Pop culture confab benefits library
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Harley Quinn saunters past three strategists plotting the survival of a zombie apocalypse while lightsaber-wielding Jedi knights duel nearby as wargaming unfolds on sci-fi battlefields.
Welcome to Slippery Rock-Con — a kind of spontaneous organized diversion into whatever world you imagine.
“It's a pop culture convention,” said Karen Pierce, the librarian for Slippery Rock Community Library and one of the organizers. “It's about fantasy, imagination and creativity. There's so much to do and it's a lot of fun.”
The second such event in three years, the convention was held Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Camp Bucoco in Slippery Rock Township. Ron Rummell was the convention's coordinator.
Organizers estimated 250 people or so attended the con, which served as a one-stop destination for enthusiasts of fantasy-type tabletop and card games, wannabes of favorite film, anime or video game characters, live action role-play fans and lightsaber aficionados.
“Being an adult is not always the most fun thing in the world, so with this,” Dan Hufnagel of Kennedy Township, Allegheny County, said of the convention, “you get to dress up a little but and get to be someone else for a while.“I get to take a vacation from myself.”Hufnagel and friend, Howard Aspinall of Slippery Rock, each came dressed as Asha'man, a character in the “Wheel of Time” fantasy book series.Both men share a demonstrative devotion for the novels of Robert Jordan.Pierce noted that Aspinall's wife, Terri, is a teacher at Slippery Rock Elementary School and a big supporter of the library.The convention, which cost $25 for the weekend and featured vendors, also is fundraiser for the Slippery Rock Community Library.
“Cosplay” was big at the three-day event. The term is the blending of the words “costume play.”Many of the cosplayers in attendance explained that their attire is not so much about the costume itself or attracting attention as it is about being able to become — if only for a day — their favorite character.“It's fun being someone else,” said Ashley Brandon of Slippery Rock, who appeared as Harley Quinn, a well-renowned character in DC Comics.While far from Brandon's sultry-looking Harley, husband and wife James and Elizabeth Bradley of Sharon, Mercer County, showed up as less approachable characters — he a black knight and her a witch hunter.Both were enjoying their time at the convention.“It's an excellent place for like-minded to get together,” Elizabeth Bradley said, “and geek out.”
Gamers also were en masse at the event. Some played the popular Dungeons & Dragons. Others were LARPers — short for live action role playing gamers.LARPing, Pierce said, generally involves devising a character, giving it dimension or a background, making costumes and props, and acting out a story.Seated at one of the gaming tables were Peter Bess of Butler, Dave Spik of Pittsburgh and James Wilson of Butler. They were playing “Dead of Winter,” described as a “story-centric game about surviving a harsh winter in an apocalyptic world.”It's a cooperative tabletop game in which players take on the role of survivors called upon to coordinate efforts and muster resources to survive and protect their colony during a zombie-infested winter.It ain't Monopoly.Tabletop games like “Dead of Winter” are not about competition, the three gamers agreed, but about cooperating as a group to withstand a given survival scenario the game lays out.
“The social aspect is everything,” said Bess, assistant director of the Butler Area Public Library.“It creates a way to communicate and bring back the community, which seems to be falling apart due to technology,” said Wilson, who along with his brother, Nathan, created a podcast devoted to supporting local tabletop gaming communities.Another main attraction at the convention was the Outer Rim Praxeum, billed as a not-for-profit school out of Fairmont, W.Va., that performs martial arts based on an interpretation of the seven traditional lightsaber forms of the Star Wars universe.Members of the group — of course in cosplay — put on several lightsaber demonstrations during the convention.“We try to create movie-like performances,” said David Gaston, one of the members, “but our duels are not choreographed.”Pierce said she hopes the Slippery Rock-Con returns next year and becomes an annual event.“It's a segment of our community that didn't have an outlet,” she said. “This gives them one.”
