Ravagers, villians and zombies, oh my: Sci Fi Fantasy Fest returns to Hoover library

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Science fiction and fantasy lovers who didn’t get their fill at the Magic City Con at the beginning of this month have another chance to revel in the sci-fi fantasy world this weekend at the Hoover Public Library.

The library and Kingdom Comics in Vestavia Hills are putting on the third annual Sci Fi Fantasy Fest this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the library and Hoover Senior Center.

“It’s a celebration of science fiction, fantasy and geeky pop culture,” said Krysten Griffin, a fiction librarian who is chairwoman of the festival, which last year drew more than 2,100 people. “It’s like a big party.”

The free event includes sessions on gaming, TV and media, Star Wars, Star Trek, cosplay, writing, comics and the paranormal. One of the highlights is a costume contest at 8 p.m. Saturday, with registration at 6 p.m. Last year’s costume contest had about 30-40 participants, Griffin said. Cosplay panelists and past winners serve as judges, she said.

A special guest this year is John Anderson, an actor and comedian from Birmingham who landed a role as a ravager in the recently released “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” Anderson also appeared in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “The Case for Christ,” “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” “MacGyver,” “Being Mary Jane” and Tyler Perry’s “Too Close to Home.”

Anderson is scheduled to participate in two panel discussions on Saturday, one in which he and other ravagers from the “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2” movie discuss the film and one about the differences between Marvel and DC comics. He also will have a table in the vendor room to sign autographs and meet fans.

Other guests at this year’s festival include three members of a Dungeons and Dragons podcast called “Sneak Attack!” They are Reid Alt, Kelsey Lorimer and Joshua Lorimer. They are scheduled to participate in four Saturday panels related to either podcasting or Dungeons & Dragons and also will be available for a meet-and-greet session Friday night.

This year’s festival also includes a KidCon from 10:30 a.m. to a little after noon, featuring programs designed specifically for children 12 and younger. The KidCon ends with a costume parade.

Also on Saturday, there will be a prop building contest, in which participants have three minutes to rummage through a huge pile of junk and pick out items to make a prop with hot glue, zip ties and tape, Griffin said. Festival goers will vote on the winner, she said.

A highlight on Sunday are two chainmalle workshops in which participants ages 14 and older will be taught how to create a sheet of chainmaille. A chainmaille is a type of armour made of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. The cost is $10 per person. Each participant will receive pliers and steel rings to make one sheet of chainmaille. Space is limited, and the workshops are almost full, Griffin said.

Throughout the weekend, there will be a breakout room (the Linda Andrews Reading Room in the Library Plaza) in which teams of people work to solve puzzles and try to “break out” of the room within 45 minutes. There also will be open gaming and a demo room throughout the weekend at the Senior Center and an Artemis spaceship bridge simulator in the library training center.

Some of the session titles for the festival include “Harry Potter vs. Star Wars,” “How to break into the industry,”  “Ghost hunting 101,” Becoming a game creator,” “How to create an effective villain,” “What it really takes to raise $20K on Kickstarter” and “Dead Men Walking: The Walking Dead.”

Hours for the festival are 7-11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 2-6 p.m. Sunday.

Read more about John Anderson and Sneak Attack! here, and see the complete schedule for the festival here.