SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — If you’re looking to step out of the ordinary this weekend, a world of pop culture and fandom awaits at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
Costumes will be a common sight at SiouxperCon, especially princes and princesses, as “Happily Ever After” is the theme of this year’s event.
“In South Dakota, with only three comic book shops, we couldn’t be just a comic book convention so we created a fan festival. Family Day, Kids Zone, you name it we try to touch everything for people to just come out and feel empowered, celebrate that inner child and have a great time,” SiouxperCon Director Shane Gerlach said.
Fairytales are just the tip of the iceberg, as more than 160 vendors have set up shop for the three-day event.
“Everything from woodwork to plushies to candles to things you’re not going to find as your usual stores around this area,” Gerlach said. “To name all of them, we’d be here until the 10:00 news (laugh),” Gerlach added.
“As soon as someone ignites one, the look on their face, their eyes just light up and they’re just like ‘oh my gosh, this is awesome’,” WC Sabers owner Mike Chaffin said. WC Sabers is in Des Moines, Iowa.
Chaffin has been building lightsabers since 2018.
“We’re going to have a lot of lightsabers here. We’re actually going to have it where people can actually build lightsabers over to the left here. We’ve also got handcrafted signs that my wife does, a lot of custom signs, and it’s all based off of geek and nerdom, so all the fanbase stuff,” Chaffin said.
The event doesn’t end with vendors. There are cosplay contests, a film festival, panels, even professional wrestling, but at its core SiouxperCon is a fundraiser.
“Fifty-five staff members, none of us get paid, so all of us have full-time jobs and we do this to raise money for Make-A-Wish, the JY6 Foundation, and Reach Literacy, so after we pay the bills we give away all the money and then come out in the community and beg you all for money so I can throw a party again next year,” Gerlach said.
