SWFL SpaceCon
A first in our galaxy, organizers expecting a big bang
Sci-fi, comic book, gamers, cosplayers and others associated with the genre get a day in June to celebrate their artistry and exuberance. The first SWFL SpaceCon is scheduled for June 10 in Fort Myers, the event a takeoff on the Comic-Con International from light years ago in California. The event in Southwest Florida features game demonstrations, new board games, tournaments, panels and the rare opportunity to dress, or cosplay, organizers say. Visitors get to meet such cosplayer celebrities as BaneBravo, or Kieron Phoenix―“just a guy living in this crazy world with two dogs trying to make sense of it all”―the former Cracked magazine editor and creator of Bat Boy, Dick Kulpa; and Cindy Morgan, star in the film Caddyshack, later appearing in sci-fi related films and television shows. Others affiliated with UFO sightings, trade magazines, illustrators, pop dancers and performances, ghostbusters, vehicles and video game releases, anime/Pokemon, alien workshops and sci-fi romance novelists are scheduled, says the SWFL SpaceCon organizer expecting more than a thousand vendors, visitors and celebrities. “This type of event,” says M. Wassall, “is for all ages and brings people from everywhere together.”
SWFL SpaceCon organizers have also scheduled the SWFL Writers Showcase for Oct. 14 at the same venue, the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Fort Myers. That event brings together mostly Florida writers of steampunk, fantasy and sci-fi genres, including Charles Cornell and M.B. Weston, Wassall says. Details on the June 10 event are at swflspacecon.com; the Oct. 14 event at nexus9.biz.
“This type of event is for all ages and brings people from everywhere together.” —M. Wassall, SWFL SpaceCon organizer