ZappCon

Zappcon was epic this year!
Ok, it is in its second year but when you look at last year the Con improved by 100%. Next year is going to be epic-​er :)
I played and RPG game Saturday morning called Pathfinder, I played from 10AM to 1PM and it was fun. I looked around the show room floor and bought a box of 40K models for 50% off, some dice, a signed cosplay photo and a Double Clicks album.
Sunday I played Artemis most of the day. It was so much fun… I literally made 6 new friends that I am now connecting thru Facebook with. I also attended a panel about kick starters it was very interesting.
I walked to the Subway for an affordable lunch and then walked back to the con. The subway was filled with cool cosplay people and I took some fun pictures with them :)
I think some people didn’t realize there were panels up stairs as well as role playing games, panels and video games.
If you are a nerd, geek, cosplayer, gamer or socially awkward … go to this event, play some games, walk around and make some new friends :)

ZappCon is the only comic/​movie/​gaming/​hobby convention that Fresno’s had to my knowledge. They started it last year, making this past weekend’s event their second annual convention. I’ve gone both years they’ve run it, and have seen drastic improvement from one year to the next, so hopefully I’ll be able to go next year and see a similar improvement!
To be completely honest, I didn’t enjoy last year’s ZappCon as much, so I wasn’t so sure I wanted to check it out again this year. I would like to thank fellow Unilocal member Jennifer W. for convincing me otherwise and hooking me up with a free ticket– you’re awesome both on and off Unilocal!
Anyway, there were a lot more people and vendors this year than there were last year. What exactly will you see here? Well, a lot of people in cosplay, which is people dressing up in costumes like Halloween. Costumes range from cool, to sexy, to just weird– pretty much like Halloween. Both times I went to ZappCon were on Sundays because I happened to be busy on Saturday both years, and that’s when supposedly the majority of all the cosplayers come out and the better panels occur.
As far as the panels… I can’t comment on those since I missed the majority of the good ones both times and didn’t end up going to the ones in session while I was there. The general idea of panels from what I understand is basically Q&A sessions or interviews with artists or topics that you’d presumably want to know more about.
Anyway, this time around I was compelled to actually buy a few things from the vendors. I bought a few pixel-​art things that are technically pins, but I display them at my desk– Mario and the green Castle Crasher, if anyone’s played that game. Then I got a graphic novel that I thought had a really interesting concept (there were actually a lot of these independent authors and comic book creators here with awesome ideas) and the author and illustrator were really cool– we chatted for a good 10 minutes or so and they both autographed my book, the illustrator leaving me probably the most detailed autograph/​illustration I’ve ever received. Guess it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me that nerdy artists trump athletes when it comes to signatures.
I also happened to have a few friends with booths of their own this year. I actually ran into an old friend from high school last year I came, and he was here again. Dude had his whole family there in Star Wars cosplay– he’s always been really into it. He actually brings multiple costumes and changes into them at different times throughout the day because he actually represents a huge, statewide I think Star Wars group that dresses up for parties, events, fundraisers, etc. and donates everything to charity. My other friend had a booth here for the first time this year to help promote his upcoming webseries and podcasts.
So 3 stars is as high as I can give because there’s a lot holding this back. First, is the cost is too damn high. $ 25 just to get in is only going to draw in those with a hardcore interest– I can’t see the general public getting curious and deciding to check it out on a whim at this price point. There was a flyer for an upcoming Bakersfield convention which I’m assuming will be similar to this one with a $ 7 entrance fee being promoted– MUCH more reasonable and friendlier to the fringe ticket buyers.
Next is also money related– $ 10 parking. This is just gouging at this point when you’re already charging $ 25 at the door. I, uh… bypassed this fee as well. I will not divulge my secrets– be a freeloading cheapskate beating the system at every turn on your own.
Here’s the big one that Unilocalers will hate– the food fucking sucks. I mean, the vendors in particular have to stay here all day, and all they have are crappy nachos, pretzels, hot dogs (I think) and basically cafeteria quality food at stupid prices? Not sure if the convention center doesn’t want food vendors here or what, but arrange to have food trucks in the parking lot or down the street somewhere around here at LEAST.
So yes, if costs go down, and the same increase in quality and quantity from year 1 to year 2 happens again next year, I can fully recommend going next year! I’m willing to cut it some slack, because it’s still really new and something Fresno’s never done before, so I’ll definitely want to check this out again– hopefully coming on opening day on Saturday for once…