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Columnists

Cruising the convention circuit

Bekah Seagle - Omega Contributor

The convention scene in Vancouver is hopping. In the past few months alone there have been several, each featuring different cult followings.

In March Vancouver hosted a Stargate convention, earlier in May Twilighters descended upon the city, and in June there is a Star Trek convention stacked with guest appearances from sci-fi icons Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and Jeffery Combs amongst others.

Beginning with the moment tickets are clutched in hand there is precipitous build-up towards convention events.

Preparations are intense: costumes need to be sewn, items organized and art drawn. Convention day means an early morning to ensure the best seats or tables, and to line up for events

“When we went to PAX we waited in line three hours,” said Trina Forrest, who attended the 2009 Penny Arcade Expo. “You’re surrounded by people who are into the same things you are. It was an amazing experience and everyone was really friendly.”

A three-hour wait is not always the case, sometimes it’s shorter and sometimes it can be longer. Times vary depending on room size, available seats, and the guest of honour.

Novice attendees may take issue with waiting for over two hours for a half-hour session, but to a hardcore fan, the time spent in line doesn’t matter.

“There’s so much standing in line...but it was totally worth it,” Forrest said. “It’s like an amusement park but here you actually communicate with the people in line. It’s not all about the upcoming event.”

“I started attending PAX because it sounded like a lot of fun for a gamer,” said Angela Thurston, a video game enthusiast. “[It was] three days of celebrating games.”

“My first year of PAX was during the first Omegathon final. It was the most epic game of PONG I’ve ever witnessed in my life,” said Thurston. “Everyone in that theatre was so excited over this game that’s older than myself. It reminded me of why were where all there. Our love of gaming.”

For devoted fans these events are a compulsory way to reach out and connect with an admired star and share their passion with others.

“I attended because it had a lot of my interests and I could meet new people, see interesting and dazzling costumes, attend certain panels and just have fun,” said Jaclyn Stricker, 19, who has attended the Vancouver Anime Evolution for the past two years. “To me a convention means gathering things in one specific genre and having people come together to enjoy it.”

A convention will usually last three days, ranging over a weekend that, for the hardcore, seems to go by too fast. Although the experience may be fleeting, the memories and stories are passed on and carried forward like a legacy.

“My best memory would have been when I was getting signatures from some of the Reboot voice actors,” said Stricker. “One of them looked through my sketchbook, this guy was a wacky sort of person and he looked up at me in all seriousness and suggested that I should do something with my work, which really touched me.”

“A convention is a place to show off wares and skills while embodying a concept or character that would not be permissible or easy to embody elsewhere,” said Aaron Golden, a veteran attendee with over five mainstream conventions under his belt, as well as a handful of smaller ones

“People find confidence at these things—there’s an openness, a sense of camaraderie and exchange that doesn’t exist elsewhere in North America.”

“I’m a geek,” Golden continued. “I like anime, comics, and role-playing. Having all those things celebrated among like-minded people is always a good time and the conversations that sometimes pop up are interesting.”

“I started a role-playing company with some other people which means that I’m now occasionally sitting on the other side of the table at conventions, which is a massive difference,” said Golden. “Conventions are a integral part of our business plan, as the indie RPG [Role-Playing Game] market is made possible through the advent of the internet and conventions—specifically by running games at conventions.”

Meeting potential customers face-to-face and sharing common experiences makes those business connections more fulfilling.