F.A.C.T.S. 2013
F.A.C.T.S. is one of the most popular sci-fi, comic and anime festival in the Benelux and this year was even more special. This event has been held for 20 years now and for celebrating this occasion, the organisation went all out to please the visitors.
There was a lot of publicity made this year and you could definitely see this when you looked at the queue. The attendance was enormous but you didn’t have to wait too long. The event was situated in one main area and the more special activities were held in the second, smaller hall. This set-up was very good because the audience that was more interested in the clubs or cosplay competition was redirected to this smaller part. There were quite some cosplayers present this year (even me 😉 ), all with marvelous costumes. Next to the familiar cosplay competition, you also got the chance to participate in a photo-shoot with your outfit.
When entering the main lobby, it was quite obvious that there were A LOT of shops and booths that were linked with sci-fi, anime or comics. The available goodies from the different distributors were high quality, but quality comes with a price. Some of the items were sometimes overpriced but still nice to look at of course. When you were tired from the long walk in the hall, you got the possibility to sit down on the different seats or benches available across the area. If you wanted to munch something while venturing F.A.C.T.S., there were several food and drink stands on the scene. It was also possible to bring your own food of course.
This wasn’t the only delight there was to explore. Game developers, martial arts and several famous cartoonists were present as well and were happy to give free goodies or more information about their sport or products. You got the possibility to try the new Assassins Creed on the PS4 console, play some board games or enter the Game Mania bus for some Diablo 3.
F.A.C.T.S. didn’t only offer loads of sci-fi delight, but also actors from several popular series or movies. Some big names were Iain Glen from ‘Game of Thrones’, Michael Shanks from ‘Stargate SG1’ or Manu Bennett from the Spartacus-series. Meeting a celebrity is the dream of a lot of people but it comes with a price. You had to wait (sometimes) for quite some time and when you finally came in contact with your beloved star, you had to pay for his or her autograph. The amount you had to pay was individual but it was approximately between 25 and 50 euro.
I have to admit, my first time F.A.C.T.S. was splendid. The diversity of items, activities, guests and cosplayers was a very nice mix and it really was a good combination. You never got bored and there was always something new to discover. The only minor remark I can find is the overcrowding at some points. F.A.C.T.S. was hyped a lot, which led to loads of visitors. This might be something I experienced as overwhelming, but it didn’t spoil the fun! This will be an event I will definitely attend next year.
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