Last weekend marked the arrival of not just Halloween, but also of Hal-Con. The first comic and sci-fi convention held in my city in many years. The timing was unfortunate. Any time of year other than Halloween would have been preferable. Two great passions were colliding. There was no question of choosing one over the other. They would both have to be squeezed into one weekend. I anticipated a tight fit. And complete exhaustion at the end. I was correct.
Hal-Con was a huge success.
Hundreds crowded the Lord Nelson Hotel.
There were heroes . . .
. . . and villains . . .
. . . . and celebrities and icons.
And in the midst of it all, there was a small but intrepid group of sandpeople who arrived from the desert planet of Tatooine.
They had come for the festivities . . .
. . . and for the opportunity to put aside petty differences and reunite with old acquaintances . . .
. . . because Tusken Raiders are sociable creatures . . .
. . . who enjoy meeting new people . . .
. . . and make friends easily. . .
. . . which made the journey across the galaxy worthwhile . . .
. . . and left them eagerly anticipating next year's convention.
If this year's success is any indication, there will certainly be a Hal-Con in 2011. Likely on the same weekend. Most people seemed to think the timing was a great idea. I'd better start preparing now.