In this talk, we present structural and dynamical aspects of certain arcwise connected continua known as fans. First, we present conditions under which embeddings of the Lelek fan admit retractions, focusing on how features such as wedges and cuts influence retraction properties. Second, we address a classical open question about characterizing fans as unions of arcs intersecting in a single point. This is joint work with Goran Erceg, Sina Greenwood, Ivan Jelic, Judy Kennedy, and Van Nall.