The 2017 Fort Collins Comic Con took place on Saturday and Sunday, August 26-27, 2017, at the Northside Aztlan Community Center in Fort Collins, Colorado. (The next Fort Collins Comic Con is scheduled for August 25-26, 2018!)
I went on Saturday, arriving about twenty minutes early, taking one of the last places in the parking lot.
Northside Aztlan Community Center – running track, gym, and plenty of room for a comic convention
As I headed from my car to the front of the center, I walked past the Colorado Movie Cars section – which already had the Ghostbusters van, a Shield van, and a Zombie Destruction van. (I’m not familiar with the zombie genre, so I can’t tell you if it was based on the TV series or a movie!) Soon to arrive was a Jurassic Park vehicle.
The sawblades actually whirl around, although they were not hooked up today….
A trio of Avengers fans, part of “The Makeshift Avengers,” that, like the Ghostbusters below, appears at charity events, posed for a photo in front of the Shield van.
The Makeshift Avengers
A team of Ghostbusters from Fort Collins and one from Loveland had already set up their outdoor activities for kids. The Fort Collins Ghostbusters (as well as their Loveland compatriots) “are fans of the films that are dedicated to spreading goodwill and fun to youth organizations and charity groups.” Bean bag tosses, a large blanket laid on the grass consisting of a blue sky with clouds on top, and a bit of a skyline below, which kids could lay and have their photo taken so it would look like they were flying, among other things.
Ghostbusters from Loveland and Fort Collins.
There were a handful of other tables set up for kid’s activities, including one where they could learn how to make little Pokemon characters out of craft paper.
Plenty of activities for the young kids
I walked round to the entrance of the center. There were tables set up for people to pick up their badges – one for vendors, one for media, and a couple for attendees.
Every table labeled for people to pick up the appropriate badge
Volunteer, making sure everyone in line had a badge, posing for a photo
I followed the line into the building and stopped at the Information Desk to see what all was on offer.
Information Desk, just as you enter
I then moved around to the side where this year’s official T-shirt was for sale, as well as past T-shirts and something called the Kessel Run.
Official T-shirts, past and present…but not yet for the future…
I talked to the volunteer at the desk at that time who explained that the Kessel Run is another annual event put on to benefit the Poudre River Library District. It takes place every May 4 (“May the Fourth be with you”). (The Kessel Run, for those not familiar with the original Star Wars movies, is a smuggler’s route between two solar systems that Han Solo mentions in the very first movie when talking with Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi.)
The crew of the U.S.S. Tiburon crew were opposite the Information Desk. Plenty of people were stopping by to learn about the group (the Fort Collins chapter of the world-wide STARFLEET fan organization), and have selfies taken.
Crew of the U.S.S. Tiburon, USS Federation/Star Trek role players
The dealer/guest/vendor room was not due to open until 10 am, so I walked around the Center checking out the meeting rooms – each one identified by a banner, and checked out the panels in each one for Saturday.
I stopped in at the panel on Intro to Prop Making.
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I walked up to the second floor where the board games room was already open, and then got a bird’s eye view of the vendors/dealers/guests preparing their tables for the onslaught of fans at 10 am.
Vendor room. Comic book artists, authors, artists, jewelry makers and more
The doors opened precisely at ten am and the influx of attendees began.
I walked up and down each aisle, talking to a few people – both fans and vendors, and taking photos.
Wonder Woman fan. Like me she loved the Gal Gadot movie
Costume clad comic book, TV and movie super-hero and SF fans
Cassidy Dwelis, artist
Local Hero Press, book publishers
Independent comic book publihser
Jewelry (pins)
Beware Theatre: local access horror and sf movies of the 1930s-1950s
United Way had a table as well. The subject of their upcoming event, for the “Community Disaster Simulation: Zombie Apocalypse” to take place on October 21, 2017, resonates now that I’m writing this a couple of weeks later, thanks to the awful events going on in Houston, Texas and surrounding areas.
A flyer from the United Way table: Community Disaster Simulation: Zombie Apocalypse. A fun name for a very relevant seminar
As I had wandered around, I filmed a few of the attendees and put together the following video as a cap for this article.
In summary, the Fort Collins Comic Con is a wonderful event, with proceeds benefitting a wonderful cause (the Poudre River Valley Library).
If you go:
The Northside Aztlan Community Center is located on the north side of Fort Collins, at 112 Willow St. The community center has a parking lot, but it will fill up early for this convention. There’s parking on the side roads.
About Fort Collins
Fort Collins, Colorado is 46 miles south of Cheyenne, Wyoming on I-25S (or 64 miles north of Denver, on I-25N). It’s three times as large as Cheyenne, with about 165,000 people as opposed to Cheyenne’s 60,000. It’s a college town (home to Colorado State University), with plenty of parks and places to ride bikes or walk.
There’s something going on in Fort Collins, particularly in historic downtown Fort Collins practically every week throughout the year. Their events website is: http://downtownfortcollins.com/
