Central Texas College is hosting its 8th annual GeekFest this weekend.
GeekFest is a celebration of all things geek.
"This is kind of a place where people come to feel comfortable and feel like they fit in. They might go all year not wanting to socialize or not feeling comfortable in other situations, but they look forward to GeekFest," co-founded of GeekFest Jennifer Hetzel said.
"I love Harry Potter, and really, it's the only place I can actually my robes without like seeming weird," 11-year-old Harry Potter and GeekFest lover Erin Smith said.
The weekend-long event was created when Hetzel, as a Central Texas College Student Ambassador, was brainstorming for a creative fundraiser.
"We were brainstorming and kind of came up with the idea of doing a movie screening with a few vendors, and then eventually, that kind of turned into Geekfest... each year it's grown to what it is today," Hetzel added.
What is it today? Anything and everything geek... from table-top games to video games, live re-enactments to trivia... GeekFest has all that and more... like costumes.. lots and lots of costumes.
"It gives a very casual kind of introduction into the whole cos-play thing," David Mervin a.k.a. Capt. Jack Sparrow said.
David Mervin has been working on his Captain Jack Sparrow outfit and persona since he was a student at Central Texas College, and he's been coming to GeekFest for the past five years.
"You meet people that inspire you to do better, and ten and a half months and way too much money later, that's where I'm at now... about sixty percent done with my revamp," Mervin added.
Hetzel and the rest of the GeekFest staff are already looking forward to next year's event, and this year's isn't even over yet!
"The con's definitely getting better and better each year. So, I'm interested to see how they improve it next year because they keep learning, keep adding, expanding the repertoire," Mervin said.
The fun picks back up Sunday at noon and lasts until 6 p.m.
News Channel 25 is a proud sponsor of GeekFest.
Copyright 2017 KXXV. All rights reserved.
