Visioncon Recap

My Bellatrix LeStrange Cosplay 

Over the weekend I was called once again by the crew at Toy Robot Photography to help wrangle cosplayers for con photos. This time I was at Visioncon at the Hilton Branson Convention Center in Branson, MO (February 23-25).

If you are not familiar with Visioncon, it is a comic convention that has been in existence for about two decades. It is a mid-sized con that reels in some pretty strong celebs, exhibits and professional cosplayers. You will not see the likes of Gal Gadot or Jason Momoa attending but you can very possibly see Laura Tyler from Face Off (FYI – I LOVE HER!!!), Keegan Conner Taylor from Once Upon a Time or John Shipp from the Flash.

Visioncon is a 501C3 organization who prides themselves on supporting location charities’. This year they turned their attention and support to the Springfield MO chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

It is a three day event kicking off on Friday around noon and wrapping up on Sunday at 2pm. Of course come for the customary opening and closing ceremonies but be sure to attend the minion auction and closing ceremony raffle since these are fundraising for a good cause.

The vendor floor is open Friday 12:00 -7:00, Saturday 9am -7pm and Sunday 9am to 2pm. Workshops and after hours events extend on into the night are usually 18+. Some of the more interesting after hours activities were the cosplay dating game & Whose Line is it Any Way. Expect your usual after hour parties as well but be prepared to travel as they are not always onsite at the venue.

Kewpie Doll Cosplay as Carl Grimes / "Itty Bitty Baby Potter"

Visioncon has a good online presence where you can keep an eye out for new VIP guests, check the schedule or pre-register for weekend passes. Pre-Registration costs are $40 for the weekend or $55 at the door with reduced rates for guests 13-17 years of age and kids under 13 are free with paid adult admission. Day passes are available too for $40.

The event is located in the Hilton Branson Center which is located on Sycamore Street in downtown Branson area. Garage parking was available for $10 for day or lot parking a bit further down for $5. I thought the garage was convenient and reasonably priced especially considering it was raining heavily on Saturday so we opted for garage parking. Your parking pass, unlike most places, allows for leaving and returning at no extra cost and the attendant was one of the friendliest and most attentive people I had ever encountered in such an environment.

The convention center is also one of two sponsor hotels, the second being Best Western. There is plenty to do, outside of the con, if you want. The downtown area was a pretty busy place with shopping, restaurants and other sources of entertainment. The Branson Landing galleria mall is within a couple minutes walk of the facility.

Since I mentioned restaurants & food, one big negative was the concessions costs at the venue. They were high! $22 for a pizza $8 for a burger. Now I usually have a cooler in my car with some healthier options than pizza, burgers and hot-dogs but this time I did not. We opted to take the crew off site for dining as a result.

Side note – I am curious if the community is very cos-friendly. I stopped by Hurts Donuts (NOMNOMNOM) and Chick-fil-A in full Bellatrix LeStrange gear. While I did get some strange looks for the “older” patrons I received a lot of smiles too! I just REALLY wanted to someone to ask me if I was with one of the Branson shows…yes the new Harry Potter Theater on 76! (hahahaha…wait that is a genius idea!!)

Hurts Donuts has SWINGS to play on!!!!  The witch goes to Chick-fil-A and was loved!!! 

Visioncon offered a very full schedule of panels / workshops, everything from paranormal investigations to costuming & prop making. Several of the workshops offered hands-on demos like wire wrapping jewelry. There were also panels on movie making, writing and storytelling and of course the now typical Nerd Community “Hot Topics” (i.e. – bringing your community together, cos-positivity).

Registration and check in went very smoothly but I did hear several people commenting security was a bit relaxed and “badge passing” was very easy. Since I was a media guest I did not receive a swag bag of freebies so I cannot really comment on what it contained or if one was offered.

This is my "isn't it cute" face!

