Great Geekfest set for Saturday

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The Fourth Great Geekfest will take place at the Main Branch of the Delaware County District Library Saturday, Oct. 19, and will feature a cosplay contest, arcade games, magicians, and a “Harry Potter” themed rock band.

The event’s organizer and head of the Powell Branch of the library, Mandy Henning, said Wednesday that two of the most popular aspects of previous geekfests, Dungeons and Dragons and the cosplay contest, have been expanded because of their success.

“Personally, I’m really excited about the arcade games, but I think people are going to be surprised how much bigger D&D and cosplay are this year,” Henning said.

She added there will be three tables for Dungeons and Dragons and three half-an-hour sessions at each table starting at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Henning said this is a total of nine games being played and an increase over the six games that were played last year.

The cosplay contest is an hours-long event and divided into categories for children ages zero to 11, teens from 12 to 17, and adults 18 and over. Henning stressed that participants much preregister before noon on Saturday if they wish to take part. The children’s line up begins at 1:45 p.m., the teen category begins at 2:30 p.m., and the adult category is at 3 p.m. The winners will be announced at 3:30 p.m. More detailed rules can be found at https://www.delawarelibrary.org/.

Henning said there will be a variety of board games and arcade games spread out throughout the library Saturday, adding the arcade games range from games like “Galaga” to “Soul Caliber 2” to “Dance Dance Revolution.” She said there will also be “Transformers” and “Batman” pinball machines that attendees can play.

Henning said the event is more spread out that previous years, and attendees would do well to tour everything being offered.

“People who come will be the most excited about the little things hidden throughout the whole building,” she said. “You’ve got to take time to walk through the whole place.”

The main performers this year will be the band Tonks & the Aurors, a wizard rock band who will perform music about “Harry Potter,” and Rory Rennick, a magician who will be roaming around the library during Geekfest. The band will perform at noon on the main stage.

The event will also serve as the starting point for a “Pokémon GO” event wherein players can collect a Pikachu pin at the library and then visit more than a dozen downtown Delaware businesses to get more Pokémon pins.

Henning said she’s pleased the event continues to grow in participation, and she’s already looking forward to the fifth anniversary of the event next year.

For Henning, the best part of the event is that it’s a free event for the community.

“It’s really nice to do this at no cost to patrons,” she said. “You can get that comic-con experience without driving to Columbus and without having to spend a ton of money. There are people who can’t afford to go to a con like that, especially teens. Teens really love this event. For me the number one thing is providing this at no cost to the community.”

Lewis Center teenager Nathan Morris is presented his Grand Champion award for his cosplay of Skull Kid from “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” during the cosplay competition at last year’s Great Geekfest.
https://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2019/10/web1_DSC_0691.jpgLewis Center teenager Nathan Morris is presented his Grand Champion award for his cosplay of Skull Kid from “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” during the cosplay competition at last year’s Great Geekfest.

By Glenn Battishill

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Glenn Battishill can be reached at 740-413-0903 or on Twitter @BattishillDG.

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