Pro wrestlers join the mix at 2019 Magic City Con
The Magic City Con science fiction, gaming and cosplay convention has an expanded guest list for its fifth year, including two professional wrestlers.
That may seem like an odd combination, but a lot of people who are into science fiction and animated series also are wrestling fans, said Rita Houston, one of two owners and coordinators for the convention.
So when the werewolves, X-Men, Dragon Ballers, and The Walking Dead and Star Wars characters roll into the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel on June 21-23, you’ll also find wrestlers Dustin Rhodes and Al Snow right there with them.
Other featured guests coming include Jason Douglas, who played Tobin on four seasons of “The Walking Dead” and who appears as Satan on AMC’s comic book adaptation “Preacher,” and Booboo Stewart, who played the werewolf Seth Clearwater in “The Twilight Saga” and Warpath in “X-Men: Days of Future Past.”
Then there will be Rafael Sbarge, who has appeared in dozens of movies, including “Risky Business,” “My Science Project,” “Independence Day,” “Pearl Harbor” and “Vision Quest” and had regular or recurring roles in TV series such as “Once Upon a Time,” “Murder in the First,” “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Dexter.”
Another featured guest is Erik Stolhanske, a member of the Broken Lizard comedy group who probably is best known for playing Rabbit in the “Super Troopers” comedy movie.
Those are just a few of the 19 special guests listed on the Magic City Con website.
There also will be groups such as the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club, whose members dress in costumes similar to the Boba Fett bounty hunter character in the “Star Wars” movies.
Other groups scheduled to attend include the Alabama Ghostbusters, the Alabama garrison of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers and Shout Out World, a group of podcasters and YouTubers from the Birmingham area.
One of the most popular parts of the Magic City Con is the cosplay costume contest, which usually has a couple hundred contestants, Houston said.
This year, for the second time, there also will be a swimsuit cosplay contest, where people dress up like various fictional characters would if they were going swimming, she said. That contest is held at the hotel pool and focuses on the creativity of the outfit and not on physical form, she said.
The convention will have numerous panel discussions featuring the wrestlers, actors and other special guests, as well as a podcasting workshop, game show trivia session, karaoke event and dance-off.
There will be a KidCon on Saturday morning, with programming designed specifically for children, including Jedi training and how to collect bounties. The Ghostbusters will teach how to make slime, and kids also can create and build their own board games and card games, play “kid-friendly” video games, participate in a Fortnite dance-off and play in a Harry Potter Tri-Wizard tournament.
The Mandalorian Mercs also are holding a breakfast on Sunday morning for the first 50 children who register for it.
A group called Extra Life will run a video game lounge and hold video game tournaments, raising money for Children’s of Alabama hospital. There also will be a room for tabletop and role-playing games and 44 artists and vendors selling everything from comic books to vintage toys and games, tabletop games, collectible figurines, Pokemon items, Japanese items, jewelry and various pop culture items.
About 5,000 people from 44 states and two foreign countries attended last year’s Magic City Con, Houston said. The event takes up all the hotel’s convention space, and “we just about sell out the hotel every year,” she said.
2nd & Charles is the primary sponsor for the convention. Hours are noon-8 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
Three-day passes cost $37.50 for ages 12 and older and $26.25 for children ages 6-11 and military members. One-day passes cost $26.25 for Friday, $32 for Saturday and $21 for Sunday. Online sales end June 17. Adult weekend passes will increase to $40 at the door. All other prices will remain the same at the door.
To order tickets or see more information, go to magiccitycon.com.