I found out about Windy Con from a friend on facebook about 2 weeks before the event and was really surprised and excited. A steampunk convention only about an hour away?! Excellent!
Taking a look at the website showed that Windy Con was not “technically” a steampunk con, but a science fiction one with this years theme being steampunk. Yup, still sounds awesome. So I put together my gear and headed out Saturday morning to the Westin Hotel.
The convention was situated on the bottom floor in an L shape between the dealers room, art room and a hallway with something like an artists alley to the smaller rooms on the other side which were used for panels and it was very easy to find everything. I stopped by the information desk and inquired with a bow “Where might I find someone to speak with on a press pass?”. The girls giggled a bit and then kindly directed me to registration where after asking again I was told that the convention did not give out press badges. To be honest this surprised me a bit but I always like to support conventions and purchased a badge anyway.
The cost ran about $45 for a single day which was also a bit on the expensive side but that was before I really knew what was included with that badge. FOOD! DRINK! They had an entire room setup for con goers to stop by and snack whenever they wanted! And it was good stuff! I was amazed! This created something entirely new for a convention; a place where people would come together, mingle and eat <gasp> together! As a side note it also looked like the people at the convention had a lot more energy than other places where a bagel will cost you $10 so you just skip eating and die a little inside. I enjoyed stopping by here periodically and chit-chatting while drinking a soda or eating some cookies.
I spent most of my time there doing laps around the ground floor looking for cosplayers. At first there were not very many and I was disappointed, but true to form around 1-2pm people started waking up and coming out of the woodwork! I was amazed at the level of detail and care people put into their cosplay. So many props! Everything had a story or a use. I really wish I would have brought out the HD camera for this convention and got some people to explain all their gear. One guy actually created his crews airship in a 3D modeling program and would get it out and discuss all its features and little quirks.
Around this time I was approached by the vice-chair of the convention who went out of his way to thank me for coming and to explain why they do not offer press passes. Him and his wife were really nice people and I could tell they put all their heart into Windy Con. While they were a bit press-shy I told him that he had no worries. I was just as much of a geek as everyone else there and was really upset that my steampunk outfit was not complete so I could show it off. God I love vests!!
At 3:15pm there was a quick but super fun steampunk photoshoot that we had across the access road in a small grassy area. The best lines of this were from the lovely ladies shouting at the men to show them their guns! This was of course returned with “Show us some ankle!!”. I wish that we would have had enough time to do some more small group shots but there were several events coming up people did not want to miss and the masquerade director had to get back to work.
While waiting for the masquerade I wandered the dealers room and took a look into some of the panels. The dealers room had quite a decent selection of steampunk attire. The rest was taken up with books. While im a huge sci-fi reader I can say that the books were not the biggest draw for me and I found myself out on the hunt for more cosplayers. The panels ranged far and wide from topics such as “Impossible physics” to interviews with famous sci-fi authors. They were small, lively and fun.
At this point I made my way over to the masquerade. It was a nice well rehearsed event with a lot less scrambling than you typically see at the larger conventions. There was a quick walk / pose event and then groups. There was only one skit presented and it did very well with the judges. After the event there was a super funny singer that came up on stage and entertained for an hour while the judges printed up the certificates and deliberated their choices. I agreed with the awards given out and thought the judges did a fine job. The trophies were excellent!
Ok down to the final review of Windy Con 09:
The staff was courteous, helpful and amazing all around.
The panels and events were well placed and well organized.
The cosplay was AMAZING!!!
A rest and refreshments room! WOW!
The age group for this convention seemed to be a bit older. I would guess mostly 25-40. Which is awesome by the way.
I have to say it was really cool to see the older folks running around and having a great time just like the younger kids at other conventions.
If you are an anime cosplayer you might have felt a bit out of your element but after speaking with the vice-chair it seems they are making a huge effort to offer more anime related events and panels next year. I would say that its a totally safe environment to bring any anime cosplay to in 2010.
The convention was easy to find, parking was free and the hotel looked very nice. There were lots of parties with open doors to attend. People would post signs out downstairs so you knew which rooms you could go to. They ranged from tea parties to just music and hanging out.
Im trying to think of any negatives to list and im really having alot of trouble. Since we normally cover anime conventions the only thing I can note here is that anime is not this conventions strong suit. However I think anime cosplayers would be well received and accepted without a seconds thought.
One final note: The photographers who attended this convention were the best kind of people. Every single one I spoke with was great. They all had amazing talent and if you attend this event you are SURE to walk away with an amazing photo or two.
I had a really great time at Windy Con and its 100% on our list to attend again in 2010! I hope to see you there!
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