GeekOut 2015: Costumes, celebs, games, programming at UNC Asheville June 6-7

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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geekout_1_2015_asheville_Geek out, y’all! Press release:

GeekOut 2015 will be held June 6-7 at UNCA’s Kimmel Arena, as well as other venues around Asheville. The fourth installment of “WNC’s Popular Arts Convention” will celebrate all aspects of pop culture, from film, television, and animation to costuming, comics, and stage performance.

This year’s more than two dozen celebrity guests will include fan-favorite actor Dante Basco (Hook, Avatar: The Last Airbender), voiceover performer Jon Bailey (film trailer performer, Screen Junkies’ Honest Trailers), nationally-acclaimed body paint artist Georgette Pressler, special effects guru Mark Zoran, famed video game “speed runner” Danny West, and cast from AMC’s The Walking Dead.

GeekOut continues its perineal growth in the Asheville events scene after a successful transition to a weekend-long format in 2014. This year, local businesses, fan groups, and performers are making the lead-up to the convention even more spectacular with nine geek-themed performances and gatherings between May 30 and June 7 that are being called “Geek Week” by organizers.

“Everybody’s in on the act,” said GeekOut director Ken Krahl. “Geek Week wasn’t even something we planned. People kept coming to us with an incredible concert, party, or arts show for the week before the convention, and now there’s a themed event nearly every night that week.”

The convention itself features panels, workshops, and presentations for adults and children in the areas of Voice Acting, Technology, Gaming, Costuming & Make-Up, Animation, Paranormal & Horror, and Blogging & Podcasting (new for this year).

GeekOut will also feature vendors and artists from across the Southeast, combat and stunt demonstrations, live-action role-playing, and costume contests in adult, children’s, and group categories. Attendees will be able to explore and pose with fan-built replicas of famous cars from Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park.

“GeekOut is so much fun to put on, thanks to the way arts culture thrives in Asheville,” said GeekOut programming director Janae Elisabeth. “As much as conventions tend to celebrate the finished books, games, or movies, in a town like this it will always be about learning and appreciating the creative process behind the work.”

After-hours events, which are for fans over 21, include the return of Geektastic, a vaudeville-themed burlesque revue at Friday, and geek-goth virtuoso musical act Aurelio Voltaire on Saturday. Both shows are at New Mountain on N. French Broad, and begin at 9 PM. Admission to after-hours events are included in the GeekOut All-Access Pass, and tickets will also be available in limited quantities at the door for $18.

Tickets for GeekOut are discounted through June 4, with Weekend passes at $25 for adults and $5 for children 5-12, and All-Access passes (which include all after-hours events) for $50.

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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6 Comments

  1. Bob A June 8, 2015

    Man, just spent $30 to walk around with my son for all of 20 minutes on Sunday. Very few vendors, and not a lot going on. I know that it was Sunday, but expected a lot more than this. Feelin’ ripped off.

    Reply
  2. Elvis Presley Costello June 7, 2015

    NERDS!!!!

    Reply
  3. Nate June 4, 2015

    Wow . . . they *really* did not mean to use the word “perineal” in that press release. Or at least I hope they didn’t.

    Sometimes spell check is not enough.

    Reply
    1. Nora Daniel June 6, 2015

      Opposite of cerebral ; )

      Reply
    2. chris June 6, 2015

      Sounds painful!

      Reply
    3. chris June 6, 2015

      GeekOut: taint what it used to be!

      Reply

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