It’s officially October, and do you know what that means? GeekGirlCon 2016 is less than one week away! When this post goes live, there will only be 5 more days until we all join together in glorious, geeky harmony.
Each and every year, GeekGirlCon grows bigger and better. This year, we’ve got tons of fabulous contributors, an amazing lineup of exhibitors, great panels on cosplay, gaming, and fandom, and so much more in store for the weekend. As we continue to grow, we get that much more room and opportunities to host a ton of events that are new to the convention, and we’re going to talk about those nouveau happenings today:
A Bigger, Better Con
For starters, this year’s convention is BIGGER than ever before! With the 4th floor expansion, we’ve got more space to cram in that much more awesome content. Our exhibitor hall is going to be gigantic, we’ll have tons of folks on the floor of our gaming and DIY Science sections — every nook and cranny is packed with panels, social events, and even a couple quiet spaces to sit back and relax for a minute in the midst of all that crazy fun.
GeekGirlCon 2015 at Washington State Conference Center in Seattle, Washington. October 2015. Photo by Danny Ngan
GGC After Dark
As I wrote about in a former post, we’ve got some fun in store for our 18+ attendees. GeekGirlCon After Dark is a series of panels geared towards all of the adults joining us next weekend. Featuring more scandalous subjects, these panels will explore everything from sexuality in YA novels, the science of kink, to body positivity and BDSM. With hosts of contributors from internet-savvy filmmakers and published authors, there’s fascinating content with a more mature zing.
Pixar Animation Studios will showcase a variety of women within the studio ranging from animators to engineers.
Did Inside Out and Up melt your heart? Laugh endlessly during Monsters University and Finding Dory? Just have an overall appreciation and love for Pixar?
If you answered “yes” to one or all of those questions: prepare to be delighted by this fleet of featured contributors speaking and hanging out during GeekGirlCon.
There’s a lot to do to prepare for a con, from buying passes to making sure you have comfortable shoes. One thing you can check off your list now is getting all that information together, because I’ve got your back!
Fandom! Fandom is what brings us together—today, at GeekGirlCon this October, or any other day of our lives. Fandom is the community that surrounds that which excites us, be it a movie, a book, a TV show, or sometimes even a carpet design. This year, at GeekGirlCon, it’ll bring even more of us together for some fantastic panels.
After a very long and difficult deliberation, our panels for this year’s convention have been decided, and now we are excited to show you what’s in store for you. Over the next few weeks, we will introduce some of the panels that will be featured at GeekGirlCon ’16!
One of the major areas of geekery that we love here at GeekGirlCon are the sciences. Although we have an amazing DIY Science Zone every year, and our #DIYSciFilm Livetweet events are always a hoot, we also have a huge range of science panels coming up this year. Below are a few samples of what you might see when you come to the convention on October 8 and 9.
I live for panels where I can walk away with a mile-long list of recommendations, and GeekGirlCon 15’s panel “Nah, Babe, It’s Just the Wind: Validating Women’s Fears in Horror” was one of the best of those I’ve been to in a while.
With a panel made up of Grace Moore (@bonecrusherjenk), Evan Peterson (@evanjpeterson), Adrienne Fox (@catatoniccutie), and Elsa Henry (@snarkbat), this feminist horrorshow talked about some of the best movies out there, some of the worst, and what’s coming next.
Ever been at a convention, sitting in on a panel, struck with the realization of “I could do this!”? Do your friends often have to, politely or not, ask you to stop lecturing them about your latest passion? Is your Tumblr carefully curated and focused on a specific fandom or interest? Or, hey, do you just want to push yourself and try out public speaking?
The first time I saw Mad Max: Fury Road in theaters, I cried for at least half of it. My roommate was pretty sure I had gone insane, but the simple fact that this movie not only existed but was a big-budget film with beautiful effects and great name recognition was shaking me to my core. I loved every moment of the film, even though I hadn’t seen the other movies in the series and hadn’t even been interested in it until I learned it was making men’s rights activists angry. But I was quickly converted and, obviously, very touched by the story.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise that GeekGirlCon ‘15’s panel on MMFR was on my go-see list as soon as I got the panel listings. Moderated by Jennifer Stuller and with an amazing panel composed of disability activists, feminist scholars, and associate professors, “Matriarchy in Mad Max: Mothers, Warriors, and Wives” was a study of feminist themes in the movie. Perspectives on the film varied across the panel, but thanks to a remarkably calm and respectful atmosphere, the discussions never dissolved into arguments.
It’s been a week since the success of GeekGirlCon ’15, and if you’re already missing it, here’s a roundup of some of the fantastic press we’ve received following our con:
Conshark wrote up a recap of the overall event, highlighting that what makes GeekGirlCon unique is our focus on our community, and Persephone Magazine also offers a great summary of our con, including some livetweets from our panels and a cosplay photo gallery. Becky from No Continues Media describes our con as “one of the most immersive experiences as an attendee I’ve ever had at a convention”, and Whiletrue.do has a short but heartwarming piece on three ways she was inspired at GeekGirlCon. Nicole from Across the Board Games has a recap where she also recounts her experience as an exhibitor and panelist, and describes GeekGirlCon as her favorite convention in Seattle!
Photo by Danny Ngan Photography.
For those of you who like pictures, Jetspace has a great photographic summary of the highlights from the convention, and Bitch Media has a lovely rundown of some of the costumes and events. Of course, GeekGirlCon wouldn’t be GeekGirlCon without a healthy dose of cosplay; GeekMom’s cosplay gallery shows off some of the awesome costumes from the weekend. GeekMom also gives us the lowdown on some of the swag she found on our exhibitor floor, ranging from geeky food, to amazing apparel, to many fluffy, cute things.
Although we hardworking staffers will provide you with panel recaps throughout the coming year, sometimes we get beaten to the punch by our amazing con attendees. [Re]meshed.com has a detailed article on Anita Sarkeesian and Zoe Quinn’s packed panel, and Sonja from Soultamer Gaming has produced not one, but three panel write-ups on QUILTBAGs in Geekdom, the representation of Asians in the media, and Elsa S. Henry’s panel, Blind Lady Versus, where she demonstrates what gaming is like for blind and low vision players. She’s also got a piece on our Kick-Off event from the Friday night before the con. Talk about dedication!
Photo by Nicole Tanner of Pixelkin.
One of the things that GeekGirlCon prides itself on is its family-friendly focus. Nicole from Pixelkin did a lovely write-up about how GeekGirlCon was a great way to bond with her daughter. We also even got a whole episode on a gaming podcast! Here’s Epic Drop’s episode discussion what GeekGirlCon is about, and recapping how much fun the family had, including an interview with a five-year-old Geek Girl!
Finally, we also got coverage from MSNBC in a video about cosplay and science, featuring our own Raychelle Burks and Torrey Stenmark!
Have you come across any other press for GeekGirlCon? Let us know in the comments below!
Our gaming area may be located on the lower level of the Conference Center, but if you want dank, creepy, and dungeon-like, you’ll have to get your GM to take you on a dungeon crawl, because our basement is sure to be bustling. This is shaping up to be a banner year for gaming at GeekGirlCon—all your favorites are returning, along with many new events and goodies.
One of last year’s big highlights was the Paint ‘n’ Take miniatures event. Kids and adults alike loved picking out and painting their own miniatures (provided by the ever-generous Privateer Press). This year it’s scheduled for 10am-1pm on Saturday, so be sure to show up early before the miniatures run out.
