Review: Fanworld 2017

Costume Worn: Steampunk Harley Quinn

It was definitely a mixed bag.

This is a very young con, in its second year. The growing pains are very apparent. The big one is the organization/communication.

I am not one to be upset over guest cancellations, that’s simply the nature of the beast, so Im not dinging that. However, prior to the con, they had asked about photographers attending for a sign up, but never did anything with it, much to the annoyance of DH.

For more practical matters, starting with the parking. The site states the lot across the street at the casino is free. It is not, it is for card holder. Yes, we have cards, but I don’t think most of the attendees do. There IS a free parking garage, but it’s further back. I’m wondering if this was a misunderstanding or a poor choice of wording.

The entrance for the con was at a specific door of the convention center. One side had signage letting you know where to go, the other side did not.

When asked questions, the team doing admissions had no idea.

The convention was supposed to start at 10 AM. There were not many people yet and even a few vendors had not arrived. The cosplay meetup, the reason I was there so early, had a written note on the white board stating it was cancelled.

I will admit that most cons Ive been to have been pretty steady from the get-go, so this threw me off.

Most of the rooms for the con were barely used. I don’t know if this was due to lack of volunteers to organize and run panels

The dealer room was 1/3 full. They should have moved the artists and crafters into the room to make it look fuller. I will say that they quality of vendors was very good for the small amount that was there. The jewelry makers all had beautiful wares, and there were a number of unique items along with local toy shops.

*pause to give Scooby Dee hugs. I haven’t properly hugged her all day and she’s very upset*

DH went home and I stayed with one of my besties, who came for her daughter and her daughter’s friend.

I saw my friend Will from Creative Zenith and met Prima Diana, who makes wonderful fandom backpacks and patches. I bought a Firefly one because, Shiny.

Bestie’s daughter and her friend had a wonderful time, meeting some personality that they admire and sitting in on his panel.

I would say 12:30-1 PM is when people started to really come in. I ran into a couple of folks that I have seen at the other local cons and met many more newer folks. For some, this was their first con and/or first cosplay.

There was a Starbucks nearby that I went to a couple of time. I got to have a little girl upset that I sent the Joker home and she couldn’t meet him (she loved me and couldn’t get why I didn’t have a Joker. I said I sent him home for being a grouch 😀 ) and also got to explain the convention and costuming to an interested couple.

I learned that I probably shouldn’t be in a corset for 10 hours. I was happy there was a cosplay lounge with privacy areas so I could take corset breaks LOL

I entered the craftsmanship portion of the cosplay contest. The judges all had very nice things to say about my costume and I ended up winning the Runner Up. I’m thrilled to finally get an accomplishment after all these years 😀

I think this convention has a LOT of great potential. I do not think at this time that it was worth $25 for one day. It was priced $30 for the weekend, which IS a good value, but a single day was $25 and that was a bit much. It was a very ambitious con, initially attempting to be on both sides of the border, but had to scale back when arrangements fell through. I think they should focus on the one side for now before spreading out. Im sure trying to coordinate that ate up a lot of time that could have been utilized elsewhere. I think getting in more panelists would be fantastic. They should also try to bring in local costume groups like The North Ridge or The Superhero Alliance. I heard about them by chance, as a friend had “shown interest” in on Facebook. Having musical guests, although not a decision maker for me to attend a con, was a nice touch.

I am unsure at this point if I would return.  I had a decent time, I met a lot of nice people, but not until much later. If the Cosplay Meetup had gone on as planned, Im sure I would have felt differently. Im sure having it first thing in the morning was an attempt to get people in early that just didn’t work out. If it had not been on the schedule, I probably would have come later and stayed on to see the Harp Twins (I did meet them at their booth and they are extremely nice! I plan on catching them at Buffalo Comicon).

The facilities itself was spacious and provided water for everyone. It had a VERY relaxed atmosphere and everyone was very nice. It was mostly HS and college aged people, so I felt a little old HA HA, but they were all great. I did appreciate the VARIETY of costumes worn.

I would have been ok with it for a lower admission price, in the 15-20$ range.

I do want to say that OVERALL I enjoyed myself. I have a few concerns/recommendations that are easily addressed. Running an event like this is NOT easy by any means and I hope that this one continues to improve and grow!

I am looking forward to attending Fanworld at Niagara Falls this Saturday. I havent heard of them, but I hear its very big on cosplayers. Ill be attending with my husband, one of my best friends along with her daughter and her daughter’s friend.

While I have no idea what to expect, I can’t wait to see other costumers and to compete again. This will be my first attempt at a craftsmanship category.

Its been nice this year introducing my bestie’s daughter to cosplay and conventions. She is connecting with people with similar interests and having fun with the costumes.

I also entered an essay contest about what cosplay is for me that one of my favorite cosplay stores is holding. It’d be nice if I won one of the prizes 😀

GTG and do some pilates. These thighs aren’t going to shrink on their own :O

Here is a small smattering of updates.

Found my old convention pictures. Not a whole lot for some. They’re all up on my facebook albums.

My Injustice 2 costume came in yesterday. A little loose on top and juuuuuust fits my bottom. Going to spend a few weeks toning and see if that helps. The belt wasn’t going to fit in the right spot, no matter how I tried it, so it will need modifications. The knee pads were the same size as the elbows, so I’ll pick up a new set. I got the wig, goggles, and boots (although I can’t wait for my New Rock ones to turn up for this costume). The pistols, I found a nerf on amazon I can paint.

So give me 3-4 weeks to try to tone up my legs and butt and Ill post pictures for that one.

Hot Topic had buy 1 get 1 old cosplay inventory. They had the right size I needed for my Arkham Knight variant Harley I bought a bit ago. The one I bought is too loose, especially since I dropped weight. My free was a red/black wig I plan on using for my Sith Lady Harley. I have a great one bookmarked on Amazon in case I can’t style this one.

Hidey ho!

I’ve purchased my pass for Fanworld for SATURDAY JULY 22nd. Bob will be bringing his camera to photograph cosplayers. I will be dressing in my primary costume, Steampunk Harley, so keep an eye out for me if you would like a picture from Bob.

With Bombshell Harley done and the wait game for Injustice 2 Harley to come in, I am thinking of finalizing my Steampunk Sith Lady Harley. I have many of the pieces and recycling some from my steampunk costume. I don’t know if the look will be better served with the gaiters or if I should wait until my New Rock boots come in. It’s meant to compliment my steampunk jedi costume, so I wonder if I should make that one a “good” Harley, rather than an OFC? It’d be another excuse to use the wig I have for Bombshell LOL