Knowing is Half the Battle - DFW GI Joe and Action Figure Show

On Saturday, September 21, 2013 the DFW GI Joe and Action Figure Show II will be held in Grapevine, Texas.  I talked with Keith from the Dallas-Fort Worth GI Joe Collector's Club about the upcoming toy show.

The Fine Details:
DFW GI Joe and Action Figure Show II
September 21, 2013
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Grapevine Convention Center
1209 South Main Street
Grapevine, TX 76051

Admission:
$5.00
$10.00 for families
Free admission for Boy Scouts in uniform as well as military, police, fire fighters, and other law enforcement with valid ID

Be sure to check out the show's Facebook page as well as the home of the GI Joe Collector's Club for more information!


Note:  All above information is provided based on contents of the websites maintained by the conventions in question.  Any inaccuracies are not the responsibility of said conventions or Convention Awareness Project - Texas.  This is a free service to both conventions and convention goers and errors are certainly possible.  Please consult the websites of the individual shows for further information when planning to attend any given show.

Visit my table, The JediCole Universe, if you want to get one of these incredible 20" x 8" Executive Order 66 prints!  Just $5 each or 2 for $9!  

They are printed on heavy stock, fully licensed, and produced by C2 Ventures (published in 2006).

The Show Must Go On! - An Open Letter to the Texas Convention-Going Community

Welcome to my labor of love.

The Convention Awareness Project -TX website went live on Tuesday, January 1, 2013 and featured what is intended to be the most comprehensive listing of conventions in Texas to be found anywhere on the internet.  Spawned from a personal dedication to the Texas convention scene and as an offshoot of two live Convention Awareness Day events held in past years, it was my express purpose to create a one-stop resource for convention goers to discover every single show being held in the Lone Star State.  Furthermore, I wanted to feature more than just a month-to-month listing, so I began to seek out interviews with the organizers and promoters of the shows featured.   

Co-hosting $1 Star Wars Auction, All-Con 2010 (Addison, TX)

For the early part of the year these ends were achieved remarkably well.  I received tremendous support from convention organizers when it came to utilizing this resource for free promotion of their shows.  And frankly I had more time at my disposal to seek out such interviews and meticulously search for conventions of fan interest that had escaped my initial sweeps in late 2012 and early 2013.  In more recent months it has been a challenge to simply keep the listings updated as new shows come to my attention.  Various constraints have left this site wanting for attention and new content. 

The Mighty Placeholder hosts Super-Hero Sunday, All-Con 2011 (Addison, TX)

This has been bothersome to me and my plan is to put a greater effort into this site now that my primary home on the internet, The JediCole Universe, is running at full steam with a compliment of recurring features.  I will be reaching out to the promoters of conventions coming up between September and December to obtain interviews and return to more detailed features on all upcoming conventions week to week.   At present I am also compiling the initial 2014 listings so if you are aware of any conventions coming up in Texas in the new year, please drop me a line here.  

Attending 2011's Universal Collectibles Show (Fort Worth, TX)

When I created CAP-TX I had the fan community in mind first and foremost.  Support and praise for this site from said community has been nothing short of amazing.  While you can find listings for every one of the shows I cover here on the internet somewhere, mine is the only site that brings them all together in one place with links to the individual sites of each convention for your convenience.  An unexpected offshoot of this site was as a resource for convention vendors.  As a former show dealer of over 20 years I was amazed that this use of the site had not occurred to me from the outset.  Furthermore, an artist friend of mine wrote to me this year to express her gratitude for this site as a means to find more venues to showcase and sell her work.  

JediCole's Morning After, All-Con 2011 (Addison, TX)

Through various channels, including hundreds of postcards I have distributed at conventions in the state, word is spreading about Convention Awareness Project - Texas.  If you have friends who enjoy attending conventions please link this site from your Facebook or other social media sites, ask your local comic shop to request postcards for this site, and let the promoters of your favorite shows know about my efforts.  

