Heroes & Legends Convention at W5, belfast

On the 19th February I was knee deep in nerds, and not for the first time.

Pastie Bap attended the ImagineNation & Heroes & Legends Con at W5 in Belfast on the final day of its three day exhibition in the Odyssey Arena. The event was held by The Emerald Garrison and ran from the 17th to the 19th February and was a veritable feast of movie, comic and tv show magic. Their official website states:

“As part of ImagineNation we celebrate the incredible creativity of movie fans when Emerald Garrison return to W5 with Heroes and Legends Con and a host of new costumed characters, sets and props. If you have been to any of our Invasion Belfast events you will know this is an event you will not want to miss! This is an event created by fans for fans and will cover all aspects of Sci Fi Film and Fantasy. Taking over our temporary exhibition space will be displays featuring costumed characters and recreations from many iconic movies. These will include a “Back to the Future” Delorean, a Tardis, an incredible 24ft tall Optimus Prime and much, much more!”

Game of Thrones

The exhibition consisted of five levels of nerd-dom with traders stands on the ground floor selling an array of figures, costumes, graphic novels, lightsabers, broomsticks (Harry Potter-esque ones, not just for doing the sweeping) and clothing. Forbidden Planet even had their own stall which was positively laden with the shops’ products.

The second level featured the Go Demo Area which housed the real reason why Pastie Bap was there – the Game of Thrones Throne. This was a full scale replica of the Throne seen in hit HBO series Game of Thrones.

The Emerald Garrison

This level also contained a series of special guests in the Atrium featuring comic book artists, actors and costume designers. These guests were available to chat to and to sign/sketch your comic/arm/leg/eyeball, anything you want.

On the fourth level of W5 was the Exhibition Space which featured The Emerald Garrison’s Heroes and Legends exhibition. This contained a series of impressive props and sets built by Emerald Garrison members. Sets included Lord of the Rings, Aliens, Star Trek, The Muppets, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Batman, Spiderman and Ghostbusters; while props featured massive 24ft Optimus Prime, Tardis, Daleks, a Delorian and a full size US WWII Jeep.

Sets and Props

The quality of these sets and props were excellent and everyone could enjoy the sights to behold, both young and old. Some of the sets were manned by people dressed up who were on hand for photos, alongside members of the public who just dressed up for their own amusement. It’s quite surreal walking around W5 alongside Doctor Who and Rorschach from Watchmen, and then watching Robocop pose for a photo with Gonzo from the muppets.

Throughout the day, a series of events were being held in the lecture theatre on Level 5, and on the Sunday there was a Q&A with Patricia Tallman and Claudia Christian, then a Q&A and drawing live with PJ Holden.

Cosplay

The final event of the day was the Cosplay competition, where members of the public were invited to dress up as their favourite characters and be judged by a panel of judges. I was a bit sceptical as we sat down in the lecture theatre alongside about a few dozen men, women and children in costume; but was delighted to see an array of well made costumes (and a few ‘thrown together’) and everyone seemed to be having a good time. A young Boba Fett won the under 10’s section, with two Anikin Skywalker’s a close second (both if which received an audible ‘aww’ from the audience of course), while Predator won the adults section. All in all the day was excellent and was a good dose of good clean fun, a perfect way to end the weekend and cure that hangover!