Oz Comic Con Melbourne
This was the first Oz Comic Con event in Melbourne, the show had launched in Adelaide earlier in the year. When it comes to my event posts, I normally don’t include a lot of the negative aspects but this event was a mess. There were a few positives at this event, but as a whole there were so many issues. A lot of people were saying that the issues came from it being a new event. Yes it was a new event, but the organisers had been running events for many years. In reality they should have known better and these issues should not have ocured.
Issues a Plenty
One of the biggest issues at this event was that the venue size was way too small for this type of event. The event was held at MECC in Melbourne and although the venue is huge they did not use enough of the space. They had sold so many tickets to the event that the facility reached it’s maximum capacity. This meant that people were stuck outside the venue and could not get in until others left. It didn’t matter what ticket you had, so people who’d spent hundreds on VIP tickets were also stuck outside.
This event also had two huge name guests in Stan Lee and Sir Patrick Stewart, these two were located in different areas. However, their queues were so insanely huge that they basically blocked out complete areas of the event. There really was no room for queues of that size especially when Stan Lee was located not far from the entrance.
Personally, once I got inside the venue I did not leave until the end of the day. I was not going to take any chances of not being able to get it. This was the case for a lot of people, which meant that the place was very crowded most of the weekend.
Celebs4Kids
In the lead up to the event I had been contacted by a lady named Victoria, I’d met her at the 2011 Melbourne Armageddon. She had been working with a charity called Celebs4Kids, they would auction of photos to raise money. The photos would be of different celebrities, giving the peace sign. Victoria asked me if I could get photos of the guests at this event to be auctioned off.
I contacted the organiser of Oz Comic Con, I gave them all the relevant information and details regarding the request. Unfortunately, it never went any further than that, which was such a shame as I thought it was a great idea. Plus it was something which I thought would be fairly easy to organise if the guests were okay with it. Since I wasn’t able to help them out, I decided to have a little bit of fun and at least get photos with friends. We made the peace signs the theme of the weekend and we called it Geeks for Peace instead. I know it wasn’t what she wanted, but it was all I was able to achieve. Plus it was fun and gave me a mission for the weekend.
Kult of Karyn (K.O.K.)
I spent the majority of the weekend hanging around either a friends stall and keeping her company. Or I would be chatting with Ryan Robbins and Karyn Baltzer because they are awesome. Plus those areas of the event weren’t as busy with attendees. There was a point where we were al hanging around talking and Ryan decided to call us the Kult of Karyn. Which we all had to point out that he had just named us KOK, we all had a good laugh. We even got a photo taken of a bunch of us bowing down to Karyn, she was our leader.
I remember there was a moment when Karyn was eating some hot chips and Jen gave her some Vegemite to try. Karyn decided to dip her chips into the Vegemite to eat it. This was definitely something different and perhaps the start of a new trend?
Karyn was a big X-Files fan and really wanted to get her photo with Mitch Pileggi. I had been wearing my FBI vest costume so Karyn asked if she could borrow it for her photo. Her photo with him looks great and well, now she will also remember me whenever she looks at that photo. Or maybe that’s just me being vain, but it was still a good memory for me.
Photographs
Throughout the weekend I got a few photographs with guests, my first photo was with Mitch Pileggi. I changed into my flight-suit to get the photo, as that’s what he generally wears in Stargate: Atlantis. I also got a photo of with Karyn, she was just so amazing I couldn’t not get one. I also got a group photo with my fellow SG-7 group members. We got a photo with Mitch, Jason Momoa and Sharon Taylor. I didn’t have my full costume with me but at least had my autographed Stargate BDU shirt.
Funny Memory
A fun little memory I have from this weekend was on the Saturday night. Friends and I were going out for dinner, I was waiting in the hotel lobby for them. I was bored and being an idiot, dancing around the place like a loony. I then turn around and see Sir Patrick Stewart watching me through the window in the hotel restaurant. I just smiled embarrassed, gave a little wave and sleeked out of sight. A little bit of an embarrassing moment, but a good memory.
Aftermath Party
On the Sunday night after the event, there was the Gifts for the Geek Aftermath Party. And like always, it was an absolute blast. it’s great being able to chill with friends after a busy crazy weekend. Everyone gets together to have fun and just hang out, and some actors join in too. This was another great evening, with much laughter and good times. There were plenty of photos taken of everyone too, a nice memento of the weekend and friends involved.
These aftermaths have become my favourite thing at these events. Its such a good way to wind down after the weekend and to spend time with amazing friends. I also got a photo taken with Sharon Taylor with my mate Maddie photobombing. Got a photo with the Women Talk Sci-Fi ladies too. And many many many photos with amazing friends. These are some of my favourite event photos, just having fun with friends and actors.
COMPLETE GUEST LIST |
Stan Lee, Patrick Stewart, Armin Shimerman, Max Grodénchik, Ryan Robbins and Karyn Baltzer, Mitch Pileggi, Daniel Stewart, Sean Maher, Jason Momoa, Hudson Leick, Corin Nemec, Willow Shields, Julie Benz, Sharon Taylor, Jeffery Combs, Leven Rambi, Eric Vale, Stewart McKenny, Agnes Garbowska, Doug Holgate, Scott Allie, Nicola Scott, Jason Palmer, Todd Haberkorn and Chris Sabat. |
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