August 26th, 2020 How do we pick Ace Week’s dates?
Ace Week’s dates and how they’re chosen have often been something of a mystery. Wonder no longer! Ace Week will always take place during the last full week in October, starting on a Sunday.
That hasn’t always been the case, however! Let’s go through a brief timeline of when Ace Week (or Asexual Awareness Week, prior to 2019) has taken place:
2010: The first Ace Week
The first Asexual Awareness Week actually took place on September 20th–24th, 2010. Yes, you read that correctly, the first Ace Week was in September!
2011: AAW takes off
This was the first year Asexual Awareness Week fell on the last full week of October, taking place on October 23rd–29th, 2011. If you’ve read our History of Ace Week (or if you were there yourself!), you’d remember that 2011 was the year Ace Week really took off for the first time.
2012: Trying a different approach
In 2012, there were no set dates for Asexual Awareness Week. Instead, local communities decided when they would host their own Asexual Awareness Week. Unfortunately, this did not have the advantage of the social media presence that one unified week could garner.
2013: Return to October
In 2013, Asexual Awareness Week took place on October 20th–26th, and like 2011, there were very few issues with regard to the date.
2014: The two-month dilemma
Often Ace Week is thought of as being the last week in October. Unfortunately, sometimes the last week of October… includes the beginning of November. Since October 26th–November 1st just didn’t have the same ring to it as a date range that only included October, Asexual Awareness Week organizers decided future years would be the last full week in October.
2015: Monday start
In 2015, Asexual Awareness Week was on the last full week in October, but starting on Monday, October 19th and ending on Sunday, October 26th.
2016–Present
Since 2015, Ace Week’s dates have followed the standardized format of always being on the last full week starting in October (starting on Sunday), and they will remain on those dates for the foreseeable future. Here’s a list of when Ace Week will take place for the next ten years:
2021: October 24th - 30th
2022: October 23rd - 29th
2023: October 22nd - 28th
2024: October 20th - 26th
2025: October 19th - 25th
2026: October 25th - 31st
2027: October 24th - 30th
2028: October 22nd - 28th
2029: October 21st - 27th
2030: October 20th - 26th