Cal Mah 3 Stargate Convention Postponed Due To Coronavirus Concerns

FCD Events is the latest event organizer to postpone an upcoming convention due to the global threat of the novel coronavirus.

In a lengthy social media post Tuesday, the team behind the “Cal Mah” events explained the reasons behind their decision. As a result, and having considered a number of factors, FCD Events confirmed it was with “much sadness” that Cal Mah 3 should be postponed due to current global health concerns. The event was due to take place at the Telford Centre Hotel by Accor, the weekend of May 29 to May 31, 2020.

“We, Wil Ross and David Limburg, write this not as the directors of FCD Events or as an event organizer but as a fan of events in general and as a concerned member of the public,” they wrote on the convention’s Facebook page. “It is with a heavy heart and much sadness we feel we can no longer in good faith allow Cal Mah 3 to proceed as planned knowing that by doing so we could be placing members of the general public, our celebrity guests and of course our own team’s health, safety and well-being at risk.”

A rescheduled date has not yet been announced, and FCD emphasized that the event is not being cancelled altogether. All Cal Mah tickets which are non-refundable will remain valid for fans attending the event and can be used for the new dates when announced.

Guests due to attend Cal Mah 3 included Elyse Levesque (Chloe Armstrong on Stargate Universe) and Tony Amendola, who played SG-1‘s Bra’tac. They were to be joined by SGU‘s David Blue (“Eli Wallace”), Julie McNiven (“Ginn”), and Mike Dopud (“Varro”), as well as SG-1 and Atlantis actors Dean Aylesworth (“Anubis”) and Dan Payne (“Kull warrior” and numerous other roles), Suanne Braun (“Hathor”), and Rainbow Sun Francks (“Aiden Ford”).

Responding to the announcement on Twitter, Braun wrote that she “100%” supported FCD’s decision.

This is the second Stargate-related convention to be upset due to the coronavirus. Last week GABIT Events announced that its latest weekend event with Amanda Tapping — “Inspirations 2020” — has been postponed to 2021 as a result of the global outbreak.

The spread of COVID-19 has impacted consumer and professional conventions in all industries. Another important convention cancelled earlier this month was the SXSW film, television, music, and technology festival, which will not be held for the first time in 34 years after a cancellation from the City of Austin, Texas. And today E3 organizers confirmed that the once great electronics and entertainment expo has been cancelled for the first time since it was created in 1995, citing “increased and overwhelming concerns” about the virus.

E3 2020 was scheduled for June 9 to 11, and each year draws more than 60,000 people to the Los Angeles area.

There are currently an estimated 100,000 cases of the virus worldwide, with an estimated death toll around 4,000, according to the World Heath Organization.

Other convention organizers will certainly face this same decision in the coming weeks — particularly as science fiction conventions typically draw a significant number of international travelers. On the Stargate front, as of today Creation Entertainment is still anticipating that its “Gateway” convention, scheduled for late June in Chicago, will go ahead as planned.

Stick with GateWorld for additional updates.

On Twitter: @fcdevents