Sunday, July 08, 2012

Fantasci X-A Cool Convention on a Hot Day


Saturday, July 7, 2012 was hot, but inside the Chesapeake Central Library in Chespeake, Virginia, most of us kept cool during Fantasci X, the one-day science fiction, fantasy and horror convention the library has put on for ten years now.


My husband, Bill and I got up at 5:00 a.m. and by 5:30 were dressed and had the car packed with my books, and other things. After watering my plants as this was to be the hottest day this week at 104, with heat index way worse, we drove out of the driveway, on our way to Chespeake. We made a brief stop at a McDonalds on 450 for breakfast and use of their restroom, then we sped down the road on the last leg of our journey. By 8:00 a.m. we got to the library, unloaded the car, and parked it. By 8:30 a.m. my table was decorated and my books out. I took photos just before the public was allowed in at 10 a.m. then got behind my table and ready for seven hours of a fun time.



There was the Klingon jail, set up for charity where you could have your best friend, er enemy, arrested and released on bail, the money going to charity. The Klingons serenaded their prisoners to tunes of “Row, row your boat or the Barney the Purple Dinosaur “I Love You” theme. Sheer horror. The Umbrella Corporation was there to watch out for the zombie apocalypse, so the one-day convention could goon uninterrupted. Or maybe they were secretly infecting us all.



Tidewater alliance was there in their Star Wars costumes, while Star Trek groups paraded by. There were Legos, two incarnations of Doctor Who, artists with wonderful art, like my friend Susan L. Wickham, dealers selling cool items I never got time to purchase (next time, next time. . .), and authors with their books to buy and get signed. There were even panels on writing, alien food and what to do during a zombie apocalypse, and even lightsaber duels.





By 5:00 p.m. everyone was packed up and gone, and some headed over to a nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner. Some headed back to the library for movie night that started at eight, rest of us (like Bill and me) drove home in super hot, humid heat. It was a good day though.  See you next year, Fantasci!










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