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AllEncompassCon
The
all encompassing AllEncompassCon, held annually on
January 19th in the Claude Morten Stadium and
Amphitheater in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, UK (about an
hour north west of Manchester) is truly a sight. I have
been frequenting this bastion of information and
community of Science Fiction lovers every year, and it
never fails to disappoint. As it is held in the middle
of January in the United Kingdom, there is usually a
layer of snow in and around the venue. Traditionally,
this science fiction convention was held in January as
not to compete with the smaller, more specific
conventions which started cropping up in the nineties.
But, as history led into legend (and lets face it, what
science fiction aficionado doesn't revel in legend) the
convention was held in January, so as to appease the
wishes of the convention's founding member, James Allig.
He was a business man, in the fish and produce
transportation industry by day, and by night, an avid
CosPlayer and enjoyer of all things deemed by
conventional society to be "nerdy". He was frustrated at
his unavailability to attend Sci Fi cons, Horror cons,
gaming cons, and other genres of conventions, so he took
his nest egg, and put it toward the development of the
AllEncompassCon, the first ever multigenre convention
available to the public Such is the dedication of the
true officianado!
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Most of the fodder of the original convention maintains to this day. Star
Trek and Star Wars are placed on opposite ends of the
stadium, with a quick change area in the center for
those who do not wish to be known as disloyal to the
major Stars of the science fiction realm. Gaming takes
the north side of the stadium, where individuals either
LAN, play boardgames, challenge each other to card
games, or attend lectures that gamers may find
interesting, including new technology of games, talks
from game designers, and even how to get into the gaming
industry. To the South side of the stadium, Anime, both
Japanese and otherwise, is placed. These booths include
prominent voice over artists, animators, and directors.
Girls with long purple wigs and almost no clothing can
be found in this very popular part of the stadium.
Horror, less popular now than since its inception, has
been relegated to the voms of the stadium, where the
footballers enter and exit the field. The location of
their booths suits the horror goers just fine, as it is
a voluminous, dark, and concrete cave of sorts, leading
underground. Vampire, werewolf, and other supernatural
fans can discuss real life applications of the horror
genre, can find out more about the historical import of
their favorite stories, and meet and greet with horror
makers. Horror fans love to find out the secrets of the
business, while the other fans are usually content with
getting to know others with similar interests.
The first day of the convention this year was, like always, dedicated to
the Masquerade. The costumes this year were impressive,
some of the best being the Gorgon from Clash of the
Titans, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb from Alice in
Wonderland, and a particularly convincing unnamed
Transformer from the original comic book series. The
winner was Angie McAllister, with a full costume from
Barbarella, Queen of the Universe. The costume wasn't
necessarily the best costume I have ever seen, but the
presentation was outstanding.
John
Rutter, Feb 2010 |
