South Africa’s ultimate Geekfest convention, ICON, returns to Gallagher Estate on the Youth Day weekend.
The 25th edition of the ICON Comic and Games Convention (ICON CGC), dubbed “Home of the Super-Hero”, returns to Johannesburg’s Gallagher Convention Centre from 16 to 18 June 2017, over the Youth Day Long Weekend.
It is South Africa’s longest running and largest pop culture event – the prime destination for leading gaming and pop culture experts and anyone looking to celebrate their fantasy world while being immersed in a compelling and exciting storyline. This celebration of gaming, story-telling, role-playing and tech positions ICON CGC as the ideal introduction to gaming for people of all ages and interests.
SA’s most important gathering of geeks, it is seen by industry insiders as being on a par with the best hobby gaming conventions in the world.
There is a geek in all of us. Geeks set the stage for incredible story-telling, and thanks to this, we’re witness to it in mainstream life. Countless big budget sci-fi and fantasy television series and mass market blockbuster movies we see today are based on comics and games, previously seen as the purview of ‘geekdom’ alone. Conventions such as #ICON2017 facilitate a rapidly growing audience being able to join and learn from the geeks who created such entertainment masterpieces. Entertainment that is based on incredible story-telling.
This year ICON raises its ‘game’ substantially, showcasing international guests, local thought leaders, over 40 speaker panels, expert player showdowns, a comedy event and innovative activations including multinational tech giants such as Canon Gigabyte and MakerBot, amongst others. Media Partners, Student Brands and Nickelodeon will ensure that the best moments of this 25th Edition live on beyond the boundaries of the convention.
Whether you’re into card or table-top gaming, LARPing, tech-gaming or Cosplaying, an aspiring author or even a regular console fanatic, the highly acclaimed Convention will help define the how-to of the increasingly mainstream and sophisticated gaming industry. Fantasists, mythologists, tech heads, role-players and more come into an immersive world such as ICON to be inspired, learn, experiment, observe and compete in a celebration of fantasy worlds and story-telling.
“We’ve learnt from a quarter century convening ICON that geeks are no longer on the fringe,” says ICON director Les Allen. “Mainstream media exposure has made their expertise, enthusiasm and points of obsession with hobbies and intellectual pursuits accessible. Gaming and storytelling releases a part of everyone’s being, we just facilitate access to it in a myriad of ways.”
International Cosplay Guest of Honour for #ICON2017, Linda Le, aka “Vampy Bit Me”, is rated as one of the ten most popular cosplayers in the world. Gaming industry insider James Stutter, a published author and the co-creator of the fantasy Pathfinder’ Roleplaying Game and creative director of the new space version Starfinder, also joins the convention. Both will participate in the convention for all three days.
Those looking forward to the much anticipated movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets can win double passes to the film’s first screening in South Africa on 21 July by attending either of two Valerian panels at ICON2017. The panel titled “Create an Alien” will see James designing an alien species from the ground up, based on a world from the Valerian cosmos. Partnering James is Sean Izaakse, current artist on Marvel’s “Avengers” comic book – he’ll be drawing the monster as James designs it.
Local thought leaders in the line-up of panellists include tech analyst and commentator Arthur Goldstuck, and Nikki Bush, well know columnist and specialist in the field of “child play” and development matters.
Visitors to the convention have an opportunity to be real super heroes by visiting the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) drive and donate to help save lives. One lucky donor stands the chance of winning a 3D printed replica of themselves as a superhero – sponsored by MakerBot, the global leader in the 3D printing industry.
As with previous years, the Saturday (17 June) sees six of SA’s funniest comedians take to the stage at the ICON Comedy Evening to make light of geek culture.
EVENT DETAILS:
Venue: Hall 2, Gallagher Convention Centre
Dates: Friday 16th June / Saturday 17th June / Sunday 18th June
Times: Friday, Saturday: 9 am – 6 pm
Sunday, 9 am – 5 pm
TICKETING INFORMATION
Tickets are on sale now and start at R120 for a one day pass. Weekend passes and limited VIP tickets available.
Visit the ICON FB page http://www.facebook.com/ICONCGC or the www.iconcgc.co.za website to purchase tickets.