Saturday saw Isle of Wight video gaming and cosplay fans head to Cowes Enterprise College for the very first ‘Pop Goes the Culture’ event.
The day-long stage show – the pilot for a full-on gaming convention – saw people of all ages play Mario Kart on an 8m screen for some fantastic prizes.
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The free event was incredibly popular, with 275 tickets that were released when the event was first announced being snapped up within 15 hours, and the extra 50 tickets that were later released, gone in less than ten minutes.
High level of enthusiasm
OnTheWight popped along at the end of the day to grab a chat with host, Alex Watts (of Alex Watts Blog), and find out how it all came about and what we can expect in the coming year (listen below).
Alex explained the day had seen a variety of challenges, including the Bird Box Challenge which saw four young people up on stage having to the play the first level of Mario Kart blindfolded!
As well as many fabulous cosplay outfits, those taking part also got to meet the Isle of Wight’s latest real life superhero, the Wight Knight.
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When we arrived, the young video gaming enthusiasts were still battling it out on the enormous 8m screen, whilst the carefully-chosen traders were packing down after what was expected to be a fruitful day.
Podcast with Alex
Alex explains his motivation for putting on the event and where he and others want to take it over the coming year, including details of the Elite programme.
Click the play button to listen to the interview
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Organisers and sponsors
The event was hosted and organised by Alex with the help of Matt Greg of Nosy Design, Martin Hall of Big Screen Media and Jonathan Thornton of PC Consultants.
Wightfibre and Heroes Comics and Collectables both supported the event with sponsorship of prizes.
Well done to you all – we look forward to hearing about the next event once plans are firmed up!
Article edit
11.32am 12th Jul 2024 – Changed source of audio
