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Radisson Opryland Hotel, 2401 Music Valley Drive, Nashville, TN Attendees were:
Publishers represented were Kerlak Publishing, MeadowHawk Publishing, SamsDotPublishing
Thanks to all who attended and to everyone who helped make this event a success!  Date: October 2-4, 2009 Location: GMX Convention in Nashville, TN Occasion: Waypoint 2 – Imagicopter’s Second Event By Michael Greenway
Photo courtesy of Michael Greenway
Geek Media Expo (GMX) 2009  Photo of Jackie Gamber learning the Thriller dance courtesy of MIchael Greenway
For a first year con, GMX did quite well. They drew in about 500 or so attendees (mostly locals in their 20's who went home at night) and they offered a variety of panels. Some of the more notable panels were the Steampunk track, attended by the Apparition Abolishers/501st folks, Imagicopter's/Kerlak Publishing's writing and book tour panel, and even a Shibari ropes demonstration for adults with proof of ID. There was also a session that taught Michael Jackson's Thriller dance to anyone interested. You just haven't lived until you've seen a Storm Trooper, a Neko cat girl, and a guy in a Star Trek uniform shirt all do the "booty bounce, booty bounce."
Other things offered during the weekend included a Rave, a respectable movie/gaming room with networked PC and XBox systems, as well as screens of Dr. Horrible. In other words, There was plenty to do day or night. If you weren't terribly excited about what was in the hotel, there were some fun options around the nearby Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills Mall. The GMX Zombie walk, even made a surprise jaunt, with decomposed revelers in tow, to the mall. Hey, even Zombies need new threads. Now, just how popular was Hot Topic with that crowd? Hmmm...
The Radison offered a good location for a first year con. Opry notwithstanding, there were several food options nearby, along with an in-house Applebee's restaurant. The pool and hot tub saw more than a few people take some R&R between panels, eating a short ton of Pocky, and the like.
Speaking of Pocky, it was EVERYWHERE! The Dealer Room, while on the small side, had one whole side devoted to Asian import foods geared toward the Anime crowd. The one food dealer sold quite a bit of Pocky (shortbread sticks dipped in chocolate or other flavors). There were even the sodas with the glass beads in them. If you were adventurous, you too could have Octopus flavored soda. Imagine a taste that starts out like ginger ale and ends up like fish with a funky after taste.
Photo of Imagicopter Panel courtesy of Michael Greenway
The rest of the Dealer Room had a respectable variety of, again, mostly Anime souvenirs, but there were also custom art, comics, figures, and a Tibetan Tantric Monk selling Jade items. There were plenty of t-shirts with witty geek culture sayings too. "I stopped playing WoW for this?!" was one I remember. Someone even had custom Steampunk light bulbs, modified to carry things
.
As far as celebrities go, there was a respectable showing. Imagicopter and Kerlak Publishing were both there. Other notables included Marilyn Ghigliotti (Dante's girlfriend from Clerks), The Convention Vixens, and Jackson Bostwick. Even the famed Bar2D2 robotic bar was on hand and made appearances at the 501st's open room party. On a side note, the lady who dressed up as a Disco Princess Lea, complete with hair buns and white catsuilt deserves kudos for creativity.
Overall, GMX was a fun event that was well paced, with plenty of activities, and a good location. I heard, but could not confirm some orgnizaitonal confusion, but some of that is to be expected with anything new. It's a given that the first couple years of any new event are a shakedown and you take what you learned and grow from it. I have no doubt that the MTAC folks who put together GMX will do the same. Hopefully we will see more support for not only various authors and artists, but other subjects in this new Geek Media realm.
All in all, GMX was a fun time and worth a stop on the con circuit. Top
of Page Page last updated July 28, 2010 | Original content © 2009-2010 |
Please feel free to read Jennifer Mulvihill's article in the EXAMINER at
http://www.examiner.com/x-17190-Jackson-Literature-Examiner~y2009m10d2-Imagicopter-Authors-in-Nashville-at-the-gmX-media-convention-this-weekend-October-2--4-2009