Hundreds of UW-Madison students and community members participated in the second annual Geek.Kon convention this weekend, dressing up in costumes to play video games and attend geek-themed panels.
Robert Laib, convention chair of Geek.Kon, said Saturday and Sunday's events aimed to entertain the geek population in the area, especially those interested in science fiction and video games.
It is supposed to be an all-encompassing convention for all things geek,"" Laib said. ""If we can attach the word geek to it '¦ we try to encompass that as best as we can.""
The UW-Madison Anime and Sci-Fi Clubs collaborated to organize the two-day convention. Last year, it attracted over 1,800 people to the Humanities building and therefore had to expand to Vilas Hall this year.
""This year we [had] anime and sci-fi viewings for board games, video games, card games, vendors, costume playing, 'Rock Band,' live-action role-playing and demonstrations from the UW Belegarth Medieval Combat Society,"" Laib said.
The event also hosted a ""Super Smash Bros."" tournament, a cosplaying costume competition and panel discussions.
Over 40 volunteers and staff members helped run the event. The university and student groups donated the equipment, but the event received a large amount of money from university grants, guest donations and T-shirt sales.
According to Laib, directors of No Brand Con, an annual anime convention held in Eau Claire, Wis., also helped organize Geek.Kon.
Dana Ponce, a volunteer who helped run the convention's masquerade party, has attended both years of Geek.Kon.
""My favorite part is the costumes,"" Ponce said. ""You don't get a lot of that every day, so it's fun to go to conventions like that.""
Laib said he hopes to assemble more music and gain an even larger crowd for next year's event.
