Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007

RadCon....live long and prosper

Which ones do not belong: Science fiction, Klingon, Art, Lightsaber, Jedi, Belly dancing, Cosplay, and Chocolate.

If you answered belly dancing or chocolate, you would be wrong. They all went together quite nicely at Tri-Cities' 16th annual RadCon.

Honoring the anniversaries of both Star Wars and Star Trek: the Next Generation, this year's theme was To boldly go to a galaxy far, far away. The event took place from Feb. 16-18, 2007 at the Red Lion Inn in Pasco.

With Mountain Dew and Bawls energy drink in people's hands, and life-size poster cut-outs of Commander William T. Riker from Star Trek: the Next Generation strewn about the hotel, the smell of nerdiness was definitely in the air. However, once visitors got past that initial "nerdfest" reaction, they saw a pretty cool convention where people could simply be themselves.

If you asked a participant at RadCon what their favorite part of the event was, they would oftentimes reply they loved the fact they didn't have to worry how others perceived them since they all were there for the same reasons.

Bob Brown, the Programming Chair of RadCon, shared when he was younger science fiction was not socially acceptable and he couldn't bring books from the library home in fear of being scolded. But times are a changing.

RadCon stems from a group of guys who liked science fiction and created a convention called WorldCon, explains Brown. "It starts with the books. After that you find the costumes. You've got the media related events that came in with Star Trek and Star Wars and all this stuff that leads up to where we are today with rich material available to be using."

Despite being able to bring works of science fiction in to our households today, there is still that stigma associated with it. This is where RadCon comes in.

The convention caters to the imaginative minds of anyone willing to give science fiction a chance. With creative writing workshops taught by professional science fiction authors, or cartoon/comic artists speaking at panels, this event is for the open minded who wish to expand their creative side.

There was a plethora of special guests including acclaimed science fiction author Larry Niven and John Dalmas, costume designer/artist Dragon Dronet, editor/producer/animator John Hudgens, artist William Warren, and many others.

Some guests of honor brought gifts with them to give back to the community. Dragon Dronet donated costumes and props to Hanford High School's drama department and spoke to students about the importance of expressing oneself. Larry Niven's recent book Ringworld's Children was inside every registered participant's goody bag.

Throughout the hotel people were playing the strategic tabletop wargame called Warhammer, or had set up their computers to play online games with one another. One room consisted of various shops and venders selling anything and everything from handcrafted swords, to glass beaded jewelry, to books, to anime souvenirs, to costumes and clothes, and much more.

A Chocolate Auction was also held for the volunteers to spend time with people. Instead of using money, there was specially made chocolate that cost $1 per piece. According to the RadCon program, half of the money will go to the Endeavor Award and the other half will go into an account to be used to bid to bring the 2011 Worldcon to the Pacific Northwest.

Walking around the event, you will oftentimes come in contact with somebody dressed up as a different anime/video game/movie/fictional characters. This is typical at conventions, often called "Cosplaying." Some people were dressed up for the Masquerade Contest but most of them simply enjoy dressing up just for the fun of it.

The dynamic of RadCon is interesting, where people gain self-esteem and acceptance. Instead of making fun of somebody who is cosplaying, people comment one another's costumes. Just because someone is dressed up as a Klingon doesn't make them weird - it actually makes them cool.

What began with books has clearly grown into something much bigger than expected, but greatly anticipated. RadCon has been bringing people together for 16 years and shows no signs of slowing down. People have taken notice of the convention and more and more volunteers participate each year. And why not? Where else could you see a grown man wearing a Darth Vader helmet with a pink feathered boa over his shoulders?

Missed this year's RadCon? No need to cry, there's already a countdown for next year's which is taking place Feb. 15-17. For more information, check out the official RadCon Web site at www.radcon.org. If you would like to get involved with RadCon, their meetings are the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Red Lion Inn in Pasco. Their next meeting is March 1st.