The vendor floor was quite extensive. Vendor booths were primarily located on the bottom floor it did extended to a 2nd level. The vendors were the traditional set you would expect to see. Nothing very
surprising. authors, artists, comic book & collectible vendors, jewelry, corsets & clothing, t-shirts and other various handcrafted fandom knick-knack’s, jewelry and toys. I tend to purchase in the fandom of what I am cosplaying so I left with several Harry Potter prints, Lego mini-figs and a crocheted Hedwig. My favorite purchase was my Game of Thrones Turvis Wine Tumbler! WOOT! (Now I can drink and know things).

As far as layout, I noticed an issue with the arrangement of the con floor. Overall first impressions could be drastically different depending on which side of the stairs you descended. The left side looked very full and busy while the right side seemed sparse as it was occupied by community groups and people promoting other cons and activities. It also appeared that there was supposed to be a line of celebrity cars at the show. Sadly they did not all show up which created a huge empty space at the bottom of the space on the right side. I have never really noticed this to be an issue in the past at other cons. Maybe have a contingent plan and be prepared to move booths around to cover gaps. I have to wonder if the vendors on the right side, which also included the main stage, were impacted by the lack of booths or did the main stage draw people in and make up for it? Maybe a bit more flash at the bottom of the stairs so that whatever side they choose, people will be greeted right away by the glitter of the event.

The community cosplay groups were in full force at Visioncon. The local Ghostbusters crew were there complete with replica car and of course the fully decked out Star Wars 501st Legion with R2 units, a half scale Tie Fighter & a snow speeder.

This year the celeb guests were Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers, Sleepy Hollow), Keegan Conner Taylor (Bates Motel, Once Upon a Time) and Andy Fields (Five Nights at Freddie’s). Celeb photos ops available for $40 or less for a selfie at the table. I did notice Casper Van Dein photobombing a couple of people! Go Casper…that made someone’s day. Casper also helped out with a Starship Trooper armor build workshop! Cosplay guests were Eric Moran & Kit Quinn.

Also available were a very busy gaming room and several Kid Friendly activities (Saturday only) like a Pokémon Hunt, Disney sing a long, Science experiments.

Con staff ere very helpful and easy to identify and there seemed to be a welcoming sense of community as most of the attendees and vendors seemed to know each other very well.

There was a strong attendance, but that seemed to be mostly Saturday from noon -8pm. Sunday hosted a very light crowd which could probably be boosted by offering some more significant Sunday content to draw people in. Also, I would suggest having a few “barkers” on the floor urging people to enter the costume contest.This is something I have seen at most cons, but did not encounter here. The organizers should also consider offering some “Cosplay Floor Awards” which is kind of a cool thing for those who cannot stay until the cosplay contest.

Visioncon is very cosplay driven, from the attendees to the workshops offered. I was quite impressed with the number and talent of the cosplayers we encountered. They were out in mass spanning all fandoms imaginable and the quality of the craftsmanship was on point.

As expected there was a Cosplay contest on Saturday night at 8pm. Awards offered for the following levels Journeyman (novice), Master (advanced), Exhibition (non-competition entry), and Youth (15 and under). Each competitor was judged on craftsmanship, materials, props, makeup & prosthetics, stage presence and the catch all “other” that incorporates lighting, animated parts, sound effects, etc.

This is my first year attending but have several friends who have attended or worked at Visioncon in the past who highly recommend we come out. Overall I thought it was a great con and I already putting it on the books for next year with a plan for bringing more of my cosplay crew with me.

Visioncon 2019 is scheduled for March 8-10, 2019 so MARK YOUR CALENDAR and join me there!

Wizard World Nashville 2017 Recap

I attend quite a few cons during the course of each year. I can usually be found working a table at local and regional cons, acting as a photog assistant, or just wandering the event floor some of the larger events in other cities. Overall, I consider myself pretty well versed in "Con Life". A recent outing marks my 3rd trip to the Wizard World in Nashville.

Over the course of the last few years, I have to admit, I may have gotten a bit spoiled. In my defense, I cut my con teeth on a huge event. The first con I ever attended was Wizard World New Orleans and oh what a glorious trip that was. I still fondly recall the feeling of walking into the convention and finding "my people". I swear I heard the voices of angels singing when I walked in the door. I had found my fellow nerds, and lots of them. The down side to attending such a large event as your first is my expectations were set very high. Some events live up to the initial experience while others do not.

