Around Indy: InConJunction 2013

InConJunction was Pure Geekery’s first event as “press.” I feel all official now!

I’m new to the convention scene. My first convention was just in March of this year when Claire and I headed down to the Louisville Arcade Expo. We had a blast and I couldn’t wait to attend my next convention. While we were hanging around First Friday in Fountain Square one night, one of the comic artists that was doing a signing at Hero House Comics that night told us about InConJunciton. It was the first time Claire and I had heard about this convention, and we were very interested to see what it was all about. So I applied for and was approved for a press pass (Claire had some other plans that weekend) and went to check it out.

What is InConJunction?

InConJunction is a science fiction and fantasy convention held yearly in Indianapolis. Every year they have a theme, and cosplayers and guests are encouraged to embrace the theme in their plans. This year, the theme was “Strange New World.” This seemed to bring out lots of steam punk costumers, and vendors as well. There seemed to be tons of fantastic steam punk costumes and accessories. I had to stop myself from buying up everything at one jewelry booth.

What To Do at InConJunction?

The gaming areas at InConJunction seemed to be the most popular. There tabletop and video gamers living in harmony in the game room, which was a nice change of pace. There was a huge shelf of games, plenty of figurines, and a kids activity table to keep them entertained while the adults played.

If you were tired of gaming, there were plenty of places to relax, including the Doctor Who room which showed episodes of Doctor Who non-stop. There were other video rooms as well, showing anything from Star Trek to Anime. And if you were just feeling run down you could stop for a massage, or keep an eye out for the “fun police” who were making sure you were having a good time and handing out sugary treats for quick restoration of energy.

What Kind of Panels Were at InConJunction?

InConJunction had a wide variety of panels covering the spectrum of the nerd community. There were panels for costumers including Creeper No Creeping (a safe place to talk about what is and is not appropriate, a good thing to have in our community), workshops to make costumes, and various round-tables. There were tons of workshops for the creative types such as writers and film makers. And if you are more into health, there were fitness and dance sessions, plus healthy eating seminars.

Overall, InConJuction touches on lots of various parts of geek culture. It seems the majority of the focus was on gamers and writers however. Check out our Flickr album for more pictures and to get an inside view.