JACK PARKS: Give Epicon a try when it returns to Albany

It’s that time of year again. You know what I’m talking about. The end of football season, when bowl games and playoffs take up your Facebook feed every weekend between now and February.

A time when fans get together to celebrate their specific team, whether at home or in massive crowds at even more massive stadiums. Wearing jerseys of their favorite players, painting their faces, sporting team memorabilia of all kinds, not to mention paying attention to additional coverage like interviews, post-game analysis, and press conferences.

These are accepted traditions of modern society. Everyone looks forward to the neighbor’s Super Bowl party and calls in to the local radio station to score those box-level tickets to the big game or a locker-room pass. No one bats an eye at the gentleman in line at Walmart wearing orange and blue pants, shoes, shirt, jacket, hat, and comically sized glasses and wig. He’s just a superfan.

It’s normal.

Not like those nerds who dress up like superheroes or anime characters and go to geeky conventions where they can buy memorabilia and meet the artists, actors and writers involved in their obsession. That’s ridiculous. At least football matters in the real world, right?

But these conventions are just as big a deal to the fans, if not more so. I have been wanting to go to a convention of some kind for more than a decade. Dragoncon is probably the largest annual convention in the Southeastern United States, and it’s just a couple hours away in Atlanta. They have thousands of people in attendance and big names from a wide variety of fandoms each year, either as presenters or simply attending themselves.

I’ve never been to Dragoncon, but I did get an opportunity attend a convention back in November and I didn’t even have to leave town to do it. Albany’s Hasan Temple played host to the second annual Epicon, a two-day event featuring actors, artists, writers, cosplayers, vendors and gaming.

Founded by Tim Haire, who also owns Xion: Paradise for Geeks, Epicon officially marked my first convention. And I had a blast. I met some really cool people, got to hear some great stories, and see a wide variety of vendors.

There was Gabe Worsley and Desire Wilson, a couple who had met at another convention and were dressed as characters from the anime “Sword Art Online.” Their costumes were assembled from a mixture of handmade and store-bought pieces, with props hand-carved by Gabe. This was their 10th convention together, and second time visting Epicon. Though they were in costume, they had not entered the costume contest because, as Desire said, “Cosplay’s not really about winning.”

I met Cristin Azure, a frequent zombie on “The Walking Dead,” AMC’s record-breaking zombie apocalypse show. She portrays a different zombie each time, which requires acting differently. She was part of a panel of Walking Dead actors, and there were many entertaining stories to be heard. Cristin also appeared in an independent Deadpool fan movie by fellow panelist Garrett Dumas.

There were many different vendors. Some sold licensed products, while others sold original work. Bead Geekz, owned by Dawn Veazey, sold 8-bit artwork made of beads which was both skillful and creative. Nerd Herd Merchandize, locally based in Putney, made hand crafted items including bags, jewelry, cosplay items, custom-painted NERF guns, and more.

There was also a LARP tournament. For those who don’t know, LARP stands for live action role playing. You dress as characters and fight with weapons that are safe. Weapons vary from swords to axes, to shields and guns (like those Nerf guns from Nerd Herd). Referees are there to make sure everyone was following rules and safety protocol, and Tim gave a demonstration of how to fight.

I didn’t participate in the LARP tournament, but I probably would’ve won because I spent my formative years sword fighting with my little brothers and I was pretty awesome at it. Next year I’ll show everyone out, though. I may participate in a costume contest and take advantage of the many vendors.

Tim told me when I talked to him that, even though attendance looked to be down from the first year, everyone there seemed to be having a good time and that was the most important thing. I agree that the attendees I saw were all enjoying themselves. I know I had a good time, and I am looking forward to going again next year. Next time it rolls around, give it a chance.

Jack Parks writes about pop and nerd culture.