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Recently it has become one of the major trends in pop culture. A convent is a place where
you can meet to play
computer games.
Play different characters,
LARP, talk with
writers and take autograph from them.
You can wear strange
clothes. And of course, meet people from different parts of the world. It is
always a few days with a lot of
events and lectures. This
is the place where you can learn about the premieres of books and
games. Many artists like to show their work during such events - this is a form of promotion for them. Also you can find there many shows of artistic groups.
Every visitor has a different target. And
everyone can find
something interesting for them. This is a perfect place for collectors, gamers and others
interested in the field of fantasy. Usually a convent’s program is very diverse
to get to many visitors. By the way, you can there fantasy
shops where you can buy many strange things. For me it is
a few days almost
without sleep. I can spend many
hours at
different convent spots.
Participants of such festivals are mainly university
and high school students. However, the constantly growing number of parents with children force conventions to begin to
organize classes for children. A convent program is really very diverse especially
for different visitors and is quite densely planned. In my opinion every age group can find
something for himself/herself. Usually
convents last for three to five days. You can spend many hours there and do not get bored.
In Poland most popular convents are Falkon in Lublin and Pyrkon in
Poznań. Just last year 50 000
people arrived at Pyrkon. And
every year there are more visitors.
The first convention
was organized in 1939 in
USA. It was a since fiction convention. Fans decided to
organize similar events in other countries.
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I have attended Falkon and
Avangarda. I have met friends, played games, watched presentations, bought some stuff and had a lot
of fun. I’m definitely coming next year.
Comments
However, seeing the photos and videos from Polish conventions makes me regret they're not as big and well-organised as ComicCon (as Paulina mentioned), where you can see actors starring in popular TV series, unseen trailers for future movies, amazing cosplays etc. :)
I’ve got many friends who are into anime & manga so I’ve heard about Pyrkon and other conventions like this, however I’ve never heard of Falkon - looks like it’s more for fantasy fans - probably some day I’m gonna take part in this event - but, to be honest, I would prefer some world of Harry Potter :)
That’s funny - participants are becoming older and older so you have to prepare classes for their children. I’m thinking if their children do also like manga.
Friend of mine is organising some quizzes about Pokemons on such conventions - he dresses like one of Pokemon’s trainers or even Pokemon - sometimes he even travels dressed like this (that’s strange!).
Are there any international conventions?
Mainly because something always comes up at the time they are held - like friends that can't go or some responsibilities that I need to take care of.
But I'd love to go sometime in the future, they sound fun and they are a nice place to meet new people with common interests.