How FanX Became The Biggest And Most Successful Convention in Utah

When Dan Farr decided to hold FanX in Utah invite stars like William Shatner, the nerds and fans came out of the woodwork to attend.

Richard Markosian

September 13, 2021

It has been determined by Estately.com that Utah is the nerdiest state in the nation. It’s number one when it comes to Sci-Fi Geeks; Lord of the Rings and Hobbit nerds; and Trekkies, Star Wars fans. Comic book collectors and lightsaber ownership is right up there with gun ownership in Utah.

So when Dan Farr decided to hold the first Comic-Con convention in Utah and invite stars such as William Shatner, Lou Ferrigno, and the man himself: Stan Lee, the nerds and fans came out of the woodwork to attend. It was certainly a cultural phenomenon.

How and why did Dan Farr initiate Comic-Con in Utah?

Farr says that he discovered the energy of comic conventions and wizard shows from the point of view of a vendor, and knew that that sort of event should be happening in Utah. He tried to lure in existing convention producers, without success, so he decided to address the market demand himself and see if he could pull it off.

The rest, you could say, is history. 30,000 attendees in the first year. Thousands of autographs signed by hundreds of stars, and Utahns who spend months making their costumes preparing for each year’s FanX.

Be sure to check out our interview with Dan Farr on the Utah Stories Show podcast brought to you by Wasatch Brewery.

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Richard Markosian

I am a story teller and journalist. I have a passion for farmers, local craftspeople, and folks who aspire to create, build and grow their business in the local marketplace. Why local? By supporting locally-owned businesses we create more opportunity for entrepreneurs, and we claim our sovereignty to shape our communities how we want to see them. I aspire to build Utah Stories Magazine into a household Utah name, and assist Utah businesses and makers with marketing. On the journalism side of things my passion is investigative journalism that offers true insight into issues. I believe strongly in the forth estate: strong, meaningful, insightful journalism is essential to a free market Democracy.