Written by Raine Blunk
Couldn’t make it to DragonCon this year? Hopefully, you made it to GnomeCon instead – Savannah’s very own science fiction/fantasy and gaming convention, held Friday through Saturday in the Coastal Georgia Center.
If attendees were surprised to find a con in Savannah, they weren’t alone. Melissa Walton, an art vendor at GnomeCon and a Savannah Jenkins High School senior, almost missed it, too.
“I heard about it from the internet and word of mouth. I wasn’t aware we even had one until last month,” Walton admitted. A hopeful university student, Walton is an apprentice for the artist who goes only by “Nen,” a sequential art alumna and a full-time art vendor also set up at GnomeCon.
Now a Savannah resident, Nen has been to conventions all over the country and couldn’t believe it when she discovered one taking place in Savannah. “It shouldn’t have been too surprising,” Nen said, “But for some reason it was. I think it’s just because there are all these galleries and a lot of comic book related stuff as it is. People just never thought to do a convention, I guess.”
Emily Sampson, on the other hand – another sequential art alumna and con vendor – said that she had been waiting for a Savannah convention.
“I think it’s great,” Sampson said. “It’s only in its second year, so it’s a little small, but I can see the potential for growth here. I think, if it gets more exposure, it’ll definitely get bigger. It’s about time Savannah had a con of its own.”
Mirana Reveier, also a sequential art alumna and event vendor, agreed.
“I live in Savannah, in midtown,” Reveier explained. “I was super excited because a lot of the volunteers here [at GnomeCon] do DragonCon, near SCAD Atlanta, so I knew they would know what they were doing. And a local con – if we could get a local one, with how many artists we have and how many people love gaming, and nerdy-sci-fi-fantasy stuff? That would be great, if we could really get this going.”
GnomeCon is already well on its way.
“I heard it’s the second one,” full-time vendor Christine Saunders said. “I didn’t attend last year, but they had more people pre-register for this one than they had attend the last one.”
Jeff Kinner, owner of MorningStar Games and a vendor who went to the first GnomeCon, said, “I can’t see it going anywhere but up.”
Anne El-Habre, another early supporter and the current panel contact for GnomeCon, said, “We all bring a strength to the table. I have done art shows in other conventions, so I bring that presence in. And then, of course, all of our gamers are pretty well established and they know all the genres – minis and board games – so everyone is covered there. There is also a great group of Trekkies that we hooked up with, and they do our security. So we’re really just trying to pull all the different groups in. It really solidifies our presence as a con in this area. Cause there isn’t one.”
Savannah resident and sequential art alumna, Elizabeth Philips, felt “like there is a greater sense of community” at the con compared to that of others like DragonCon.
Phillips also stressed what a great opportunity GnomeCon is for students to sell their art work and get their name out in interested markets.
With over a dozen panels, there were talks from visiting writers and game designers as well as movie screenings. Games were also a must, with plenty of tournaments for games like Warhammer 40,000 and Dystopian Wars lined up throughout the three-day event along with a gaming library for players.
From “Beowulf” to “Nuns on the Run” – there were opportunities to “con out” for everyone.
