Five panels to watch at this year's SLC FanX Convention

Attending the FanX Salt Lake Comic & Pop Culture Convention is, at best, an overwhelming experience because there is so much going on over these three days – from photo opportunities to panels to the expansive retail floor.

It's an explosion of fandom fun.

Croix Provence, program director of the Congress, understands this feeling. She reviews 500 panel contributions every year.

“Generally, I sit with a few locals who understand the pulse of the convention,” Provence said, “and know what the city is excited about and looking for.”

She said they also poll people via social media to find out what fans want from the panels.

“We're just building it from there, trying to create a balance of old and new things that might appeal to kids or families, rather than some juicy little late-night content,” Provence said. “Just create a schedule that could make everyone happy.”

Organizers are accepting submissions and discussing what the final five-month schedule will look like, she said.

“We always end on May 4th because 'May the Fourth Be With You' ('Star Wars' Day),” Provence said. “My goal is to get the schedule in participants’ hands two months before the event.”

Here are five panels that Provence recommends its fans watch at this year's congress, taking place September 26-28 at the Salt Palace Convention Center:

• Twisted Toonz, September 28, 2 p.m

“It's a surprise cast of celebrity voice actors who all show up on stage, and then they're handed a script for a movie (and) they're not told in advance what movie it is,” Provence said. The actors are then told which characters they should embody.

• Mel Gibson Panel, September 28, 1:15 p.m

“This is Mel Gibson's first ever convention,” Provence said, “and he's going to do a 30-minute panel on Saturday, and I just don't know if that'll ever happen again.”

• Anime Academy Awards, March 26-28 September, every evening.

“Every night at the convention there are a number of panels about the Anime Awards… and they are loud,” Provence said. “People shout about their favorite anime characters and they hold a battle round to get the audience to vote on who is the best.”

• Panel “The Year of the Girl,” September 26, 2:30 p.m

“It will be a look back at the incredible amount of female-oriented content that has emerged in the past year,” Provence said, “like the Barbie movie and the revival of American Girl and how that has brought women into nerd culture be integrated.”

• “Lord of the Rings” trivia, September 28, 5 p.m

“Because we have the 'Lord of the Rings' cast,” Provence said, “there's a trivia called 'Lord of the Things'… that's going to be a really good time with lots of people competing for their 'Mordor' skills.”

Provence said the best thing she can recommend to attendees when it comes to navigating the entire convention is to download the FanX app, which contains the entire schedule. The app lets you choose favorite events, she said, and will keep people updated on any “cool last-minute surprises.”