There are lots of holidays and events that people mark on their calendars and look forward to all year. We all do this right? Birthdays, Family Reunions, Movie Premiers, and of course Video Game release dates… Whatever the event we all do the same thing, mark it on our calendar and start counting down the days. One of these events for me occurs every March and of course I’m talking about the one and only Lexington Comic & Toy Convention.
I feel it’s worth noting that I have attended this convention and watched it grow for quite a few years now. Every year I look forward to attending, but in the back of my mind I’m always wondering when the novelty will wear off and I will just end up going through the motions. Like always though I’m happy to say this moment never comes and while some may say “Well, I have already been once…” There are always new Cosplay to see, new Booths to check out, and new Merchandise to browse. This isn’t even counting the always excellent Celebrity Lineups that continue to impress with each event.
Being from Louisville my trip to the con is always accompanied by a bit of a drive, but to me this just adds to the experience. I gather up the rest of my team and we hit the road… Who doesn’t enjoy a good road trip? For me it just manages to give everyone time to discuss our agendas for the event and speculate on what this year will bring. Taking this time to get in the proper mood really makes this con that much more enjoyable personally. I do realize that this doesn’t say anything specific about the Lexington Con team and they have nothing to do with me living in Louisville, but I do feel that it’s important for anyone that is put off by driving a bit to check out this event or any other to seriously reconsider and embrace the drive as a part of the experience.
Once we did manage to arrive in town, we were met with an unusual amount of traffic for this event. Apparently word has really managed to get around about this Comic Con because just within the past year I was overwhelmed at the increase of attendees compared to previous years. I am really interested in seeing the attendance numbers because this year was packed and I couldn’t be happier for the team to see this huge amount of support for not only this event, but the amazing culture that we all gather to celebrate. After a bit of a wait to park and a brief walk in the cold, I was once again home. Walking through the doors is so refreshing and something I have a hard time describing to people who don’t identify with this culture. To see such a large amount of people all gathered to enjoy the movies you love, the comics that you read, and the games that you play is what this event is all about. Not to mention get the chance to see some of your favorite characters brought to life and interpreted by some truly inspirational fans that pour hundreds of hours into their costumes.
And of course if you don’t get into all of that, there is always this guy….
After entering the Con, it didn’t take long to notice that this place was indeed more crowded than previous years. As first this was a bit off putting from a navigational standpoint, but honestly it wasn’t too terrible. The event staff did a perfect job of directing attendees on the traffic flow and location of things. I never once felt frustrated dealing with the crowd, but let’s not kid ourselves… there was A LOT of people crammed into this building. Luckily the events and locations utilized almost the entire convention center and did a pretty good job of keeping things spread out. That is one of my biggest pet peeves with so many events, they cram so much stuff into one little room or all on one floor and everything feels so cramped.
This year did have its moments but it certainly wasn’t due to being crammed into a small area, it was simply due to the impressive turnout. Perhaps the biggest downside for me was because of this it was incredibly difficult to create enough room to capture so many of the great costumes that showed up this year. I would catch a terrific Cosplay across the showroom floor, but due to the crowd I would have a terrible time making it over to them not to mention creating enough room for a quality shot.
I did take the time to talk to many of the guests and vendors throughout my visit as usual and hearing first hand the amount of effort that goes into these works are simply amazing. From R2D2 to Deadpool and even a returning appearance of Prince Adam from Masters of the Universe. (Yes, we caught you again) You never know which costumes you are going to see and it doesn’t even matter if you see 20 Deadpools while you are there… Most likely they will be entirely different visions of the character and each will bring something unique to the event.
There were plenty of Celebrities on hand from Jay and Silent Bob to Ric Flair, there was somebody there for everyone. All of these celebrities were on hand to meet and greet, offer signatures and provide some truly great Q&A Sessions. You can find a link to many of these on our Facebook and the Official Lexington Comic Con Facebook. To be perfectly honest there is almost too much to do at times… it’s great that the event goes for the full weekend because I didn’t even touch on the Sci-Fi Speed Dating ( Due to being Happily Married), The many events like the DC Deck Building Tournament, or Power Ranger After Dark. There is so much here to keep you entertained and occupied for the entire three days it’s ridiculous.
It’s apparent that this Comic & Toy Convention is continuing to grow and become more impressive with every year. There is literally something for everyone and most likely too much to experience in just one weekend. Not only do I encourage everyone to attend this event, but continue coming back because year after year this event continues to impress and causes the city of Lexington to come to a screeching halt and celebrate its geek culture. For more information on the Lexington Comic & Toy Convention visit the Official Site and better yet… mark your calendars for next March!
