By Heather Dickson
A Klingon, a Wookie and a nine-foot-tall wizard walk into a bar…
If you’re waiting for the punch line, chances are you are a geek—and you’ll be thrilled to hear that ThunderCon and Game Expo by TGG 2015 is coming to town! It started out as a very small affair, but once the word got out, it began to multiply faster than a “tribble in the quadrotriticale.”
“We had so many people interested in taking part,” says Jess Petro, who is organizing the event along with Hoyt Nowak of Thunder Games and Gifts. “There will be demonstrations on the art of making weapons, on fantasy makeup, on costume design, etc. The panel rooms will be running non-stop and we’re going to have a stage for demos running all day long in the Cantina, where the Valhalla will be serving up specialty fare in deliciously geeky fashion.”
And how does the Game Expo fit in?
“Thunder Bay has a very large market for games,” says Nowak. “With our long winters and love of camping, physical gaming is very popular. We would like to introduce as many people and families as possible to the fun had around the game table.”
For those who don’t know, a FanCon is a non-profit convention run by fans of all things pop culture—everything from genre films, television series and video games, to graphic novels, comic books and more. FanCons are a great way for like-minded individuals to meet and mingle, hold panels and discussion groups, indulge in a little cosplay, and rub shoulders with experts and celebrities. The most notable of these would be San Diego Comic Con, where even the big movie studios line up to promote their work to a receptive audience.
“Yah, we’re not that big,” laughs Petro. “This is our first year so we’re starting small. Only one day but it’s a full day, with programming running from 10 am to 8 pm.”
ThunderCon and Game Expo by TGG will be held Sunday, October 25 at the Valhalla Inn. For more information, you can find them on Facebook or Twitter.
