Nerdi Gras was a fun little relaxicon for me. Anyone who has been at a con with me knows that I’m going all out most of the weekend, participating in panels, and talking to anyone who comes along. I really wasn’t sure what to do with myself this go around. I had a whopping four panels to be on over the course of the weekend, and that was it.

So what did I do?

I wandered.

I played games in the video arcade, wandered the vendor’s hall and found a few things for myself and the family, checked out things along author’s alley, and enjoyed all that was there. What I saw of the Burlesque show Saturday evening was pretty damned amazing, and the DJ had the house bouncing in the evenings.

There was also the Artemis Bridge Simulator, virtual reality tournaments, and classic arcade tournaments going on in the game rooms. And I got to participate in another episode of John Pyka’s “Back of the Cereal Box” podcast broadcast live from the event Saturday morning.

So all in all for a small, first-year con, not a bad setup. I’m sure they’ll grow next year and make things that much better. Chalked full of Gaming, Cosplay, Fiction, Pop Culture, and more, it really is the celebration of everything “Nerdi”. It was well worth the trip down to Atlanta to spend a weekend with “our people”. The poor Normies didn’t know what to think. 🙂

Now, how about some details?

Per their website:

NERDI GRAS® is a celebration of all things geek. It’s 3 days of music, entertainment, video games, board games, and cosplay designed to evoke a Carnivale of color, sound, and energy. It’s a place where all are welcome to join in a community of friends who play together, are creative together, and share a desire to be a part of a true Nerd Bacchanalia.

I personally spent a whole bunch of time in the tabletop gaming area with MIB Irene, learning how to play a bunch of games from Steve Jackson Games, which I’ll give a review of separately from this post. She was a great instructor and very knowledgeable about the games.

And of all things, the last panel of the convention was Car Wars Game to Page, where they set up “Steve in a Box” (since he was sick and couldn’t make it to the convention) and I had the opportunity to read off Chapter 5 of Burning Roads, book 1 of the Autoduel Chronicles.

In conclusion, this was a fun convention that has a lot of potential to grow over the next few years. The offering of entertainment and things to do was well worth the cost of travel and passes.

~William Joseph Roberts~ aka Hillbilly

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