Cosplayers and sci-fi legends were out in force Saturday at Spa-Con, which drew positive reviews from attendees, who turned out in numbers that pleased the new convention's organizers.
Spa-Con, a three-day multigenre convention that wraps up today, drew more than 1,000 attendees to the Hot Springs Convention Center Friday and Saturday. Con-goers have spent their weekend meeting TV actors and comic book artists, attending costume workshops and purchasing collectibles.
Bill Solleder, special events manager of Visit Hot Springs and a Spa-Con planner, said Saturday that he is pleased with how the weekend has gone.
"It's great," Solleder said. "So many people in great cosplay costumes. Everyone is really getting into it; the vibe is really good."
Visit Hot Springs and Garland County Library joined forces to present the inaugural event. Cori Williams, programming librarian at Garland County Library, said that she and the rest of the library staff had always wanted to put on a cosplay event at the library.
"We've always wanted to do this at the library, and we just didn't have enough money to do it," Williams said. "Now it's actually been realized, so for us, it's a big deal."
So far, Spa-Con has pleased even the most seasoned cosplay convention goers. Melissa McPherson, a blue-haired R2-D2 cosplayer from Bryant who said she tries to attend one cosplay convention per month, was happy with Spa-Con's outcome.
"They always surprise me; they always have different stuff," McPherson said of cosplay conventions. "This one has a huge variety of stuff for everyone, which is awesome."
In planning the weekend, the convention's organizers initially planned to sell about 100 weekend passes with an overall attendance of about 500. Their expectations were far exceeded -- according to Solleder, by Saturday afternoon, Spa-Con had enjoyed an attendance of more than 1,000, with more than 500 weekend passes sold.
Solleder said he was quite happy with the impressive turnout.
"We're selling out of all of our weekend passes," Solleder said. "Our programs are about gone, and so I couldn't be more thrilled."
Spa-Con's organizers made sure to bring in plenty of noteworthy guests for their visitors to meet during the weekend. Some of the more prominent names that the organizers brought in were "Battlestar Galactica" actors Richard Hatch and Michael Hogan and New York Times best-selling graphic novelist Jennifer L. Holm. The list was topped off by Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura in the original "Star Trek" series and movies. She was featured in a meet-and-greet, a Q&A luncheon, and photo op on Saturday.
Solleder said that the convention is honored to host Nichols, especially considering this year is the 50th anniversary of Star Trek.
"I think she's real happy to be here," Solleder said.
The 2016 convention ends today with events such as a voice actor panel, Q&A session with comic artist Rodney Ramos and "Battlestar Galactica" photo op.
Going forward, Solleder said he is planning on bringing back comic book artists and a celebrity next year. He is also making preparations to accommodate a larger crowd, and hopes to utilize the entire convention center, and to include a film component into Spa-Con 2017.
"You can write it down on paper and you can make charts and spreadsheets, but you have no idea what it's gonna look like until you do it," Solleder said. "Now, we're learning by seeing it happen."
Williams said she looks forward to building off Spa-Con's success this year.
"There are already dates picked out," Williams said. "I'm not sure what we're gonna do yet, but hopefully, it will be bigger and better."
Though Spa-Con's organizers are looking to improve, some say this year's convention is already great as it is. McPherson, for one, expressed satisfaction with her experience.
"I'm happy with it," McPherson said. "They could leave it just like it is for next year, and it'd be great."
Local on 09/25/2016