MidSouthCon – Memphis Flyer

If you identify as a geek, nerd, gamer, cosplayer, or anything of that ilk, you’d best head out to the MidSouthCon, where you’ll be in paradise. Over the course of three days, guests will enjoy gaming, panels, meet-and-greets, workshops, vendors, an art show, and more.

“MidSouthCon is the single largest gaming event that will happen [in the region],” says Denise Hager, head of gaming and marketing. “It runs like a mini Comic Con.” Begun in 1982, MidSouthCon initially focused on science-fiction literature, but since then, Hager says, “it’s become a little bit of everything that’s kind of fandom and geekdom.”

This year’s MidSouthCon expects to have more than 500 board games available for play in the dedicated game room, open 24 hours a day the entirety of the con. There will be raffles, play-to-win games, and tournaments, some of which will be hosted by gaming guests of honor Kristin and Andy Looney, owners of game company Looney Labs.

Other guests of honor include Elizabeth Bear, award-winning science-fiction and fantasy author; Memphis’ own Sheree Renée Thomas, award-winning and New York Times-bestselling writer and editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction; Paul and Michael Bielaczyc, artists and founders of Aradani Studios; Stephanie Osborn, veteran of more than 20 years in civilian/military space programs; and Randall Pass, longtime MidSouthCon volunteer and fixture of the Southern science-fiction fandom.

This year’s con also will feature live podcast recordings with Geek Tank Radio and Didn’t Hate It Movie Podcast, Hager points out. “We haven’t done [live podcasts] before.”

Hager’s personally looking forward to being part of the “Silently Screaming Inside” panel. “It’s a conversation about anxiety, depression, and fandom,” she says. “How you can stand in a crowd and feel alone, and then you come to places like the con and you find people that feel like that too, and maybe you’re not so alone.”

Other highlights of the con include a designated sensory-friendly space for those who need to decompress from the goings-on of the convention, plus the Masquerade costume contest, the annual screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and “lots of opportunities to meet the guests and meet people that are in the industry or work for NASA, or our award-winning artists or cosplayers. If you have a fandom out there from Doctor Who to Superman, you’ll find it there. And if you don’t, tell us about it; maybe we can do something with that.”

More information and a full schedule of events can be found at midsouthcon.org. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Literacy Mid-South.

MidSouthCon 39, Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center, 7300 Hacks Cross, Olive Branch, MS, Friday-Sunday, March 22-24, $60/weekend, $30/kids 12 and under.

Nerd Nite Memphis hosts its monthly talk series at Highland Axe and Rec this Wednesday, where speakers will talk about conventions in Memphis.

Nerd Nite was originally established in Boston in 2003 as a way for nerds and non-nerds to get together, drink, and learn. Since its inception, the series has become so popular that more than 100 cities worldwide have adopted the programming.

Nerd Nite Memphis has covered a multitude of subjects like sperm transfer, string theory, and Aztec mythology. Now, they’re bringing their first talk of 2020 with a cons (short for “conventions”) theme, featuring Jessi Gaston, adult track director of Anime Blues Con, and Danny Chamberlin, chairman of MidSouthCon.

Jessi Gaston

Talkin’ that nerdin’ out, cosplay, anime blues

Gaston has been with Anime Blues Con since its first meeting 10 years ago at Starbucks.

“I showed up to that meeting and George [the co-founder] asked me what I wanted to do,” she says. “I told him I wanted to do programming, and he said, ‘Okay, do it.'”

Since that encounter, Gaston has stuck with the Japanese arts and culture convention crew, volunteering her time as adult track programming director and briefly as con chair.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize it’s actually pretty much a 365-days-a-year job,” says Gaston.

Despite that, Gaston says the last 10 years with the convention have been rewarding.

“One year, we brought in a famous Japanese fashion designer, and being able to meet him and see him in person was really special for me because I’ve been a fan of his work for a long time,” she says. “It was kind of like the culmination of putting in these hours, and you actually get to be a part of this.”

Nerd Nite, Highland Axe and Rec, Wednesday, January 29th, 7-9 p.m., free.