CONvergence 2017

This summer, The Girl and I attended our local sci-fi and fantasy convention, CONvergence. The con is a long-weekend event, but we only went for two (short) days. That ended up being just the right amount for her first con (and my first with a little one!).

I'd been to this con a long time ago (I wanna say 2004?) but I didn't really see the point of it. I wasn't into serious gaming or fandoms and whole thing seemed a little too serious and just not my cup of tea. Also I guess that was before cosplay really exploded, and while there were a few people dressed up, mostly people were saving their costumes for the Masquerade. This time it was absolutely a costume convention!

The other thing that seems to have changed at cons is a welcoming and accommodating atmosphere. Overall, I was really impressed by the con's commitment to inclusivity for all people. There was also a great amount of kid-friendly stuff!

On Friday, we wore our Star Trek costumes. The Girl was Counselor Deanna Troi, and I was (of course) Troi's mother, Lwaxana.

Obligatory goofy selfie. Read more about these costumes here and here!

An awesome TNG control panel!

She is reading Connie's mind. Because Betazoid telepathy.

Somebody had a cool transporter!

There was a kid activity where they just destroyed a giant cardboard spaceship. Hilarious commentary was provided. It was WAY more chaotic than this photo makes it look.

I ran into some of my Treadle sewing students! Both dressed as Belle! But different!

 

Marty also made this awesome Dr. Strange costume!

And we met another Deanna! I totally just went up to her and started being Lwaxana at her. I think I caught her off guard but she totally played along. Super fun!

We played giant chess!

Among the many cool costumes we saw: gender-swapped Sally and Jack.

Velma!

Many handmaids.

Crap-tons of Star Wars. This cute toddler was a standout.

Waldo!

Ghostbusters.

Dwight Schrute. I almost walked past this guy. (Confession: I briefly mistook a hotel employee for a cosplayer earlier that day. He had a suit and a briefcase and just looked so... intentional! So I didn't want to screw up again.) I just cautiously asked, "Dwight?" and he was like yeah (and then I noticed he had a bobblehead doll of himself) so I snapped his pic. I LOVE this cosplay, it's hilarious.

A very dapper Beetlejuice.

Okay, friends, help me out with this box. At first I assumed it was The Luggage (from Discworld) but now I am not sure. Anyone recognize it? It was pretty cool.

On Saturday we went back for more fun. We dressed as My Little Ponies. The Girl was Pinkie Pie and I was Twilight Sparkle. (More costume details later!) We stopped for balloons for a cute and practical (so I could see her in the crowds!) accessory. 

One really cool thing we found in the hall was this giant coloring page. It was set up on a stand with buckets of colored pencils (with a sharpener bolted on!) and people just wandered by and colored. We stayed there for a long time.

There were many interesting/funny cards at the card/flyer table.

Some of the cool costumes we saw Saturday. Lego Batman!

This hilarious Galaxy Quest group. They were so completely committed to being in character. It was awesome.

The Girl's balloons started drifting over to them and they had a great time poking at them and being generally confused by them.

Ok, so I figured these guys were from one of the Rocky movies but I totally had to google it. Apollo Creed and Ivan Drago.

And, finally, we found Jesus. This guy cracked me up. Also I called him "cheeses."

We did not get to do everything we wanted (we had to miss the Masquerade to go to a friend's wedding!) but we did a lot of fun activities. We checked out the art show, did some kid crafts, I went to a couple panels that were super fun, and we watched a couple movies in the cinema.

There were plenty of people just randomly sitting around playing cards and doing puzzles, but we found that the organized gaming was Not For Us. The 22nd floor was the gaming floor, and it was mostly devoted to intense computer gaming.

It was super fun being in costume, and seeing lots of other folks dressed up. I definitely want to go again next year. I think we'd have more fun if we planned a more definite agenda and made sure to be at panels and activities on time. Plus I could have used some knitting, more books for The Girl, and a Fluxx deck. 

Other things to do next time: Check out the evening stuff. Especially the masquerade! I know Con can get a bit rowdy at night, but I am hoping some of the room parties are still PG in the early evening.

Also, we never made it to the second venue across the road. That's where they had the dealer's room, the entertainment stage, and some other fun things.