First ever Snake River Comic-Con starts today in Pocatello

POCATELLO — Are you ready to get your geek on, east Idaho? Then get your costumes on and ready to shine.

This weekend, the Snake River Comic-Con debuts in Pocatello. The convention will feature authors and artists, entertainers and comics creators. Panels will instruct convention attendees on how to build everything from their own fiction worlds to their TARDIS from “Dr. Who”.

A vendor hall will give fans a chance to find that one hard-to-find comic book they need or that toy they’ve driven themselves to distraction trying to find. And a cosplay contest will give costumers a chance to flaunt their talents. It promises to be a weekend packed with excitement and fun.

The initial idea to start a con in Pocatello came to Tanglwyst de Holloway, one of the events organizers, when she and some friends stopped in the area on a trip to another fan event. “There aren’t any fan conventions in the Pocatello/Blackfoot/Idaho Falls area,” de Holloway told EastIdahoNews.com “And it’s not like you guys don’t have the fan base. You’ve got what you need to do it. Why don’t you put a convention on here?”

CHECK OUT THE COMIC CON GUESTS HERE

Once the idea took root, con organizers began rounding up resources they needed to hold the event. One of the main obstacles was finding the right venue. De Holloway said together, the three venues gives them the capacity to entertain around 3,000 attendees. “There isn’t a single facility (in Pocatello) capable of holding 3,000 people”, said Holloway. “And 3,000 people is a good number for a starting convention. It will allow it to grow in the area.”

That issue was resolved through the decision to use multiple venues. The convention will hold events concurrently at the Red Lion Hotel, the Clarion Inn and the Mountainview Events Center. The venues will hold panels for those interested in writing, filmmaking and different fandoms, with the Mountainview Events Center serving as a vendor hall.

Several contests will also be held, with prizes being handed out for cosplay excellence and the best fan-submitted music video. The con will even host a Nerf War on Friday afternoon. There will even be a series of panels for fans wanting to put on fan events of their own.

Careful thought was put into the programming of the convention, de Holloway told us. “When you’re a small convention like we are your programming is what’s gonna bring people in, she said. ”

Panels will be hosted be professional authors, artists and filmmakers, with the goal of encouraging attendees to go out and pursue their creative dreams.

If this sounds like fun to you, then you want to get yourself to Pocatello this weekend for the Snake River Comic-Con. The con opens Friday, Sept. 29 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 1. You can find more about the con’s panels, contests and guest list by dropping by the con’s official website.