One weekend every June we put on our geek caps and head on over to the "Geek Exodus" that is Toycon.
This is our third year going and I still think that it is a PHENOMENON beyond logic and explanation but sometimes logic just goes out the window and all you have to do is celebrate that inner child in all of us.
The thing about Toycon is that everyone gets to celebrate that inner child in them and because of that the Megatrade Halls 1, 2 and 3 becomes the biggest play room - ever!
Posts on Facebook were about tickets running out (but they get re-stocked don't worry) Toycon 2014 has also officially broken records with 27,975 attendees!
A lot of posts from attendees have said that this year's Toycon had the most attendees and that halls were packed (more than usual) I guess that would be the case, since I wasn't really able to go around and look at all the stalls even if I stayed for about six hours.
And why have I not been able to check out all the stalls, well there are two reasons, the first being the obvious that there were too many people and the second was that well we were helping my cousins at the SuperElite props booth. So I got to experience what it was like to sit behind the booth, while onlookers stopped by to check the Star Wars movie props that were on display, but before I go on with my experience behind a booth at Toycon let me just rewind a bit to the start of the day.
Well, like many of our adventures it actually began with work - Yes! Work! I yet again came from work and basically went straight to Toycon with sleepiness and tiredness ready to kick in any minute, I actually got to share this burden with my sister who is now working (fresh graduate) who tags along with us during conventions.
By the early afternoon we were both sleepy zombies and couldn't even carry out a decent conversation anymore. A quick rush to Starbucks for some much needed caffeine quickly fixed that though and we were able to pull in an extra few hours of awake time.
When we arrived for Day 2 of Toycon, we were just in time for the ribbon cutting ceremony which had special guests Batman (who is celebrating his 75th year by the way), some Disney characters and Rurouni Kenshin characters and of course the 501st Philippine Outpost were present as well.
With the ribbon cut, photos taken (much like a frenzied Press Conference actually) Toycon 2014 Day 2 was officially open.
We immediately went over the SuperElite Props booth both to help my cousin set up and catch our wits. The rest of the day was then either hanging out and helping at the booth or going around the convention.
It really was different being behind the booth for a change, although I had some experience to back me up, during High School my friends and I actually got booths (we did it for years) during our school fair and we would sell - yup, you guessed it Anime merchandise :) So I guess it wasn't entirely a new experience for me.
What was new and refreshing was seeing the faces of the people who came by our booth light up when they saw, held, took a photo with the movie props (Lightsaber, Blaster and the Stromtrooper armor) from Star Wars. It was touching to see how the Dads would proudly point out the movie mementos to their children and in some way they seemed like kids as well. It was also amusing to see their wives steer them away from the booth, afraid of what a few more minutes ogling at the props could lead to.
