{"id":6452,"date":"2026-11-11T08:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T14:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/?p=6452"},"modified":"2026-11-11T08:40:19","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T14:40:19","slug":"ifcon-honolulu-early-bird-registration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/2026\/11\/11\/ifcon-honolulu-early-bird-registration\/","title":{"rendered":"ifCON Honolulu Early Bird Registration Ends Dec. 31, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CHICAGO \u2013 <\/strong>Early Bird Registration for the annual LGBTQ Asians and Friends conference in Honolulu 2027 will end on Dec. 31, 2026. Conference organizers say the registration rate of $319, which covers general activities, entertainment and receptions, will increase to $369 in January 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many members of Asians and Friends Chicago may not know that the kind of relationship-building and camaraderie generated among the local LGBTQ Asian community and allies here in Chicago and surrounding suburbs happens in multiple cities across the country and around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago is just one of over a dozen chapters in cities like Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Houston, Atlanta; San Francisco and Las Vegas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, the parent organization, the International Friendship Alliance (IFA), hosts an annual conference in the fall, traditionally over the Labor Day weekend, but lately in October. Called the International Friendship Conference or ifCON, the 2026 gathering occurred this past October in Taipei, Taiwan. The year before, organizers held a Caribbean cruise. In 2024, the San Francisco chapter hosted the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next year, the conference will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel, just two blocks from the famed Waikiki Beach, from Oct. 14-18, 2027. Former Asians and Friends Chicago Pres. Angel Abcede is the co-chair of ifCON Honolulu 2027. Early Bird registration will run until the end of the year, with hotel reservations open at a group rate. To register for the conference and the host hotel, visit ifcon.world\/hawaii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, IFA named the local Chicago organization \u201cChapter of the Year.\u201d For more information about Asians and Friends Chicago, visit afchicago.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a short history about IFA and ifCON:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Friendship Conference (ifCON) is an annual social gathering hosted over the years by members of the International Friendship Alliance (IFA) and Long Yang Club (LYC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ifCON started out in 1988 as a small, informal gathering of Asians and Friends from Washington, D.C., and New York to celebrate the D.C. group\u2019s fourth anniversary. The following year, there was a reciprocal visit to New York. In 1990, members decided to invite other chapters to participate, and ever since, the simple gathering of friends has blossomed into an exciting, international, social and educational gathering every Labor Day weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ifCON offers fun, camaraderie and support for gay, Asian men and their friends. Organizers plan local tours, educational workshops and social events that culminate in an extravagant gala complete with entertainment and pageantry. Each year, member chapters host IFCON in their cities, drawing participants from around the globe. It\u2019s even been held on a cruise ship, twice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Member participation builds the momentum for a supportive, safe and empowered brotherhood, one that has endured the challenges of language, self-esteem and self-respect. It\u2019s a bond backed by rich ethnic histories, cultures and independence that underscores the journeys of every segment within the LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IFW Host Cities (International Friendship Weekend)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, DC \u2013 1990<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago, IL \u2013 1991<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco, CA \u2013 1992<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pittsburgh, PA \u2013 1993<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York, NY \u2013 1994<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dallas, TX \u2013 1995<\/p>\n\n\n\n

London, England \u2013 1996<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Los Angeles, CA \u2013 1997<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cleveland, OH \u2013 1998<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, DC \u2013 1999<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago, IL \u2013 2000<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Houston, TX \u2013 2001<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bahamas Cruise (Hosted by AF South Florida) \u2013 2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pittsburgh, PA \u2013 2003<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philadelphia, PA \u2013 2004<\/p>\n\n\n\n

iCON Host Cities (Independent Event until 2005)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

London, Eng \u2013 1999<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seattle, WA \u2013 2000<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No iCON Event (due to 9\/11) \u2013 2001<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montr\u00e9al, CN \u2013 2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paris, FR \u2013 2003<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bangkok, TH \u2013 2004<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IFW \/iCON Host Cities (Joint Hosted Events)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toronto, CN \u2013 2005<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco, CA \u2013 2006<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minneapolis, MN \u2013 2007<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berlin, Germany \u2013 2008<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ifCON Host Cities (After Name Changed in 2009)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atlanta, GA \u2013 2009<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caribbean Cruise (Hosted by AF Chicago) \u2013 2010<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Houston, TX \u2013 2011<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denver, CO \u2013 2012<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Diego, CA \u2013 2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, DC \u2013 2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Orleans, LA (Hosted by AF Houston) \u2013 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago, IL \u2013 2016<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montr\u00e9al, CN \u2013 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palm Springs, CA \u2013 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Puerto Vallarta, MX \u2013 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No ifCON Event(due to COVID pandemic) -2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orlando, FL \u2013 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toronto, CN \u2013 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Las Vegas, NV -2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco \u2013 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virgin Voyages Fire & Sunset Soirees \u2013 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taipei, Taiwan \u2013 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honolulu, HI \u2013 2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#                        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2013 Early Bird Registration for the annual LGBTQ Asians and Friends conference in Honolulu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6452"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6457,"href":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6452\/revisions\/6457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afchicago.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}