Over the past month, citizens might have noticed a curious and massive statue of famed Transformer and Autobot leader Optimus Prime in downtown Oklahoma City. The monolith does not signal end times or herald the arrival of Galactus, Eater-of-Worlds. The figure, on loan from G&M Body Shop in Stillwater, sets the stage for the metro’s inaugural Geekinomicon Sept. 2-4 at Cox Convention Center, 1 Myriad Gardens.
Oklahoma has seen a growing demand for pop culture conventions over the past few years with events such as SUPER! BitCon gaming expo held annually at State Fair Park and Tulsa’s Wizard World Comic Con.
Geekinomicon, however, is probably the first event of its size to be held in Oklahoma City, according to Tyler Rigney, Geek Expos media relations manager.
He said the convention also celebrates “its maiden voyage” in OKC and credited Mayor Mick Cornett’s office for recognizing the metro’s sizable “nerdy” population and working alongside Geek Expos to make the convention happen.
“They have recently done some major improvements to cater to their athletic and outdoorsy demographics with the Riversport district and want to do the same for their geeky community,” Rigney said. “That desire, with the desire for us to provide a con for geeks by geeks combined to make a beautiful and very symbiotic relationship.”
He also thanked the city for helping make the process of bringing the convention to OKC “as smooth and simple” as possible.
“The reason we chose OKC is because we met with the municipality and they were very receiv[ing] to the idea of their city having a convention of their own,” Rigney said. “The mayor is very progressive and understood that every large city has a con of their own and [Oklahoma City] should have one too. The city has been so helpful and supportive of us.”
Geekinomicon hosts a number of con staples, including a vendor floor, cosplay, attractions such as a life-size replica of a Star Wars Rancor and opportunities to meet and hear celebrities involved in nearly every facet of pop culture.
Rigney said featured guests are selected through a variety of means, typically by assessing which fandoms are popular or have been dormant long enough to warrant a resurgence.
This year’s celebrity guest list features Greg Grunberg (Heroes, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Adrianne Palicki (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), John Noble (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and many more.
“The end goal is to have enough interest spread across the board that multiple generations can all find something to enjoy,” Rigney said.
He said the convention also serves as the first reunion of the Doctor Who made-for-TV movie cast.
The 1996 film stared Paul McGann as the eighth iteration of The Doctor, Eric Roberts as The Master and Daphne Ashbrook as Grace Holloway.
Rigney said all three are scheduled to attend.
“A pop culture convention is essentially a place to let loose and have fun,” Rigney said. “You will almost always see some crazy new thing you never knew existed. All in all, a pop culture convention is an adventure. You never know what to expect.”
Visit geekexpos.com/geekinomicon-oklahoma-city for more informaton.
Print headline: Con artists, Geekinomicon celebrates pop culture with its inaugural convention Sept. 2-4 at Cox Convention Center.