I have attended many Wizard Worlds Cons, I mean they are the biggest company in the industry, and my overall thoughts on their structure, offerings and pricing have not changed much over the years.

There are many advantages to attending this size event. Example, if you want to meet and greet with celebs this is the way to go. Bigger attendance means better "star power", more vendors with larger booths, incredible panels and of course outstanding cosplays.

 But they do definitely have their disadvantages as well, such as ticket prices and expensive and inconvenient parking, the inconvenience of entry through security, overcrowding on the floor during peak times, overpriced vendor offerings (I found a Hot Topic jacket marked up $40 and the CORSET I WAS WEARING marked up by $80...WTF people?), lots of Funko Pops and Nerd T's versus actual comics and collectibles, overpriced concessions, and tighter controls on celeb interactions.

I'm not going to spend any time blathering about the cosplay contests. I don't even consider entering WW cosplay contests and have discouraged members of my crew from entering because what you see on the floor vs. what arrives at contest time are very different. A lot of the cosplayers in these contests cannot wear their creations for long periods of time due to limited mobility. It's almost like viewing slightly animated statues. Always cool to see but definitely not big on functionality.

But all that is not really what this article is really about!

This time around I got to see the con from a totally different perspective. 48 hours prior to con I ended up with two sprained ankles, damage to the bottom of my left foot and broken toes. Since WW tickets are non-refundable and quite expensive we decided to locate a wheelchair for me and proceed with the planned trip.

I expected to be viewed differently but, in actuality, what happened was almost over-whelming. First, I understand my crew was not experienced in dealing with anyone in a chair so while being pushed around, I kept ending up past the end of the tables or parked on a wall. So the need to control my own surroundings kicked in.

The next thing that becomes grievously clear is that vendor booths are not designed for wheelchair bound people. I could not see a damn thing beyond the facade tables. I found my shopping very limited because either I could not fit into the booth or could not see on anything above...well chair level. So sales were definitely lost.

Of course security was easy for me to get through but at one point I found myself waiting next to a guy who was permanently in a chair and was quite embarrassed about my dumb little accident. I didn't know exactly how to talk to him without being a bumbling idiot. He commented on my awesome cosplay and questioned how I had the time to be in the chair and build a costume. Dear sir, thank you for being gracious as I broke every rule of polite conversation since I could find no way to graciously and honestly answer while hiding behind my humiliation. Truth is, I felt like my chair was an temporary annoyance while his was a life sentence.

I noticed most of the day, being below most people’s line of sight, I was out of the conversation and overlooked. I equate that to being a small child. Several people did try to include me but most forgot I was there, until I attempted to run over their feet.

What bothered me most was the disingenuous compliments I received on my cosplay all day. While seated, nobody could not see the total effect of the Bombshell Robin cosplay. They could not see the back of the custom jacket which took hours to create and months to locate all the patches I used. All most people saw was my garrison hat and goggles. I was approached by several people who wanted my picture and who seemed truly disappointed by the fact that I could actually get out of the chair. I began to realize that people were not appreciating me, but pitying me, and maybe looking for a token to fuss over. I did not want to be the shining example for Wizard World being handicap friendly because 1) I am not handicapped and 2) I found the site was not very wheelchair friendly.

Did I need to chair to get around? Yes. Was I confined to it all day? No. I could get out of the chair periodically but to avoid further damage to my foot and ankles I chose to stay in the chair as much as possible. I offered rides to a couple of people, loaned my chair as a prop for my little X-23, and acted as a walker to one member of my crew when she became tired from her actual disability.

One good thing from the wheelchair adventure was my friend and I had an awesome interaction with Dean Cain. He really is a Superman.

When the day was over I came to realize that I had been witness to something most don't get to see and I understand now how it affects people when we make assumptions or disingenuous assertions about their lot in life. In the end, I felt like C. Thomas Howell in that 80s movie Soul Man trying to justify his brief experience as a black man to James Earl Jones' character. As he pathetically explained, "I don't really know what it feels like sir. If I didn't like it, I could always get out."