Sci Fi Weekender, March 2025.
- CC Adams
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
Last autumn/fall, I hit FantasyCon, as I usually do around that time of year. And it went the same way as most conventions do; meeting the usual suspects, making new connects, drumming up some new business, etc. Case in point; among those new connects were David and Sam Howe. Talking to them both about game; how we do what we do and all of the rest of it. Fast forward some months, I get an invite from them asking if I'd be interested in doing the Sci-Fi Weekender.
For the record, I'd never heard of this event before - at least, not as far as I can remember. To their credit, David and Sam brought me up to speed on what it was, where it was, and pretty much filled in any blanks that might be remaining. For me, that was enough to say yes and accept the invite.
Even the train journey was good. Most times when I go to UK conventions, the train is crowded. Not necessarily with convention goers, but it's a personal preference that there's quiet and solitude when I travel - as much as possible. So, to see a sparsely populated train, where fellow passengers talk in low tones is truly appreciated. Small slices of heaven, that go hand in hand with watching the scenery scroll past beyond the train window. It's just relaxing, it's bliss. Plus, even with having to catch a connecting train, the journey took about a couple of hours overall. Not bad.
Once I got to the station at Great Yarmouth, I met Steve, who was running assist for David and Sam that weekend, driving guests to and from the venue, etc. The venue in this case was the Park Dean Holiday Camp - a complex of buildings and halls, where the guests and attendees would stay in the on-site caravans. Once I'd hit reception to check in and register, I was then dropped off at my caravan/cabin. Be it known that I've not stayed in a caravan in years; the last time being many moons ago with an ex-girlfriend. But the caravan at this holiday camp? Gorgeous. A three-bedroom affair, equipped with a lounge, kitchen, two toilets and one shower. Having unpacked and chilled for a while, I headed out for some food - at the Reedcutter restaurant, also on site - before heading back to the caravan to change for the conventions award ceremony.
The ceremony in part set the tone for the weekend as a whole, because while it was the Sci-Fi Weekender, dancers took the stage to set the convention off before various individuals took to the stage to present and collect awards.
Friday morning was into the thick of it, setting up books on seller tables and such, with attendees queueing outside. I had the chance to catch Pop-up Puppet Cinema doing a take on Raiders Of The Lost Ark before the first panel. Two panels that day, along with selling/signing books. And catching Pop-up Puppet Cinema again that night doing a take on A Nightmare On Elm Street.
Saturday ran similar, except it kicked off with a meet-and-greet; various guests would sit and talk with various attendees about this, that, and the third. I got into convo on a number of franchises depending what people were into: favourite Dr. Who, what season should Lucifer have ended on, when is the Spider-Man Noir with Nicolas Cage (as of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse) coming out, etc. Then more panels and book selling/signing.
After dinner with a host of the fellow attendees - and it's always good to talk game and/or just shoot the shit with them - all roads then led back to the main auditorium for The Dark Room: a real-live take on the old home micro(!) adventure games, hosted by John Robertson. Describing him as 'animated' doesn't do him justice. With all that excitement, I had a relatively early night, especially since my train out of Great Yarmouth left around 10:30am the following morning.
The biggest revelation for me in terms of my first Sci-Fi Weekender (yep, cherry now popped) wasn't the cosplay and costumes - I'm used to those from the likes of FanExpo - but the live entertainment.
While I've done numerous conventions, this was the first I went to that had live entertainment - and because I knew very little about SFW apart from it being 'a convention', I wasn't expecting it. Some of it, e.g. the Pop-up Puppet Theatre, was great and fit in well with the whole event. Some, like Jolly Boat, talented as they are with their humourous songs, not so - for me, at least. But then, I concede that for a lot of people who've been attending SFW for years, such entertainment fits in just fine. Aside from that, it's pretty much standard practice for conventions: meet the usual suspects, make new connects, drum up new business, etc.
Worth it.
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