Arcana is held annually in late September or early October in St. Paul, Minnesota and typically features a famous author or artist from the dark fantasy genre as its guest of honor.
Arcana programming includes a variety of panels, talks, and films, plus an interview and reading with the Guest of Honor.
The first conventions were held in members' homes but after a few years MinnCon grew beyond the capacity of these houses and the event moved to a local hotel.
Nearby area attractions include Midway Stadium (the former home of the St. Paul Saints), the Twin Cities Model Railroad Museum, and the Minnesota State Fair grounds.
Programming included a slide show/talk by Jon Arfstrom, a discussion of copyright law by David Page, several panels, two film screenings, a slide show/talk by Robert Guttke about his artwork, and an improvisatory performance by Paul Dice, Ed Shannon, Mike Odden and Rodger Gerberding.
Programming included talks by the guests of honor, a slide show/talk by Rodger Gerberding, several panels, an open reading, and three hours of gaming.
Programming included an interview with the guest of honor, two slide show/talk presentations by Rodger Gerberding, several panels, an open reading, several film screenings, and a session of "Call of Cthulhu" gaming.
Notable slide show/talk presentations included "Clarence Laughlin: Visionary Photographer" by Rodger Gerberding and "Twenty Years of MinnCon" by Eric Carlson.
Also featured was the Artists Intermedia Repertory Ensemble, an improvisatory performance by Paul Dice, Ed Shannon, Mike Odden and Rodger Gerberding.
[4]) There was a parallel programming track featuring the film and television work of Robert Bloch.
The convention also featured several slide show/talks including "Songs and Dances of Death: Modest Mussorgsky" by John Brower, "Carnivorous Plants: Fact and Fiction" by Michaela Waltz, "The Art or Something-Or-Other of Harry E. Fassl" by Harry E. Fassl, "Return to Derleth" by James P. Roberts, and "Mystical Places of the United Kingdom" by Lisa Freitag.
The convention also included Friday night screenings of the Tod Browning films Freaks (1932) and The Devil Doll (1936).
[6] Programming included panels, readings, an interview with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, a slide show/talk by Eric Carlson "Crimson in Silver: 25 Years of MinnCon," an auction, an open reading, and a memorial for Robert Bloch and Karl Edward Wagner.
The Guests of Honor were David J. Skal, Richard A. Lupoff, and publishers Fedogan & Bremer.
[7] Programming included panels, readings, several Rod Serling themed programming items, interviews with David Skal, Fedogan & Bremer, and Richard Lupoff, plus an auction, open reading, and screenings of the Tod Browning films Dracula (1931) and The Unknown (1927).
A notable feature of the convention was a poll of the membership for the "top ten" horror authors and movies of the 20th century.
The Guest of Honor was David Drake, author of horror and science fiction in many forms, editor of numerous anthologies, and one-third owner of the award-winning publisher Carcosa.
The Guest of Honor was drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs (aka writer and actor John Bloom).
The 2004 Minnesota Fantasy Award was presented to writer and active fan Ruth Berman.
[16] Programming included panels, an interview with Stephen Jones, readings, and an auction.The auction raised more than $1100 towards convention expenses.
The 2006 Minnesota Fantasy Award was presented to artist team Steve Fastner and Rich Larson.
[18] Arcana 37 was held October 12–14, 2007, at the Best Western Hotel Bandana Square in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Guest of Honor was writer George Clayton Johnson, best known for his work on The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Ocean's 11, Kung Fu, Logan's Run, and his 1998 story collection "All of Us Are Dying."
Arcana 38 was held October 17–19, 2008, at the Best Western Hotel Bandana Square in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Guest of Honor was writer F. Paul Wilson, Award-winning, best-selling author of horror, thrillers, fantasy & more... including the Repairman Jack series.
The Guest of Honor will be the artist Anthony Tollin, known for his work on pulps such as The Shadow and Doc Savage, and is currently running the publisher Sanctum Books.
This year the award was accepted by Greg Ketter on behalf of artist John Berkey (1932-2008).
The Minnesota Fantasy Award went to Allen Anderson (1908-1995) who worked as a staff artist at Fawcett Publications in Minneapolis from 1929-1939, and went on to paint covers for pulp magazines.
Arcana 47 was held September 29 to October 1, 2017, at the Best Western Hotel Bandana Square in St. Paul, Minnesota.