Atomic Lollipop 2013

It’s a convention, it’s a music festival, it’s an epic all night party! Welcome to ATOMIC LOLLIPOP!

Atomic What? I have to admit when I first heard of Atomic Lollipop this year I had no idea what to expect. Basic online research told me it was a convention in it’s third year that would be held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Center seemed simple enough and as a fan of the convention scene – a fun weekend. What I didn’t realize is exactly how much fun would be packed in the next 48 hours. To take a quote from their facebook page, “Atomic lollipop is a combined convention, music festival, and art experience. With a focus on global youth culture and unique social experiences, the weekend-long event offers a multitude of programming and attractions. From hands-on workshops to crazy outdoor activities and an epic all-night party, Atomic Lollipop is an incredibly fun convention designed for people who love to socialize, create, and play.”

The convention began at six o’clock in the evening on Friday with events such ‘Anime Bingo’ and ‘How to DJ’ and as the evening went on, a myriad of performances took stage in different areas of the convention. Fan Fiction the Show, a comedy show run by Adam Ward, had Sailor Scouts take the stage in a remounted production of The Bachelor meets Sailor Moon. Convention goers off all sorts took the stage in the Hosaki room with Disney Karaoke, a hugely popular event. The Kobayashi Hall hosted nerdy burlesque with various talented performers! Characters such as Zelda’s Sheik performed by the vivacious Leelando Mitchell and Jack Skellington portrayed by the beautiful Charlie Quinn dropped their drawers in one of the sexiest shows this season! Then into the evening there was a Steampunk Electroswing prom!

Saturday was definitely the busiest of the three days at #Apop (as it’s become affectionately known and hashtagged). There were so many events going on all at once it was sometimes hard to make decisions exactly which room to be in. Multi-Room D was home to all things crafty where you could learn how to make brain slugs, pimp out your pony, make Totoro plushies and even wearable electronics. In the early evening there was a seminar all about wearable electronics hosted by Marisa Ranalli. She taught about different kinds of circuits and materials to use as some can be extremely flammable, something that may not necessarily occur to a first time costumer. There were many informative panels from craft creation to performance tips and tricks, it seemed there was no avenue that Atomic Lollipop had not covered.

What I began to notice over the course of the weekend was how few of the panels were standard lecture style with people talking at the front of a silent mass. Every room was bursting with energy and laughter, people were working together and it was less of a ‘lecture’ feel and more of an actual ‘lesson’. The staff were all extremely friendly and helpful. I also appreciated that they had security and First AID responders on hand as into the evening the party seemed to get quite crazy for some. More than that though, I appreciated the communication. Whenever I went to ask a staff member a question there was always a clear and concise answer, and they were all on the same page, something I’ve noticed has been lacking in the bigger convention scenes. Into the evening the parties were pretty crazy everything from the metal band Powerglove performing and congoers moshing to raving with Irish DJ Kristian Nairn better known for his role as Hodor in the HBO series Game of Thrones. Outside they had a carnival going on all night with bouncy castles, drunken Mario kart and more raving. For those more comfortable with a spectator sport they had incredibly talented people with flaming batons not only twirling and dancing, but some so bold as to eat the flame. There truly was something for everyone.

Sunday was much quieter, but considering that the convention didn’t close till 2am I can’t say I was that surprised. One of the first events of the morning was ‘Fat Stacks’ where they served pancakes, a brilliant idea considering the amount of partying witnessed at the same venue merely hours ago. After breakfast as you left they gave out pogs – a game I hadn’t thought about in years! It was pretty exciting getting to go through a hand full of pogs finding familiar faces like Casper the friendly ghost and Wako of the Animaniacs.

All weekend long the gaming room was packed with various tournaments taking place including Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, Golden Eye, Marvel vs. Capcom and many others, and Sunday was no different. There were also three active photobooths over the course of the convention; Cosplay for a Cure, a wonderful organization that donates their proceeds to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation with Rebel Shotz Photography and the well-known convention photographers DROO and Trillance. If you were so inclined, you could even spend the entire con sitting in one of the main halls watching 90’s cartoons or for the shy there were so many different themed rounds of speed-friending giving everyone the chance to make new friends.

All in all the convention was a blast and one of the best ones I’ve been too in awhile! There was so much to do and see you couldn’t possibly fit it all in, and yet it was hard to be disappointed with the amount of amazing things going on. To quote from their facebook page once again, “Recognizing that the best moments in life are the adventures that you share with friends, Apop endeavours to facilitate these. More than just providing programming, we provide an atmosphere that allows you to make your own adventure and create your own amazing experiences.” I must admit when I first read this I had severe reservations, but consider them crushed. Next year if you can only budget for one convention I strongly recommend you make it this one. Kudos, APop, you ran a tight ship.

This article was written for publication on the GCE by Rogue Benjamin.