The old cliche’ is, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” So when I was unable to make GamerNationCon 3 due to my nemesis Darth Real Life, I decided that I wasn’t going to spend that weekend being miserable. I knew something fun would come up and it did! Central Arkansas Library System was hosting its annual mini-con, called CalsCon. And being even a minor Rebel Legion officer does have some perks. In this case, I was contacted to provide a few Rebel costumers and offered the chance to be on a Star Wars–TFA panel and help judge the Cosplay Contest. I had my lemonade recipe!
In addition to my usual Con prep–deciding on costume(s), making sure I had the day off, finding out who else in Clan Whitson was going & helping them deal with their costumes–I had to prepare for my parts in CalsCon. Like figuring out what I was going to say about The Force Awakens. Fortunately panelists were given the questions ahead of time. (More on that later.) And doing my short bio to be read when panelists and judges were introduced. Yes, my work at D20 Radio was mentioned along with my Rebel (Legion) allegiance.
Fortunately for all, the 501st and Rebel Legions get along much better than the canon Imps and Rebels. The 501st’s Diamond Garrison graciously allowed me to to share their table, including displaying the DH-17 blaster prop my husband, Mark Whitson, crafted for me many years ago, alongside Imperial arms and helmets. I had a good time talking Star Wars and other geekery with them.
Later in the afternoon, I headed over for the TFA panel with Diamond Garrison CO Scott Horne, who would also be on the panel. Of course, we were seated next to each other. Our other panelists were James, a local lawyer–yes, even they love Star Wars–Tim, who works on licensed SW clothing, and our moderator, Kim Opper, of CALS. All of us had great memories of growing up with Star Wars, regardless of whether we first saw the original OT, or later releases.
All panelists agreed on the three questions. Disney/LucasFilm deserved an A for Ep. 7, for one thing. Me, I gave it an A- because I wanted to see more of Master Luke and Captain Phasma. While I can understand why Luke was kept off-screen (except for a cybernetic hand) until the very end, the Captain deserved more screen time, and a better last scene. Sad as it was, we felt that yes, Han’s death was necessary for the plot. I drew parallels with the killings of those dear to the would-be Sith as a rite de passage, which we see in RotS as well as various Legends sources. What got the most varied responses was why TFA was better-received than the Prequels. Each of us had something different to share about what made us love TFA more than the PT. For me it was flying and laughing in that TIE with Poe, Finn and my son that let me know I was home, just like Han and Chewie. For someone else, it was the mysteries–the things that Abrams wasn’t trying to explain, like the Force.
Then there were the audience questions. While everyone on the panel got to answer each of the 3 moderator questions, we took turns answering audience questions. Notable was my teen daughter asking if we’d see any more relationships that turned out to be siblings. Horrors! The entire panel, and probably the rest of the audience, was hoping, along with my daughter, that the answer was “Never again!” I telepathically begged my fellow panelists, “Please take this one–that’s my kid” and Scott took it. (See? The Imperial had my back and was I grateful!) He took it in a slightly different direction, pointing out that it is the tension of not knowing if a relationship will really happen that makes for good drama, in Star Wars as in all stories. I had to agree with his point. TFA certainly got everyone’s attention with the revelation that Leia and Han didn’t spend the last 30 years happily-ever-aftering as they do in Legends.
I wish I enjoyed the cosplay contest as much as I did the panel. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the costumes; all were great, by costumers of all ages and skill levels. The problem was that the costumers were paraded by at warp speed, with no time between them. Not only did the judges not get much time to really look at the costumes as much as we wanted but we had to write down ratings for three or four different things. It was near-impossible to do that without missing the next costumer!
As I said the costumes were great. Mash-ups were well-represented, including several with Deadpool! I don’t know whether to be grateful or bummed out that a longtime friend and 501st member didn’t enter the Stormtrooper-Deadpool-Kilt ensemble he was sporting! There were also three Harley Quinn costumes–and adorableness trumped hotness as the only Harley among the three winners was about 7, and really played to the audience and judges. Yes, even in only a minute, max. Originality and handcrafting also counted with us. First place went to an original raccoon-like character. It wasn’t just the very well-done costume or that there was some backstory. The costume included a necklace that was clearly handmade and not in a hurry, which got my attention, and that of the judge representing the 501st.
So how does a small mini-con like this differ from a larger, multi-day con like GamerNationCon or Florida’s NecronomiCon? There are less things going on. Besides the cosplay contest and Star Wars panel, there were a few other panels like Dr. Who and Superheroes. The Starship Artemis simulator was also available as was a Lego building event. There also weren’t dealers/vendors, although T-shirts were sold. That may simply have been the organizers’ decision. I have been to many other mini-cons with vendors, even run by libraries. (There is at least one other Arkansas con run by a public library.) You also won’t find any big-name people at these for the most part.
But it is also more personal and slower-paced (unless you are running the con or participating/running an event). This is nice for a change, especially if you are someone–like me–who often finds large crowds of people you don’t know well draining or even intimidating. GNC is a little different than many cons of its size, as most of us have “met” at least online. At other cons of GNC size or larger, I have to block out time away from the con. It is also less expensive. Not only is it a day trip, where you will eat out at most twice and won’t have a hotel room, but the admission is minimal at most. CalsCon was free, although most parking cost–but much less than if it was in a hotel, rather than the largest of CALS’ libraries.
Did I still miss not being able to make GNC 3? Of course! But I was also happy that I got to play a big part at a hometown event sponsored by one of my favorite local institutions. I just hope that next year I can make both events because the Force is with me and they are on different weekends.
Linda Whitson
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