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June 29, 2006 AdventureCon 5 June 2006 Adventure by dictionary definition: adventure n: a wild and exciting undertaking Con: to swindle, to examine, an opposing view, short for convention Adventure Con: by definition is a wild and exciting convention. Filled with twists, turns, laughter and money changing hands for good cause food, demonstrations, conversations, costumes and more. This year Adventure was honored to have a complete high profile dais of GOHs (Guests of Honor). To list them all would be a top billing problem since they all are of such high caliber) If you have never been to any Fan Convention it is a treat for the senses. Fan conventions are events that bring together people from all over the world that have the same ideas, principals and passions about anything they enjoy. To the Fan this can be everything from Movies, costumes, horror genre, sci-fi in general to specific fan conventions for Star Wars, Star Trek, Tom Savini, Ray Park, Costume Movies, Anime. You name it there is a convention or gathering for it specifically and in general. And these conventions are huge. From small gathering that have but hundreds to multiple thousands of attendees and participants. And they are not just one-day events; these can go from but a day to a week on end, to cruises. Fandom is huge. And the thing that makes them even better is the gratitude that the "" stars: have for the fans. As a few of those participating this year at Adventure Con commented on. " If it weren’t for the fans spending dollars and enjoying our work we wouldn’t be here". We must thank them and appreciate them, and this is way to do it". And do it they do. From signing autographs, for which a fee is typically charged to go to their favorite charity, to doing impromptu one on ones with the fans, to just rubbing shoulders and having quiet conversations with those milling around. Respect, admiration and awe was mutual from both the Stars stands points and the attendee’s view. A culture with its own set of high morals and high codes is what you find at Cons, regardless of the chaos that appears. Cons, like Adventure con and Dragon Con are all family oriented. So bringing kids and enjoying the time is a family event. With each person coming together on a plane that defies parent and child, it now becomes one fan to another. One part of Fandom that many an outsider or first time attendee may think is a bit overkill but is an essential part to participating in a con is the costume wearing. This is but a tribute to the actor for whom they portray and the skill of the person creating the costume. But skill may not be in exactness but in the creativity of creating a costume. Many fans simply haven’t the cash to buy an outfit, so many create, sew and improvise the costume. And that adds to the excitement of the event. Recognizing who you are and the admiration of the effort that was made for the costume is an aspect that a con is about. At adventure con we had: Darth Maul with solid real feeling horns, Elves, Storm Troopers, the SG1 crew, the Jedi Knights and padawans, Anakin, Amidala, Pirates, Squall and Rinoa, Alice and the Mad Hatter, Van Helsing, a few Ninjas., Even Arthur Dent made an appearance. Almost every Genre was represented and actively participating. The technical creation and research that those creating the costumes go through is an immense process. Often beginning with images gleaned from every possible place in the world, to hunting fabric to doing a Recon (reconstruction) of already existing clothing into a costume is a painstaking process. Those that go through this process are artists and in many cons this is an event unto itself. Though Adventure Con this year did not have a costume contest, one would hope that because of the size of those entering this could be an added event. Picture taking of those individuals who went through the effort and time to create the costumes is earned and welcomed accolades. Nearly everyone at the con who was in costume becomes a celebrity himself or herself. No one in costume could move without someone wanting a picture. And with those picture takings came the wonderful and insightful conversations about costumes. One could hear the screams of excitement when they were recognized. And characters acting, as their characters should with the attendees was an experience. Zombies a doing their zombie thing and Leatherface doing what he did best to the patrons and the visit by Gigers Alien twins hunting up a bit of lunch created an air of more fun and excitement. And more memorable photo ops. MySpace will be filled with pictures of this event for sure. Interchanges amongst the GOH’s themselves (guests of honor) are hilarious to watch. One exchange was between a bespeckled hand puppet (don’t tell him I said this) and Ray Park. The hand puppet got a bit anxious when " Darth" would not go a round with him and the puppet and was escorted away by a Storm Trooper. Not to be outdone the puppet would try to exact revenge later on. This was an experience to witness and carry home as a memory. Th e puppet was a creation by those who created the comic Muley. And of course the same comic book company had an over zealous beaver. Indy comics were well represented. Muley, BushiTales, Skunks and so on. This is the exact type of event or place if you will that young comic writers and artists begin their start. Just as MIB did back in the 70s and look what happened, so do these begin their fantastic journey with new fans to appreciate their art. Adventure con is often considered a toy and comic book con. That is the majority of dealers were mostly toy and comic books. And there in lies a goldmine for the collector. Comic books and memorabilia from the ages is brought under one roof. And often the most obscure and rare of items can be found here. Adventure con with its change of venue and more highly revered GOHs is fast becoming the South’s most memorable and exciting con. You can find conventions for your area or other areas by doing a search for your favorite movie and add the word convention after it or you can use the Fandom Directory. ------------ About the author: Currently Julia is working on creating new books of Folk Crafts from History and getting entries ready for competitions and state fairs. LULU.com is her pereferred publisher and will have all of her volumes available for print this summer. She is still at DePaul University plugging away at her BA in ethnography and stays at home in the East Tenneseee area with her hubby, daughter, nine babies and acre's of wild fruit. Email: jimmysdevoted2@bellsouth.net Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. 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