A Recap of Ice & Fire…Con, That Is!

Last weekend was the second annual Ice & Fire Con, a Song of Ice & Fire/Game of Thrones convention held at Ravenwood Castle in New Plymouth, Ohio. As one of the three organizers, obviously I’m quite partial to this convention, and while this year was quite different from our inaugural year, it seems that everyone had a great time.

In fact, I don’t need to use just my own words – according to our attendee surveys, it’s “easy to show up and have a blast” at Ice & Fire Con. The highlights that were pointed out were “good people, good conversation, knowledgeable Ice & Fire fans” and “All of it but in particular, everything”.

We really do pride ourselves on having an intimate, friendly group, and we are lucky to have such a supportive community for our convention. We also enjoy providing activities that you won’t necessarily find at other cons – for example an amazing location (Ravenwood Castle of course), our mock tournament, and small group discussions about the series – and this year our new archery practice and trivia contest were big hits as well!

Another thing that everyone tends to enjoy – whether they participate or not – is the cosplay. Because the vast majority of people that attend Ice & Fire Con have read the books as well as watching the show, we get to see some great book-inspired costumes – not only characters who have yet to appear on Game of Thrones, but also characters who had a distinctly different look in the novels. (Like, for example, Fat Walda.)

There is always room for improvement, and with this being only the second year for Ice & Fire Con we still have quite a bit to streamline and tweak. Next year there will likely be more time set aside for gaming, a more solid discussion group schedule, and hopefully a bit more ‘flair’ to the costume contest.

But I’m happy to say that, room for improvement or no, this year was a rousing success. We braved chilly weather and rain showers, and at times even used them to our advantage (especially those who cosplayed in armor). We had an awesome dance party complete with Flower Child Tyrells, Party Rock Lannisters, Petyr Brolish, and more – plus Cards Against Westeros and other board games happening simultaneously.

And hey – when the biggest ‘complaints’/suggestions were that the weekend flew by too fast and that we should try to ‘schedule’ no rain for next year, I kind of have to agree with the one attendee who called Ice & Fire Con 2014 a “Winner!”

Author: Tara Lynne

Tara Lynne is an author, fandom and geek culture expert, and public speaker. She founded Ice & Fire Con, the first ever Game of Thrones convention in the US, and now runs its parent company Saga Event Planning.

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