Moderating a panel with Tim Taylor at Strip! Dallas Webcomics Expo 2012

We are fortunate in Texas to have one of the larger convention scenes in the United States, one which grows every year.  Supporting such shows, large and small, will insure that we always have plenty of conventions around the state during the years to come.  My personal goal with this site is to generate excitement for, as well as awareness of, the Texas convention scene.  Having missed out on many a show in my day it seemed the best possible service to fandom to create and maintain such a website.  

Costume Contest judging, All-Con 2009 (Addison, TX)

Remember - You Can't Go If You Don't Know!

Cole "JediCole" Houston

Founder, Convention Awareness Project - Texas

P.S. If you would like to be a part of CAP-TX by writing feature articles on upcoming shows, your personal convention experience, or aspects of convention-going (costuming, volunteering, show production, etc.) please drop me a line.

Texas Conventions Lose an Unsung Hero

There are those of us in the convention scene here in Texas that seem to be everywhere.  Convention fixtures among whom I count myself.  Those of us who not only attend or sell at conventions but also have a presence that leaves a lasting impression.  You may not know all of these folks by name, but you know the people of which I speak.  And one of these folks simply can’t be missed in a crowd – PurrKayla!  If you have attended conventions in the Dallas/Fort Worth area especially (as well as Austin’s Wizard World incarnations) you have undoubtedly seen our favorite feline super-hero.  And you may well have met Tom as well, her husband, assistant in super-heroics, and constant companion.

On Friday, March 22, 2013 I received the sad news that Tom had passed away.  I have had the privilege to have known Tom and PurrKayla for a number of years now.  And further to have, in some small way, been a part of launching the very public convention presence they shared.   If you ever met or saw PurrKayla at a convention you would never forget her.  She loves conventions, fandom, and above all the kids to whom she is the most approachable super-hero in the world.  And you likely saw or even met Tom, her unassuming number one fan, ever just outside of the spotlight because that is where he preferred to be.  He was not PurrKayla’s sidekick so much as the Alfred to her Batman, the Jarvis to her Avengers – always there for whatever is needed.

There is another hero with whom I am most familiar, the Mighty Placeholder.  He is most often seen at All-Con and is known as “the hero’s hero”.  I feel that convention goers need to know there was another hero’s hero, the hero to not only PurrKayla but  to all of us who strive to enhance and celebrate the richly diverse convention scene.  His name was Tom. 

He was the hero behind the hero, the star behind the star.  And all of us who frequent conventions in Texas, especially in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, owe him a debt of gratitude. 

Farewell my friend.

Cole “JediCole Houston

March 28, 2013

Fun With Deadpool in April

From the very first convention I ever attended, a small hotel show put on by Duncanville Bookstore back in the early 80s, I have been silly for conventions.  As an attendee, a vendor, a panelist, an emcee, and even a producer, I have had a history with the Texas convention scene that spans three decades.  And even with all of that history I can still be taken by surprise when someone in the convention community reaches out to me.  Thus was the case when Chris of North Texas Comic Book Shows asked if I might be interested in moderating a panel discussion on the Marvel anti-hero Deadpool!

Needless to say the answer was yes!  Very interested, indeed.  And while Deadpool is not a character who’s exploits I have followed, I have moderated discussions with a lot less to go on at the outset.  And this is more than just the character in the mix.  Deadpool artist Carlo Barberi and Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth writer Victor Gischler will be guests of the next North Texas Comic Book Show on Saturday, April 13, 2013 in Dallas.  If you are planning to attend be sure to check out the panel as I talk all things Deadpool with two of the folks behind making him one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Universe! 

But there is so much more!  The North Texas Comic Book Show consistently brings you a variety of dealers selling comic books, action figures, Hot Wheels, original art, toys, and collectibles.  You never know what you will find at this show.  And they always have some fun surprises in store.  Stay tuned for more as we get a bit closer to April.  I hope to see you there!

