THE organisers of the Oz ComicCon event are planning a real live actual physical event in Sydney next month – with plans to host them in other cities if it’s a big success.
OCC Pop Up is scheduled for March 6 and 7 at the Sydney Showground, and is being described as “a community-based event showcasing the local pop culture scene,” with the organisers promising that as “a first-of-its-kind event in Australia, OCC Pop Up is truly an en event for the whole family, no matter what fandom you belong to”.
The event has been confirmed to include:
● Creators Live – an area dedicated to promoting Australian digital content creators such as YouTubers, streamers, podcasters, bloggers, and influencers. Whilst it’s a great chance to sell merch and network with each other, Creators Live provides a new platform amongst an ever growing community and a chance for Creators to interact with their fans;
● Cosplay Active – a cosplay competition for mainstream competitors that find themselves a step above the Cosplay Parade but not quite ready for the Championships of Cosplay. Open to both solo and group performances, Cosplay Active is an opportunity to showcase crafting talents, perform a skit, and bring along the PLAY component of cosplay. And, even your pets can get involved, with the finalists of the OCC Pet Cosplay being invited to attend the Con.
The organisers have also confirmed the guests at this stage include Queenie Chan (The Dreaming, Fabled Kingdom), Christopher Sequeria (Sherlock Holmes: The Australian Casebook, The SuperAustralians), Louie Joyce (Haphaven, Past the Last Mountain), and JusZ Cosplay, with more announcements expected in due course.
It’s great to see someone putting together an actual, physical event in Australia – virtual events might have been a necessary expedience at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, but they’re lacking a lot of the buzz and vibe that makes physical events so much fun to attend.
Of course, one of the leg imitate worries is that some of Australia’s state premiers have been given to locking down cities or shutting borders if even a single COVID-19 case is detected, which has been causing all sorts of headaches recently for people trying to plan anything more than a few days into the future– and something OCC Pop Up’s organisers are acutely aware of as well.
The event is being managed by Expertise Events, who are keeping a close eye on the situation and assure us they’re abiding by all Government regulations and advice to ensure the event is as safe as possible.
Among other things, the event has session tickets to control attendance numbers, social distancing between guests and exhibitors/vendors, and plenty of sanitisation stations around the venue.
Most reassuringly, the organisers have also confirmed that should there be another Covid outbreak, all tickets will be refunded.
Australia is long overdue for a fun physical gaming/pop culture event so fingers crossed this one goes ahead and proves to be a roaring success as well.
For more details, including ticketing information and COVID guidelines, visit: https://ozcomiccon.com/faqs-occ-pop-up/ and keep an eye on @OzComicCon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates and new announcements.
