to 9 June 2026, nine themed regions, and proceeds benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The SL group listing also confirms the theme, Sci-Fi Through the Eras, and the beneficiary, the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
2024 and 2025 context
Inara Pey, 2024 Sci-Fi Con in Second Life
https://modemworld.me/2024/05/27/2024-sci-fi-con-in-second-life/
Alta Thiemen, The 16th Sci-Fi Con in Second Life
https://altathiemen.wordpress.com/2024/05/
Alta Thiemen, SL Sci-Fi Con 17 is Underway
https://altathiemen.wordpress.com/2025/05/24/sl-sci-fi-con-17-is-underway/
Sci-Fi Con official site, 2025 / Sci-Fi Con 17
https://scificon.org/
Inara Pey’s 2024 article is useful for the shift into the Michael J. Fox Foundation / Team Fox / Creations for Parkinson’s context. It says Sci-Fi Con 16 ran across eight regions plus a landing point and teleport hub, and raised money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation through Team Fox and Creations for Parkinson’s in Second Life, with Linden Lab support.
Earlier history, Relay For Life, and American Cancer Society context
Inara Pey tag archive, SL Sci-Fi Convention
https://modemworld.me/tag/sl-sci-fi-convention/
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