Stoke Con Trent, October 2021, Review

After months (or years) of waiting, Stoke Con Trent 2021 finally happened!  So, how was it?

I'm pleased to say that the buzz of attending a comic convention hasn't been dissipated by the gap.  I was uncertain about how I'd feel, but that doubt didn't last long.  We pulled onto the car park and saw Boba Fett, a DeLorean, and the Jurassic Park jeep.  Yes, this was a convention and it had the attractions to prove it; it was fantastic.

This Con was the first I've attended that wasn't at Staffordshire University (I missed the one in King's Hall Stoke) and I have mixed feelings about the relocation.  Previous cons have enjoyed the wide open spaces around the Staffs Uni campus.  In particular, the last Con made use of Staffs Uni's Sports Hall which was excellent - large and bright (great for looking at merchandise and for getting photos of ... well, everything) and carpeted (the acoustics were brilliant - it was possible to hold conversations without sound bouncing off every hard surface in the room).  Yes, sports halls (especially carpeted) are significantly better than night-club type venues for conventions.  Staffs also has the London Road Venue and Brindley building, which are both good for Cons (the LRV with its stage, the Brindley building providing additional space).

I mentioned the outdoor attractions; let's start with them: 
    The Fall Guy Truck (that was a novelty)
    Transformers Grimlock car (also unusual, and a change from Bumblebee, who I've seen elsewhere)
    An American police car (I don't know if it was from a specific show, but the lights and sound were awesome)
    An American muscle car
    The Jurassic Park Jeep (with scenery)
    Lightning McQueen 
    Back to the Future DeLorean (first time I've seen this at a Con)

...which were all excellent.  It was great to see something different and familiar, and the organisers had done well to choose a variety of vehicles to appeal to all age ranges; I've mentioned this before, and it's something they did well here.

There was a very good mix of professional and amateur cosplay, with the East Midlands Garrison providing a small but varied troop of characters, and a wide range of other characters (some I recognised, some I didn't) which meant that there was a photo opportunity round every corner.  The Staffordshire Tardis was open for photos, and it was good to see it again (and with all the cosplay Doctors taking a moment for a quick photo).  

The Cosplay competition was well attended, with prizes offered by the Convention's sponsors, and the Cosplay community did a great job of bringing the convention to life, and adding to the experience.  They were also fantastic at providing entertainment outdoors, for those who are still a little edgy about being inside with crowds of people (there wasn't very much social distancing going on, but masks and sanitiser were available to all attendees).

The headline attractions at Conventions are the celebrities (I probably should have started with them).  Unfortunately for Stoke Con Trent, a number of celebrities that were booked to appear had to cancel for various unrelated reasons.  The remaining celebs were - again - a good range and appealed to a very wide audience.  Will Mellor (Hollyoaks, among others) made an appearance and was very chatty throughout.

Star Wars fans saw Mike Quinn (Nien Nunb), Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar) and Ross Sambridge (body double for Supreme Leader Snoke).  It was a slightly comical moment when we met them, as we saw the large and small of Star Wars - Mike Quinn is about 5'3" tall (my guess), while Ross Sambridge is 7' tall (according to Google).  We didn't see Matt Tyler, but such are the vagaries of Conventions.

The Gladiators were again due to attend - not in the numbers they have before, but even so I was particularly looking forward to seeing Jet again.  In the end, I think I either took a wrong turning, missed her completely or she didn't turn up.  The one minor disappointment I have from the day is not meeting any of the Gladiators, who are always a great crowd-pleaser at conventions.  There were other celebrities too, all ready to sign pictures, have photos and so on, but none that my children were interested in.  It turned out that they were far more interested in the traders' tables.  I attended the convention with two of my three children, and they both enjoyed it.  We particularly liked the range of stalls, and the good supply of Funko Pops (there were bargains to be had on the day, that's for sure). 

  
The kids had photos with the Star Wars characters, liked watching the Cosplay Parade, and came back with some new Funko Pops.  Keele has the advantage of a Co-op literally next door to the Students' Union, which was great for unplanned snacks, and the size of the Keele Campus meant that we had no trouble finding somewhere quiet and indoors to sit and have a quick food break.

The event was extremely well organised, with stewards and security on the doo.  The layout was shared on social media in advance, and there weren’t many signposts around between the different rooms and locations in the venue, but the enthusiastic photographer was frequently circling and leading people to the various parts of the convention.  It’s all small steps back to normality, and it’s all good.

It would be untrue to say that this was as big as the pre-pandemic Cons, but it would also be unfair to criticise.  I am certain that the next Stoke Con Trent (and if they keep to the usual two-per-year schedule, then we're looking at the next one in April 2022) will be as big as the previous ones, as guests; features; stall-holders and exhibitors will all be back to their normal capacity and Covid will be a thing of the past.  This was a significant step on the road back to normality, and I am most certainly looking forward to the next one already, anticipating a return to greatness (and a move back to Staffs Uni, please!).

*I was granted a press pass to cover the Con, share previews, a review and photos, and to Tweet throughout the day.  I paid for my children's tickets.