Indy PopCon

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This summer Indianapolis hosted Indy PopCon June  17-19, and Courtney went to see what it was all about.

The Midwest isn’t exactly known to host any of the larger conventions, but is nonetheless a great spot for them.  In fact, the first two Star Wars Celebrations were hosted in Indiana (and yes, I went to both). This past June, I went to Indy PopCon, and here’s what I saw.

Cosplay at Indy PopCon

As I entered the convention center, I was surprised at the number of attendees in cosplay. I’d say almost every other person there was in costume, and there were a LOT of people. I went on Saturday, which was the busiest day.

                      

Of course, seeing so many fans in cosplay immediately made me wish I had worn cosplay costume. Alas, I did not dress for this con, but the first thing I bought was a nod to my cosplay costume:

The Vendors

The main floor of the convention center was packed with vendors of all sorts. I saw a ton of manga items, Star Wars, comics, and cosplay costume accessories. Here are a few of the best and most unique I found:

• GinGee Girls Art by Sunshine Levy: Awesome sketched glassware for all fan bases. I loved the Star Wars and Game of Thrones items.
  http://www.facebook.com/GinGee-Girls

 

• Dwayne Bruce Illustrations: Excellent hand-drawn illustrations of popular characters, including actors and actresses, TV shows, and movies. Check out his website for prints. http://www.dbruceillustration.com/

• Adventure Scents by Jennifer Howlett: Now this was something I have never see at any con I’ve attended. Adventure Scents are hand-crafted scent beads to use for multisensory experiences during role playing or table top games, video games, LARPing, or anything, really. Ms. Howlett creates scents to enhance the gaming or reading experience. And not all scents are nice – for example she has Dusty Attic, Ice Castle, Science Lab, New Spaceship, and Fetid Swamp. There are over 60 scents in all. It’s a pretty unique idea. If interested in it, check out www.adventurescents.com.

Lightsaber Combat School

One very cool thing I learned about is that Indy has a lightsaber combat school. Yes, a lightsaber combat school. The Indy Lightsaber Academy hosts weekly classes in lightsaber training. Adults can attend, but how awesome would this have been had it been around when I was a kid?! They host special events and personal training as well. Check them out on Facebook and Twitter – IndyLightsaberAcademy.

There were several special guests in attendance at the convention, including Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy), Nolan North (Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed), and the one and only Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats). There was a special screen of Yoga Hosers followed by a live recording of the podcast Fatman on Batman. That’s pretty big for Indianapolis.

Indy PopCon also had multiple gaming tables, new video games for fans to try, robot wars, and even a few wrestlers (former WWE and TNA superstars). In all there was a great variety for any type of fan.  I also found out about other cons that are local to Indiana

• Starbase Indy: Running November 25-27, 2016. Predominately a Star Trek-based convention, but not just Star Trek. It has a small convention feel, and it’s a non-profit organization.
• InConJunction: Ran July 1-3, 2016. This is a non-profit SciFi and Fantasy convention that hosts many writers. In the past they have hosted George R.R. Martin, Timothy Zahn, and Kevin Hearne.

I thoroughly enjoyed Indy PopCon, and would encourage any Midwest sci-fi, fantasy, or comic book fan to attend if they’re nearby. Even though Indiana isn’t a typical place to host a large convention, it sure can provide fun outlets for fans of all ages.