Kamcon 2022
Charting the Future of Fandom in Kamloops
On October 28th, the holy grail of all things nerdy in Kamloops, Kamcon, returned for their third annual in-person event, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. This local con, founded in 2018, has a wide range of booths from local vendors to sell their nerd-culture-inspired products and art, and plentiful activities for attendees to check out. The convention ran from Friday, Oct. 28 to Sunday, Oct. 30, with the first day being set aside for vendors and booths to get set up.
The first day, commonly known as the “pre-party,” took place in the evening and included Dungeons and Dragons games for the vendors and presenters and a live show. The other two days are chock-full of educational panels about a wide range of vaguely nerd-culture-related topics related to board and tabletop games, and even a Super Smash Bros Ultimate tournament for attendees to test their might.
Tyler Carpentier and his friends rolled natural 20s for initiative when they founded Kamcon in 2018. They were sitting around their gaming table, and when the idea of starting a con came up, they went all in on creating a crucial event for Kamloops’ thriving nerd communities. Now, In 2022, Kamcon has emerged triumphant for its third returning year, with smaller offshoot events planned throughout the year until the next main convention. When asked about their demographic so far, Carpentier said it has been wildly diverse, which was to be expected.
“There’s no one simple demographic, it reaches out to just about everybody. Everybody loves gaming and having fun,” Carpentier said. “Most people are passionate about this and you want to make a difference.”
Even while supervising the setup and organizing booths, Carpentier spoke with passion about ensuring the event continues to be as accessible and inclusive as possible.
“We wanted to make sure that not only did an event like this exist but that we can make sure it’s a safe place for everybody to come to learn,” he said.
However, Kamcon wasn’t always as extensive of an event as it is today. It started with just role-playing games, but very quickly expanded into board games, card games, video games, and other tabletop games. This year the convention was even attended by a local virtual reality company with an interactive display, allowing attendees to try their hand at all kinds of virtual experiences.
Kamcon 2022 also included anime showings, a cosplay contest for attendees and vendors alike, and a Dungeons and Dragons style improv comedy show from local improv troupe the Freudian Slips rounded out the afternoon of the 29th. Dan Ondang, creative director of the Freudian Slips, spoke highly of Kamcon and the environment it offers.
“So Kamcon is like, you live in this town, and there’s maybe not a ton of people that are enormous dorks like me. Then you come to an event like this and you realize you’re home,” said Ondang. “All of my people are here, everybody who likes nerdy junk as I do is here… It’s great, it’s just so freeing.”
The improv group’s ties to Kamcon are deep ones, as they performed at the first-ever iteration of the event. Not coincidentally, their improv Dungeons and Dragons show which has become a regular staple for the troupe, was conceived at the inaugural Kamcon.
“We do two shows a month, one of them is improv Dungeons and Dragons and one of them is just regular improv comedy,” he explained, “It’s pretty much half of what we do!”
When asked about what kind of people Kamcon could potentially appeal to, both Ondang and Carpentier had welcoming recommendations for any person with any level of interest in “nerd culture” to come to check out the next one.
“It’s nerdy, but it’s not exclusionary,” said Ondang, “but I think it’s for huge nerds as well.” Echoing Carpentier’s earlier sentiment.
“If you’re looking to get your first exposure to nerd culture, it’s great because it’s accessible.”
Talking about the future of the convention, Carpentier is confident that the potential is still not quite realized, and wants to keep growing it. “This year is the first year since the pandemic started, we’ve waited three years to get back to an in-person event. And we’re excited to use this as a launching point towards 2023 and future years.
To stay in the loop about news and events from Kamcon and The Freudian Slips, follow their Facebook pages.