By Rachel Galvin
Cosplayers and comic book aficionados flocked to The Palm Beach County Comic Book & Collectibles Show (Palm Con) on September 17th at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach. Martin Pierro’s latest creation was bigger than last year and he was happy to return to the convention center. “I’m really happy how the community came out to support the show,” he said.
“This is one of the best local conventions I have ever done,” said Mark Baumgarten, owner of Mark Who 42 Books, purveyor of Dr. Who merchandise and podcast contributor on supspace radio network.
So what was it that made this con so inviting? Unlike other conventions, it seemed like a more intimate and interactive experience. There was an area set up to play board games hosted by Crawl Board Games and another with video games hosted by Flynn’s Arcade. There were sword fights from Way of the Sword, demonstrations on Medieval dancing by the Society of Creative Anachronism, book talks, science experiments by Cox Science Center, informational panels, a costume contest and more.
There were plenty of photo ops. You could pose with characters from GI-Joe to the Ghostbusters; hop in the Batmobile; sit in the captain’s chair, which would be on the deck of the starship enterprise, while holding a tribble, with Delta Force; and more.
You also could peruse the many tables of vendors. There were comic book artists hard at work, places to buy merchandise like Smurfs, figurines of superheroes and villains, comic books, pop culture coasters and other fun items.
Guests could engage in role-playing games, a Mad LIbs Draw Off, a Cosplay Lip-Sync Battle or learn about ghost hunting. There were also actors and filmmakers sharing information about their careers. It seemed like the list of activities went on and on!
It was a family-friendly atmosphere that brought in a fun clientele looking to spend time meeting with others and having fun. Many guests chose to dress up as well.
Did you miss Palm Con? There is always next year. For more information, visit https://palmcon.net.
