C-ACE

C-ACE, founded in 2002 as the Canadian Anthro and Cartooning Expo, later known as the Canadian Art and Cartooning Expo then simply as "C-ACE", was a convention that took place usually in early June in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

C-ACE was relatively small with a learning focus on all kinds of artistic material: visual art, writing, costuming, music and others, in anthro and other genres. The convention maintained a "clean" rating, requiring artwork and other materials to be of PG-13 at the very most; yiff art was not allowed.

C-ACE 2002
The first C-ACE took place August 16-18, 2002 at the Courtyard Ottawa Downtown with an attendance of 110 people. Though the venue would later change twice, the event was always held in Ottawa. The Comic Artist Guest of Honour was Shawntae Howard, the Instructor Guest of Honour was Scott Ruggels. Two Newcomer Guests of Honour were also announced, for up and coming Canadian artists Amy Pronovost and Anya Schwartz. "Sketch Pad Lounge" proved a popular hangout.

C-ACE 2003
The second C-ACE took place May 30-June 1, 2003 at the Chimo Hotel with an attendance of 160 people. The guests included writer Ted MacKinnon, artist Chris Goodwin, and newcomers Amy "Lyosha" Fennell and Jennifer "Nalina" Brook.

C-ACE 2004
The third C-ACE took place June 4-6, 2004 with an attendance of 178 people and hosted the 2003 Ursa Major Awards. This was the last time it was called the "Anthro and Cartooning Expo", though a large part of the convention continued to attract furries. The artist guests of honour were Spunky and Heather Bruton.

C-ACE 2005
The fourth C-ACE, known briefly as the Canadian Arts and Cartooning Expo (before the con took place) then simply as "C-ACE" (at the con and in the con book), took place June 3-5, 2005 at the Best Western Victoria Park Suites Hotel with an attendance of 224 people. The guests included writer Jo Walton and artist Cara Mitten.

Cara designed that year's con t-shirt, and the cover of the conbook was designed by Nala Fontaine.

C-ACE 2006
The fifth anniversary C-ACE took place June 23-25, 2006 at the same hotel with an attendance of 177. The guests included author Julie E. Czerneda, artist Mark Oakley, and animator Melita Curphy. The art show raised over $1000, of which $550 came from the charity auction.

C-ACE 2007
The sixth and final C-ACE took place June 8-10, 2007 at the same hotel with an attendance of 127. The guests included author Fiona Patton and furry artist Andrew Pidcock (a.k.a. Loopy).

Staff
Orleans was convention chairman for C-ACE 2002 and 2003. In August 2003, Niall MacConaill introduced himself as the new co-chair with Chris "Felinaeus" Pilgrim for C-ACE 2004 while Jeff remained as programming director. In 2005 and 2007, Niall became the sole con chair, stepping down for 2006 while David Gordon took over chairperson duties, then resuming it for the final year.