Stoke Con Trent XI - 13 October - Review

Stoke Con Trent held their 11th convention this weekend, and it was a great success, despite the intermittent rain.  The number and range of celebrity guests continues to grow, and there was a definite increase in the number of cosplayers (in my estimation).  This is definitely a healthy, growing event, and I'm already looking forward to the next one.

*I should comment that my 10-year-old, 8-year-old and I were admitted with press passes so that I could produce a full review, similar to the other articles I write in this blog.

The convention started at 10:00, and we arrived at about 10:30 - we couldn't get into the main Leek Road Venue due to capacity (most of the visitors hadn't yet moved to the other buildings), and were directed to the other buildings.  I will say immediately that it's advisable to grab an event guide/map, which shows the buildings being used for the event.  In previous events, they've used the science block - but not this time, and we had a long walk there and back!  However, each of the buildings are well suited to a convention, with three separate zones - predominantly traders and celebrities (LRV); traders and comic/superheroes/sci-fi (Sports Hall), and a kids' zone with food court (Brindley Building).

The kids' zone was based in the Brindley building (where it was also possible to purchase refreshments and find a place to sit) - there were toys to play with; a tombola; soft toys to purchase, and wide range of activities - making slime, playing with coloured sand, and so on.  Our 8-year-old enjoyed the dinosaur toys in particular, but he was far more interested in finding the traders' tables, and we only stayed for around five minutes in the toy zone.  This kind of zone is ideal, though, for parents with younger children - even up to age 8 or 9 - given the wide range of activities and the organisers hit their target audience with plenty to see (props, models) and do (toys, craft activities) and buy (more soft toys).

We made our way back to the Leek Road Venue, and we were very impressed with the number of stalls; the amount of space, and the range of celebrity guests.  Hacker The Dog was a real attraction for both of the children, especially the 10-year-old who is outgoing and talkative, and it would be great to see him at future conventions.  He was sitting next to Michael De Souza, writer of Rastamouse, and while he wasn't immediately recognisable, once I'd explained who he was, the children were very pleased to see him.

No mention of the guests would be complete without mentioning the Gladiators.  I mentioned them in my preview, and suggested that perhaps people had seen them enough in previous conventions.  I was wrong.  The Gladiators are a major attraction every time they appear, and there was a steady flow of visitors eager to meet and photograph them.  This time saw Lightning, Jet, Cobra and Wolf attend, and they were very warmly welcomed by the Stoke crowd.

Another recurring celebrity visitor is SoCal Val.  I confess I've not heard of her outside Stoke Con Trent - I've had to do a quick Google to find out more - she's a professional wrestling valet; ringside announcer and interviewer.  While we'd not heard of her, and didn't stay to chat, this shows the best part of Stoke Con Trent - there is something for everybody.  In the same way as the kids' zone appeals to some children, the guests are selected to appeal to as wide a fanbase as possible.  There are the current children's TV stars; there are TV stars from the 90s - like the Gladiators - and then there are the comic artists and classic sci-fi celebrities (who formed the nucleus of the early Stoke Con Trents), and these were to be found in the Sports Hall.

The atmosphere in the Sports Hall was unlike anything I've ever experienced at a convention before - it was calm, laid back and relaxed.  There was even more space to move around, even with a good complement of traders' stalls and celebrities, and the most unusual but welcome difference was that the floor was carpeted.  I know that doesn't sound like much, but it changed the acoustics completely - sound was absorbed instead of reverberating, and it meant it was possible to hold conversations at normal volume instead of having to raise your voice to be heard.  We were able to have a chat with the traders and with some of the guests, and in particular I was able to meet Lee Sullivan, comic artist currently known for Doctor Who and Thunderbirds, and who also drew Transformers comic covers.

Meeting Lee Sullivan was probably the main highlight for me.  He was chatty and outgoing, and kindly signed the three 1980s Transformers comics I'd brought with me - ones where he'd drawn the covers.  He posed for photos and talked through his current work, his portfolio and some of the history of the Transformers artwork he's done.  My children got bored while I played the fan for quite a few minutes, but this was quickly remedied when we went to meet the dinosaur.

There was a life-size (actually, it was probably less than life-sized) velociraptor prowling around the sports hall, and this was a major attraction for both of my children, who had a number of photos taken with it.  This was cosplay on a whole new level, and it was a great fit for Stoke Con Trent.  We moved on from the dinosaur to some of the more regular cosplay characters, and it was great to meet Central Legion, who run cosplay events across the West Midlands.  They were present in force, with Star Wars characters, Batman villains and Marvel heroes wandering the sports hall and the wider event area.  It was great to see a variety of characters as well as the usual Star Wars Stormtroopers, and they were all very happy to have their pictures taken - in fact, some of them insisted.  While the children were meeting the characters, I managed to grab some photos of the traders' stalls, and of the table set out by the Cheshire and Staffordshire Wargaming Club, (their Facebook page) who had brought some very photogenic Star Wars games.

The atmosphere throughout the event was warm, welcoming and friendly.  Everybody acknowledges that everybody else has some degree of geek-ness, whether it's meeting 90s TV stars or sci-fi favourites such as Paul McGann (Dr Who) or John Morton (Star Wars, Boba Fett).  As the Boba Fett cosplay character commented, "That's Boba Fett.  THE Boba Fett!"

My children particularly enjoyed two of the star guests - namely Eddie Hall, the world's strongest man, and Tim Bradbury (I didn't see his name on the event list, but my children both picked him out from the photo behind his desk) - "That's Tiny Tim!".  Tiny Tim is an internet and YouTube sensation - Tim Bradbury is a 36-year-old man who is able to produce the voice of a child who sounds "three, nearly six," and make comedy prank calls.   He was very funny (although he was also a little late), and well worth waiting for.  This was the highlight of the day for my 10-year-old.

There were a few minor disappointments - some of the replica vehicles didn't show up (The A Team van, The Knight Rider KITT and the DeLorean replica), but we still enjoyed those that did, especially the Jurassic Park jeep.  Overall, we spent close to three hours having a great time browsing, buying, chatting, playing, taking photos and posing for photos.  We each had our own separate highlights, and there was plenty for us to see and do, each of us with our own interests (the traders; the comic book artists; the cosplay and the celebrity guests) and Stoke Con Trent once again did a great job of balancing everybody's interests and appealing to a very, very wide audience.  A huge success, expanding beyond the typical narrow focus of a sci-fi convention, but therefore appealing to a wider audience than most 'comic conventions'; not everything will appeal to you, but there's something for everybody.

Tickets are £40 for a family (2 adults, 2 children); £15 for an adult (age 17+); £10 for concessions and £8 for children.  Stoke Con Trent is twice-annual event, with conventions in April and October.