Whether it’s kismet, serendipity or just some really good planning, FanX: Salt Lake Comic Convention is revving up to launch its sixth annual fall event, and 10th Utah convention total, starting Thursday, Sept. 6, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.

From venue planning to panel programming, orchestrating a truly star-studded celebrity guest lineup to rounding out special events and special features — a lot of work goes into the creation of each FanX event, with co-founders Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg working around the clock with their teams to guarantee a top-notch event for attendees.

“I just do feel that there’s kismet, or things coming together the right way, the way they should, when we do these events,” Farr said in a pre-con interview. “I think that’s just all the positive energy from the fans that helps to produce that. The support and really the excitement that this community brings to this event has made it so that we’ve been able to pull some really great things.”

Those great things this time around include a firm partnership with Evermore Park in Pleasant Grove, described as “a fully immersive Theatrical Experience Park” that will open to the public later this month. Not only will Evermore Park be teaming with FanX to present an epic after-party for the convention, but it also will be bringing a pavilion to the floor of the con itself.

“We’re not looking for people that just come in and take up space and pay money to take up space,” Farr said of the set-up of the event. “That’s never been our ambition — to just fill the floor with vendors. We want to have vendors bringing something of excitement for people to see.”

One of the biggest reasons behind the partnership with Evermore is the common ground the uniquely themed park shares with FanX, according to Farr.

“If you look at what Evermore is about, it’s celebrating fandom and it’s a chance to immerse yourself into that fandom, into multiple fandoms,” he said. “That’s what we provide.”

From meet-and-greet opportunities with top-tier guests to cosplay meet-ups and special features, a dedicated KidCon area to panels that cover everything from specific fandoms to gaming, nerd culture and celebrity spotlights, the FanX team has worked to create an immersive experience that’s influenced by the fans who attend.

“It’s interesting, when it comes to building a lineup, there’s a lot of serendipity involved,” Farr said. “It’s not like after one show ends we sit down and write a list of names and say, ‘This is who we’re going to go for.’ It’s more organic than that.”

Farr said they take input and suggestions from fans via Facebook, email and even face-to-face meetings at the event that all go into a pool of possibilities with those ideas eventually, over time, influencing the guest list. One example is fans of the show “Merlin,” who worked together to get Tom Hopper as a guest at FanX this weekend. Another is the addition of David Tennant from “Doctor Who.”

“From the day he started looking at these types of events, we’ve been trying to get him,” Farr said. “Having him for this event was just a real opportunity.”

Highly anticipated and previously announced guests such as Ben Affleck, Dick Van Dyke, Paul Reubens and Khary Payton have either canceled or postponed, but the current lineup still boasts the likes of Tim Curry (“Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “IT”), Evangeline Lilly (“Lost,” “The Hobbit”), Jeff Goldblum (“Jurassic Park,” “Independence Day”), Jason Momoa (“Game of Thrones,” “Aquaman”), Dave Bautista (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Karl Urban (“Lord of the Rings,” “Star Trek”) and Chuck Norris, who was rumored to be in all the “Star Wars” movies … as the Force.

“The guest lineup that we have now is just phenomenal,” Farr said. “It’s probably, from an expectation standpoint, our biggest lineup. … We’re anticipating this to be our largest event ever.”

Although FanX has experienced fantastic (and fast) growth over the years, it has also had to deal with some growing pains. Those pains include issues with crowds, time and finances spent in court with San Diego Comic-Con International over the use of the term “comic convention,” and, most seriously, the handling of sexual harassment complaints. In response to that, Farr said FanX has teamed with Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes to set up a harassment and bullying hotline.

“People have expressed concerns about having a good pathway for anyone who feels they’ve been harassed or bullied,” Farr said, explaining that the concept of a hotline was recently put into effect during the Sundance Film Festival. “It’s a big deal for us to provide that and to make sure we do have an avenue for people to go through if they have problems.”

According to Farr, it all boils down to what, for him, is the heart and soul of the event.

“For me, (the) charge that I get from the event is when I see people having a good time,” he said. “If people aren’t coming or having a good time, it really goes against what the motive is here. We want to make sure it really is the best event it can be, and ‘Fan Experience’ is really a mission statement for us. We want to build fan experiences for people and eliminate anything that takes away from it.”

FanX will run at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City from Thursday to Saturday. For more details and a complete guest list, visit fanxsaltlake.com.

WHAT: FanX, the Salt Lake comic convention

WHEN: 2-9 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Salt Palace Convention Center, 100 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City

ADMISSION: Varies, depending on ticket type and discount. Thursday-only tickets start at $15; VIP 3-Day passes are $250. saltlakecomiccon.com