On Sunday, I was one of thousands of people who turned out for Stockton-Con at University of the Pacific’s Spanos Center.
I was there shooting video for our website. But, in truth, as a die-hard geek, I would’ve been there regardless.
Just a few weeks earlier, I made the trek down to San Diego for Comic-Con.
If you’ve never been to Comic-Con, it’s massive. There were roughly 130,000 attendees this year. And it’s no longer restricted to comics and science-fiction. “Glee” has a panel.
The San Diego Convention Center
I first attended Comic-Con in 2004. It was big then, but it’s exhausting now. Lines are ridiculous. It’s hard to get around in the nearby Gaslamp Quarter. I camped out all night to get a seat for the panel about the first “Hobbit” film. But there’s a certain camaraderie at 2 a.m. when you’re parked in the grass next to a like-minded fan sharing snacks.
I was really impressed with Stockton-Con’s first year. More than 3,000 people came – with lines that did Stockton proud!
There were dozens of vendors and artists with a variety of wares – comics, video games, card and board games, toys, prints and more.
Growing up in Calaveras County and even now living in Stockton, it can sometimes seem difficult to find geeks of similar interests. When I spotted a woman dressed in a “Doctor Who” costume at the Stockton Library and Literacy Foundation’s Trivia Bee this year, I got a bit overexcited.
But Sunday showed there are plenty of passionate, creative fans here.
The line for Stockton-Con on Sunday. Photo by Calixtro Romias.
As Lori Gilbert touched on in her column today, Stockton-Con could have a great future ahead of it.
