19 August 2016

    Friday and the con should be swinging.  You noticed that the bid parties last night were held in the convention center.  That was because the con hotels, the Marriott and Crowne Plaza refused to even discuss corkage fees with the committee.  Their attitude was apparently, "you buy our overpriced booze and food or go hungry."  Since the center is more tolerant, parties are there.  It makes security's job a little easier and certainly reduces the number of sore feet here.

I found a cool display car.

 

 There wee some "tres cool" displays, including these netsuke.  They were in the dealers area and all for sale.

I bit my tongue and didn't buy any, but the con isn't over.

A couple of trainers had their service dogs at the con.  Here they are with Captain... in uniform.

 The local Leggo users group built a couple of scenes.  Fen were invited to join in and help construct the scenes.

Of course, the "Game of Thones" throne of swords was there to be perched upon by Fen of various ages and persuasions.

I love the costumers.  Their outfits need no comments.  They stand on their own for themes part.

And that concludes my blog for Friday.  Apologies for posting these late.  Working what we can not call security in Kansas City keeps me up late nights.  So I must post these the next morning.  The con is going well.  There are threatening clouds in the west with lightning climbing around them so the evening may be a little damp.

18 August 2016

   First full day of the con.  The convention center is so large that we are spread thin and it sometimes seems empty.  But there is life here.
   The center is almost at the top of a hill.  (I had forgotten Kansas City's hills).   That means that most things outside are downhill from the center.

On the other hand, it also means that it is an up hill walk back to the center.
 
   Last time I was here, I was younger and must have been in better shape.  I sure don't remember trudging breathlessly uphill.

   But there is some cool spray paint along the way.

    There are some interesting exhibits in the hall for fans.





Quite a few of them have to do with our space explorations.  That fits nicely with one of our guests, Jeanette Epps from NASA.









Hall costumes are becoming more in evidence as the con progresses.

 







     Our younger members take advantage of the opportunity to dress up and look impossibly cute.

   We have begun to meet some of the guests and artists.   Fran and I spent time with Kinuko Craft and her husband.


    We took the opportunity to acquire her lavishly illustrated book of fairy tales.

    Alas for our purse, only the first purchase of the con.

Voting for site selection 2018 began at noon.

The bidding tables were busy soliciting votes and pre-supporters.

Tonight was the first night of parties.

17 August 2016

This is the first official day of the con.  Frantic activity in the morning to get everything ready for opening at noon.

  Starting with the line at Registration.  There weren't many people waiting.  In fact, there was almost no wait all day long.

  I expect that the rush will start tomorrow or Friday.

But there was a huge line at the freebie table.

 The displays were great fun.  A river was built with a water fall and ducks.  At one point (not observed by me) the water was changed to red for lava.














A couple of the unusual displays

  

There were already some awesome hall costumes, including this griffin.

16 August 2016

Late night, I'm tired and a little drunk, so here are the set up pictures.  I'll talk about them another time.

Good night