All-Con 2013: Have You Ever Wondered What Monopoly Would Be Like If It Was Fun?

So if you were wondering what that cash-clutching baby in the top hat was all about (and what it had to do with the JediCole Universe) then your answer is now here.  As part of ongoing, cross-website pre-show coverage of All-Con 2013, the following is an explanation and more.

This intrepid little fellow is the official mascot for Life Isn’t Fair Monopoly, a variation on the game created by Mrs. JediCole nearly a decade ago.  After thorough play-testing it was brought to All-Con 2007 with scheduled open play on Friday night.  While the game attracted only a handful of players the first night, word of mouth insured a much larger group the next night.  And while there was nothing scheduled for Sunday, she was tracked down by some of her repeat players and an impromptu game was played at the hotel bar!

Needless to say, Life Isn’t Fair Monopoly has been a much-anticipated aspect of All-Con ever since.  With such elements as Welfare, dependant children, and a lottery, this truly is Monopoly if it was fun to play.  Each player starts the game with property and going to jail has a few twists of its own, including potentially framing another player!  You can go from rags to riches to rags during the course of a game of LIF Monopoly, something that would never happen in traditional game play.

If you are attending All-Con 2013, be sure to be a part of this long running tradition.  Mrs. JediCole will be hosting up to three separate boards (Veteran Player and New Player boards plus one additional as back up should the crowd exceed last year’s turn-out) on Friday and Saturday night.  Be sure to sign up each day as there are only eight players per board each night and those chairs fill up quickly.

Life Isn’t Fair Monopoly*

Presented by Catherine “Mrs. JediCole” Houston

All-Con 2013

Friday 11 PM – 2 AM in the Maple Room

Saturday 11 PM – 2 AM in the Maple Room

*Life Isn’t Fair Monopoly is open to all paid attendees of All-Con 2013 (up to 24 players over three boards).  Preregistration on the sign up sheet outside the Maple Room is highly recommended.  Unclaimed chairs will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Want to Attend Staple! For Free? Then Tell Me Why

Late this week the details of Staple! The Independent MediaExpo (along with an interview with the founder) will appear on this very website.  In the mean time I would like to give you the opportunity to attend this amazing event for free!  “Uncle Staple” was goodly enough to forward a pair of passes to the show (held March 2-3, 2013 in Austin, Texas) to share with those who frequent this site.  Now I just need to find them a new home!

If you are able to attend Staple! next weekend then please send me an email and briefly explain why you should get the free passes.  I will look over all of the entries and choose the most compelling explanation as the winner.  The lucky recipient will be notified by email and the passes will be mailed right away.  Please be sure to be able to reply to your email promptly so I can get the tickets to you in time should you win, or include a mailing address with your entry to save some time. 

This contest will close on Friday, February 22, 2013 at 12 PM Central (so as to be able to get the tickets in the mail as soon as possible).  Use “Send Me to Staple” in the subject of your email so I know it is not spam.  I look forward to reading the reasons why you should go to Staple! 

Find a Little Bit of Everything at G.A.T.O. Con This Weekend

This very weekend the campus of Texas A&M - Kingsville will play host to G.A.T.O. Con!

This convention brings gaming and anime fandom together with a variety of other genres under one roof.  From cosplay to sci-fi to just about anything that interests fans, G.A.T.O. Con continues a fine tradition of filling a weekend with fun.  

But don't just take my word for it.  Here is what Cory, founder of this convention, had to say in a recent interview...

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The Fine Details
G.A.T.O. Con 
February 16-17, 2013
Saturday: 9 AM - 11 PM
Sunday: 9 AM - 8 PM

Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Memorial Student Union Building
700 University Boulevard
Kingsville, TX

Admission:
Both Days - $30.00
Saturday - $20.00
Sunday - $15.00
$10 per day discount with TAMUK, military, or high school ID.  Children 10 and under accompanied by parent or guardian are free.