Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
SkillCon celebrates under-the-radar pastimes
Event has something for virtually everyone
It’s not exactly a carnival or circus, but the SkillCon convention at the Rio drew in plenty of ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages Saturday with entertainment galore.
Jugglers, bodybuilders and professional cornhole players were among the exhibitors and instructors who practiced their passions as crowds at the free, family-oriented event looked on, sometimes joining in the fun.
“Now I want to try all kinds of things,” said Las Vegas resident Jona-Marie Price as she prepared for a hula-hooping lesson.
The third annual event, which kicked off Friday and runs through Dec. 23, lets attendees watch demonstrations, cheer on participants in multiple tournaments and try activities such as Sepak Takraw — a traditional Asian game in which teams compete for points by kicking a small ball over a volleyball-type net.
“I’ve never seen it before,” Price said as two teams prepared to compete. “I didn’t even know what it was.”
A variety of science exhibits, sports and performers lined the convention center — some free and others allowing audience participation for a fee.
Hula-hooping instructor and performance artist Michelle Alvey, known by her stage name Michelle Bell, said the convention allowed her to teach newbies, promote herself and explore other unique activities.
“You’re guaranteed to see something you’ve never seen before,” she said before showing off a move she calls “nooping,” in which she twirls a hoop around her nose.
That’s part of the point of the convention, said SkillCon President and former Las Vegas Valley resident Jason Garfield.
In 2014, Garfield, a longtime juggler who also runs the World Juggling Federation, teamed up with a yo-yo event organizer for the first SkillCon, which aimed to draw a crowd by combining several under-the-radar hobbies and professions under one roof.
Garfield said this is the convention’s first year at the Rio, and about 800 to 1,000 participants and exhibitors are expected, with video game competitions alone drawing in roughly 300 people. An attendance estimate wasn’t available.
Since the convention’s first year, additional events have been added, and some of the activities included — combat juggling, for one — have gone viral.
Brandon Sellers, a senior mentor with nonprofit group For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, said the convention let students who participate in the organization’s science, technology, math and engineering education programs show off their accomplishments.
The elementary, middle and high school students, who participate in age-based robotics competitions, “are learning programming languages, they’re learning the hardware end of it,” and getting to show others what they’ve learned, he said.
Some of the younger students showed off Lego-based, movable robots they created as the high schoolers demonstrated a robot they engineered and programmed for team competitions.
“It blows my mind what some of the high schoolers out here can do,” Sellers said.
The hope for SkillCon is that not only can participants show off their knowledge, impress an audience and gain publicity, but perhaps they can also attract a new generation of participants, Garfield said.
“We’re all doing things we’re passionate about that not too many people are familiar with,” he said.