“Cursed Child” and the GeekyCon
Aug 01, 2016
Leaky, LeakyCon, News
Last weekend, hundreds of fans from a large variety of fandoms (from Starwars, Startrek, Supernatural, Disney, Once Upon a Time, to Gilmore Girls and Parks and Recreation, and many more). This year, GeekyCon took place over the July 31st weekend. An important date in the Harry Potter Universe, particularly this year, with the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
GeekyCon and over 800 of Harry Potters biggest fans gathered for Wizard Rock (Wrock) shows–performed by Harry and the Potters, Draco and the Malfoys, Tonks and the Aurors, Lauren Fairweather, The Womping Willows, and many more!–Harry Potter Puppet Pals live performances, panel discussions, Fandom trivia quizzes and Jeopardy, Quidditch matches, live Pottercasts, costume contests and a fantastical Cursed Child Midnight Release Party!
(A perfectly dressed Hufflepuff, Jay from Raging Storm Cosplay, cosplayed Newt Scamander, almost embodying Eddie Redmayne’s chracter! He also won the Cursed Child Costume Contest)
When fans had downtime between activities, attendees were able to peruse the GeekyCon Market place. Booths and Booths of venders gathered to sell various Harry Potter products. GeekyCon attendees could purchase beautifully hand-carved wands (both unique, Harry Potter character wands, and place custom order wands) from Hungarian Wandshop, as well as tshirts, hand-crafted jewlery, Funko POP!s, and more.
One of the best selling products was Ilvermorny merchandise. Vendors created Ilvermorny crested tshirts, Ilvermorny house necklaces, and much more. All designs were beautifully rendered. Many of the GeekyCon staff sported Ilvermorny shirts throughout the weekend.
(GeekyCon staff gather for an Ilvermorny T-shirt group picture)
GeekyCon attendees had a chance to learn how to play muggle Quidditch, sign up and play in teams during the Cursed Child Midnight Release Party, and watch the annual GeekyCon Staff vs. HPA (Harry Potter Alliance) staff Quidditch match. This year, for the first time in a long time, GeekyCon Staff won the HPA Quidditch match! They beat HPA 140-60, though HPA successfully captured the snitch!
(The GeekyCon Staff take a Quidditch Team picture with the GeekyCon pep band after their win!)
The largest (and possibly best) Harry Potter experience at GeekyCon 2016, was the Cursed Child Midnight Release Party! Hundreds of fans gathered to dance the night away at the Esther Earl ball, that doubled as a raging Cursed Child party. Other activities included team games of Wizard’s Chess, as GeekyCon attendees played a live game of chess, individually taking on the role of a chess piece, and Quidditch. GeekyCon staffers also manned Sorting Hat, Harry Potter Face Painting, Goblet of Fire Cursed Child Predictions, and trivia/games booths for attendees to participate at.
(A GeekyCon Volunteer Cosplays as Professor McGonagall for the Sorting Hat booth!)
GeekyCon attendees also got a chance to parade their cosplay and Harry Potter costumes on stage, as they participated in a Cursed Child Costume Contest. Newt Scamander (pictured above) won the contest.
Then the books came.
GeekyCon staff managed to check out hundreds of people in less than 40 minutes so fans could get back to their hotel rooms as quickly as possible to read!
The next morning, groggy with no sleep but full of new Harry Potter canon from finishing Cursed Child, GeekyCon staff lead panel discussions about different aspects of the new book. The morning began with individual house meet ups between Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff GeekyCon attendees and Staff.
Fans then dispersed gathered into groups to participate in panel discussions covering new characters from Cursed Child, familiar Harry Potter characters grown up, Harry Potter Stagecraft, Potterverse-building, and live Pottercast sessions were held on the main stage to discuss “19 Years Later” (19 years in the Harry Potter fandom) and Cursed Child reactions.
(Hufflepuffs had the largest turn out at the morning House Meet Ups–that loyalty!)
Most importantly, GeekyCon staff and attendees enjoyed a fabulous weekend of love and acceptance. If you missed GeekyCon this year, have no fear! GeekyCon 2017 is in the works. Harry Potter fans still have a chance to buy tickets to LeakyCon 2016 in Los Angeles! Currently LeakyCon has posted a Call Out (here) for programming for the conference, saying:
“We are looking for a select number of knowledgeable witches and wizards to present on their favorite magical topics at LeakyCon 2016.“Do you have a presentation, paper, panel, or workshop on a subject related to the Harry Potter universe? Topics could range from “Currency Conversion in the Wizarding World,” to “The Varied Species of Dragons,” to “The Cultural Impact of the Harry Potter Generation.” We welcome all kinds of proposals from informal discussions to formal academic papers.
“If you have a burning desire to share your ideas and research, this is the place to tell us about it so we can help you make it happen!
“Programs will be accepted on a rolling basis. The sooner you submit, the better your chance of being selected. If you have any questions regarding programming please send your queries to [email protected]. The deadline for submissions is Aug 1, 2016.”
More information on LeakyCon 2016 and how to volunteer coming soon!
