Lake Charles, LA
I had the pleasure of attending CyPhaCon this weekend at the Lake Charles Civic Center. In its eighth year, CyPhaCon has seen steady growth over the course of its existence. It has morphed into an excellent pop culture convention that draws anime, science fiction, comic, tabletop, and gaming fans.
I arrived at the convention on Friday evening. There was an exceptional crowd already at the event. Five panel rooms were open with panels covering topics ranging from cosplay to anime. I visited with Gigi Edgley (Farscape, Star Trek Continues, Wanderland) and talked to her about my encounter with Michele Specht and how Michele autographed a photo for me with “Thanks for the GREAT shoreleave!” I asked Gigi if she could top that and, well, I believe she did. Here’s the autograph:
I also signed up for a photo op with her on Saturday. I visited with a number of friends and fan groups and attended the LC Comedy Stand Up Invasion featuring some excellent local comedians.
Saturday
On Saturday morning I arrived at the convention just a few minutes after it opened. Jason Carter opened the event with an excellent panel about his career. Gigi Edgley took the stage next, but I was asked to assist on another panel taking place at the same time that was called Geek Dads. The premise of the panel was to pull a paper out of a Darth Vader basket and then go around the room discussing the topic written on the paper. The entire group was composed of men forty plus years old. We talked about 80’s films, comic books, classic video games, and even our favorite bands. I really enjoyed this panel. It reminded me of so many wonderful things from my childhood. The presenter, Patrick Bennett (who also answered ten burning questions for me in a previous post), pitched an idea to me about doing a web show in a similar vein to the panel. Hopefully we can make it happen soon!
As the day wore on, the crowd grew larger. Thankfully the Lake Charles Civic Center was large enough that it could handle the crowd. I attended more panels throughout the day and became part of a panel board that discussed the wonderful history of Jurassic Park.
The Rosa Hart Theater was opened to the the convention on Saturday and the fan film Hopeless: A Star Wars Story was presented to the crowd. The cosplay contest took place later that evening in the Rosa Hart Theater as well.
On Saturday night I attended my first live roller derby competition. The Gulf Coast Roller Derby team showed off their skills in the Lake Charles Civic Center Coliseum. They explained the rules, ran through them on the track, and then battled one another in a friendly exhibition. There was also a raffle for a bucket of booze. Yes, you read that correctly, a bucket full of adult beverages.
I really enjoyed the game. The teammates were very enthusiastic and the announcers made it easy to follow the action. There were a few injuries during the match as well. By the end of the match, the Red Shirts came out on top of the Stormtroopers in the friendly game.
After the game I went back into the convention center. I took a few photos of cosplayers and visited with more friends. I also listened to the wonderful tunes of the Suzaku 7 at the CyPhaCon After Dark Party. I stayed until the doors closed, which is especially rare for me at conventions.
Sunday
Sunday turned out to be just as excellent as Friday and Saturday. For any of you that regularly attend comic and science fiction conventions, you know that Sunday is usual a very slow day. That wasn’t the case at CyPhaCon. Sunday featured panels with all of the headliners and panels on multiple other subjects. I attended a few of these panels, including Gigi’s panel and a panel about artificial intelligence in Star Trek.
I also donned my cape and cowl as the Discount Dark Knight for a very special drawing from the Starfleet International ship, the USS New Orleans.
As the day wore on, my inner child hit the arcade that featured classic games like Pac-Man, Missile Command, Afterburner, and even Baby Pac-Man. I spent a lot of time (and thankfully no money, as the games were set for free play) on one of my favorite games, 1943. It was great to see a lot of youngsters tackling the classic games, but there were a few modern games available as well. There was also an eSports tournament taking place over the entire weekend and tabletop gaming available to any and all takers.
CyPhaCon outdid itself this year. I can honestly say that this was one of the most fun conventions that I’ve attended in a very long time. From the great celebrity guests to the wonderful panels, there was always something to attend or take part in during the convention. Some of the events were age restricted, but most of them were open to all. CyPhaCon also had an area dedicated to children known as CyPhaKids. It featured activities geared toward younger fans and has been a part of CyPhaCon for a few years now.
CyPhaCon is going to have a hard time topping this year’s event. I can’t wait until 2019’s event. Keep an eye on my blog for more information and be sure to check out CyPhaCon’s website or any of their social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, and their YouTube channel.
As always, thanks for reading my post. I’ll be posting again in the very near future. I’m hoping to expand my blog in the very near future if my readership continues to grow. Please share my blog and help spread the word. If there’s anything you want to see me blog about, let me know in the comments section!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 