Hellooooooooooo general public of the
internets!!
So I’m going to get straight to it. The
weekend just gone meant time for a very exciting event in any Brisbanite
cosplayer’s schedule…Brisbane Supanova.
Now this is the second of the year for
Queensland but also one of the bigger Supanova events of the year.
This year was held at the RNA Showgrounds
like every other year, however in a different area, as the renovations that
were being carried out last year, have been completed. In my opinion, they
should have kept the old layout.
The basic set out was: one huge building
housed Artist’s Alley and the theatres, while another had all of the stalls
inside. Now having these two buildings spaced quite far apart, in theory, would
be an excellent idea. This was not the case.
On the Saturday and Sunday events, both
buildings were overcrowded at all times while the walking area between was
barely occupied. Seems fairly ridiculous hiring that much space when it wasn’t
all being utilised.
The biggest problem that has always
presented itself at the Supanova conventions I have attended is how they use
the space. Just because you hire a bigger building, doesn’t mean you should
cram more stalls into them!
Tons of cosplayers put hundreds of dollars
and hours into their costumes, only to be forced to stand outside all day
because it is too dangerous for a delicate costume to join the crowds. In
reality, not everyone cares about the effort you put into a costume, some
people go to these conventions just for the super-star guests and to buy things
that they may not be able to elsewhere. With the amount of people crammed into
such small spaces, it becomes human nature to push through crowds and barge
past people to get through faster. When one becomes frustrated with a crowd, they
don’t think twice about what they’re pushing into, they just care bout getting
out.
Why not take a row of stalls away, spread
out the remaining, and create a more comfortable area for the attendees. Or
better yet, take out that wrestling ring that takes up the same space as four
stalls because really…who goes to Supanova just to watch wrestling? I mean,
what’s it even got to DO with Supanova.
Plus side, Brisnova will be held at the
Convention Centre next year! YAY! :D much easier access to public transport,
accommodation, food, and Southbank if we feel like a swim haha. Quite possibly
the most important factor about this change, is the safety. Children, families,
teenagers, adults and older people attend this convention every year…and I can
bet if they were asked where they feel safer walking around (especially at
night after the con), they would all say Southbank.
Now enough of that.
Day one of Supanova saw me dressed as
Katniss in her training outfit. I chose this costume because it is mega comfy
and I just wanted to spend the first day looking at everything/buying all the
things!
I didn’t see many costumes of recognition
that day, but I thoroughly enjoyed the smaller crowd. One thing that annoyed me
about the weekend was the complete lack of security with the weapons policy. I
left my bow and arrows at home to adhere correctly to the weapons policy for
costumes…but it seems not many other people did. Over the course of the weekend
I saw numerous weapons outside the restrictions and a handful of strung bows,
which, as I understood, was a big no-no. Clearly, no one cares about the rules
within the volunteer group.
Me with Effie
Day two, I was dressed in Aurora’s peasant
dress from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. A less recognisable costume obviously, but
something I still wanted to cosplay as. I attended with my friend as Ariel,
which seemed to be a very popular choice of costume in itself.
There were thousands more people attending
this day, which made it quite hard to move around within the stalls, but I
still persisted in looking, as there were new things to see.
We found ourselves a little Belle.
Day three saw me as part of a DC Heroes and
Villains group as Poison Ivy. I chose the New 52 version as a way to still be
Ivy without being half naked. We were quite a popular group to photograph, so
much to a point where we were told off several times for blocking up the
pathway. This of course, is not a cosplayer’s fault.
We don’t ask for continuous groups of
people to take our photograph at once.
We don’t purposely block a path just for
fun. THEN we were told to move over into a vacant corner of the room.
Volunteers need to realise that we are NOT
going to move into a corner just because people want to take our photo. We have
just as much right as anyone else to wander and enjoy the con without being
hassled by you to get out of the way. We understand it gets quite annoying
having the paths blocked, but we wont deny people photos just because of two
minutes of inconvenience to passers by.
In the Kings Comics booth (Photo by Kayla Barham)
*sigh* enough ranting for now.
While wandering around Supanova, I saw some
truly outstanding costumes on display, especially on the Sunday. I was so happy
to have found an awesome Bombshell Batgirl wandering around, although I wish I
could have seen the rest of the set being represented as well.
All in all, the weekend was a tiring, yet
eventful one, and no amount of negatives will stop me attending next year.
Hopefully Sydnova as well ;)
