First “Con”tact: Wizard World Chicago 2014 Preview
By Marielle Shaw in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 17, 2014 6:00PM
Though it’s only mid-August, the cool weather has been tricking us into thinking summer’s over. That, coupled with all of last week’s bad news, has been getting us down a bit. We feel like we need a little fun in our lives. It’s fortuitous, then, that Wizard World Chicago ComicCon is rolling into town. We got a kick out of C2E2 earlier this year, and the line-up for Wizard World’s con is pure nerdvana.
Four days from now, the Donald E Stephens Center will be chock full of awesome guests, panels and (hopefully) wonderful cosplay. If you or your family are Guardians of the Galaxy fans, you’ll be excited to see David Bautista, Michael Rooker, Greg Horn and Karen Gillan. Any Whovians, including this writer, will be all about Sunday’s Dr. Who panel at the Rosemont Theater which not only features Karen Gillan, but Matt Smith himself for a 60-minute panel discussion. This panel is a separate, ticketed, event, but is still a must-see in our book.
Likewise, if there are Trekkies in your life, this con will not be an option. Star Trek: The Next Generation is celebrating its 25th anniversary and there will be a separately ticketed reunion event at Rosemont Theater. Sunday’s event will be hosted by William Shatner himself, and features appearances by Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, and Gates McFadden. Fans can expect 90 minutes of uninterrupted reminiscing, as well as a special edition lithograph to take home.
But this is just a taste of what’s to come. Walking Dead fans can see Norman Reedus and Steve Yeun, and Buffy fans will flock to see David Boreanaz, also a favorite from Bones, and James Marsters. There will be panels galore, and a cosplay contest we’ll be watching closely. There’s a lot to see and do, and it’d be impossible to mention all of it, so we encourage you to peruse Wizard World’s impressive lineup for yourselves on their site and figure out which days you plan to hit the floor. We’ll be there, water bottles aplenty, cameras poised and ready, trying to temper our love for nerdy cubicle adornments with our desire to, you know, eat.
Four-day passes are sold out for this con, but you can still purchase individual day passes as well as tickets to the separate events mentioned above.
It’s still summer, so enjoy it! We think this is exactly the dose of fun that we needed, and hope you’ll enjoy it too. So take the trek and make it so.