Hey, folks. It’s your friendly Floridian here giving you a report on one of the best conventions in the south, Pensacon! The guests this year included some great artists like Simon Bisley, Buzz, Neil Adams, and Ren and Stimpy co creator Bob Camp. Celebs were a’plenty and people from all of the big and small screens. This year we had Matt Ryan, Virginia Madsen, Ted Raimi, Scott Wilson, and “Comic Book Men” Ming Chen and Mike Zapcic. Wrestlers, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Ric Flair and Mick Foley helped to round out an unbelieveable cast of guests. But, I haven’t mentioned the cosplayers…This convention was a haven for cosplayers, and photographers had an absolute field day.The costumes were absolutely amazing. Some of the best I’ve seen at a convention like this. But, keep in mind, that this show is still young. Compared to last year, it had grown by leaps and bounds. Every day the show was packed to capacity, and the mood set by the con goers was amazing. The vibe they put off was second to none, and I have been to a lot of conventions. The volunteers, worked their butts off, like people who actually got paid, and enjoyed their job. The guests were amazing and incredibly nice (I would have gotten more pictures of them, but the convention had rules about taking photos). This show, if it keeps on will really sets the bar for entertainment. Of course there’s things that irritate people…and here’s what I saw (a lot of it wasn’t the convention’s fault)
Concessions, were ridiculous. Five bucks for a soda?! Five bucks for a pretzel?! Eight bucks for a bbq sandwich that you couldn’t bring inside?! Trust me folks, it’s not all about the food. But. It is a start. There, were several therapy animals there, which is a good thing. However, one got a bit out of hand, literally. One pooped on the floor, and the security scrutinized people for having them (legally, they can’t remove a person with a therapy animal unless the animal has been disruptive, but they sure tried)…this was not the convention’s fault. Security was for the building. But, let’s get started with building security, shall we? We shall. There’s not a lot, but it’s enough to pique my interest, and I even had a couple of issues personally. So. There was an issue with bags allowed inside the building. 12×12 was the max size allowed on site, BUT! they allowed SOME people to check theirs. Not everyone though. Others were just allowed in the building without issue. There were no signs posted saying this, nothing in the con’s fine print, but there was very little issue with this on Friday. Saturday morning, they thought that they would enforce this rule. Once again this was building security. But, still some very large bags were let in. (Weapons were supposedly the issue, which is fair if you didn’t let roll 36×36 roll around carts in as well. I mean if a person can fit in a container that’s pulled around, surely that has to be an issue as well) The building layout is also an issue, but, i don’t think that the convention has the ability to change major construction. Basically, the artists, were upstairs, vendors on the next floor down, and celebs were in what i would almost consider the basement. But those few things are it! I couldn’t find anything else to have an issue with.
So, if you want to enjoy a really well put together family convention, come to Pensacola. Enjoy the city, especially Pensacon. This convention had everything. The people were absolutely wonderful, and the celebs were outstanding, and super kind. I would recommend this convention to the new and the veteran convention goers. It is literally for everyone. They have the venue for 2018 already, and have already announced a few of the guests. I will guarantee you that this show will keep growing and getting better, and I will surely keep attending. This city is my home and there’s no place like it. Thanks for reading, enjoy the pictures.
Mabrey
