Friend of Fantha Tracks Paul Dunne travelled to Baltics Comic Con 2017 and sent back this event report.
I had an open mind going into the event, I knew the organisers had done their background work speaking to people at MCM London but could they pull it off, could the Baltics Comic Con 2017 be a success? is there a need in that part of the world, would they embrace all things Comic Con.
I went into this event in all levels. Agent, guest and experience as a promoter. With anticipation of what to expect the plane finally came into land at Vilinus Airport and the start of one of the most amazing adventures I have ever been on.
Not all Star Wars related, the guest list was Pam Betts from Return of the Jedi, Rony Bridges from The Force Awakens, Ian McElhinney of Game of Thrones and Rogue One, Dean Charles Chapman from Game of Thrones, Stefan Kapicic from Deadpool, Michael Winslow from Police Academy and finally Josh Herman from Harry Potter.
After being met at the airport, a welcome party and informational welcome speech with the promoter at the hotel included hand out of all schedules. This was an excellent start, it was explained to us that we had an English speaking liaison who would escort us for the full weekend, including the night time to take us where we wanted and make sure our stay was a pleasant one.
The morning of the event again we didn’t know what to expect but very pleasantly surprised. Entering the venue there was a full size X-wing, Batmobile and DeLorean, just a few of the full size props on show. They had 3 halls, the main hall featured most of the props and signing area, hall 2 again featured full size pros and stalls selling the usual comic con items and the hall 3 was the gaming zone with over 100 gaming machines that were free to play for the attendees, they even had a soft play area for the small children, it seemed like they had catered for everyone.
With a full opening ceremony and fully packed Q&A session and ticket sales over 10,000 this was a well organised and meticulous planned event. There were less attendees that came in cosplay and was unusual not to see Vader or any white armour but honestly think they will be there next year. Everybody had a great time and the guests couldn’t have been looked after any better.
On a final note hats off to Vainius Eiva and the rest of the team. This event was one any UK organiser would have been proud to have organised – you did build and they did come,. Looking forward to seeing what Baltics 2018 brings.