Photo by Jon Anderson
Madalyn Cohron, a fiction librarian at the Hoover Public Library, was the emcee for the costume contest at the 2017 Sci Fi Fantasy Fest at the library. She was dressed as the Death character from the "Sandman" graphic novel.
The Hoover Public Library this weekend is bringing back the in-person version of the Sci-Fi Fantasy Fest for the first time in five years.
2019 was the last time people physically came to the library to celebrate science fiction and fantasy on this scale. The festival went virtual in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was no festival held at all the last two years after the previous main organizer left the library staff.
“We’re excited to bring it back,” said Justin Rogers, a digital librarian who is serving as a co-chairman for this year’s event. “It’s going to be great with a whole lot of stuff to do. … A lot of people are really happy we’re bringing it back.”
The festival will take place Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s free and open to the public. People are encouraged to come dressed in their favorite science fiction or fantasy attire, but costumes are not required.
One of the highlights of the festival will be the popular costume contest, which is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Anyone who wants to be in it should arrive in front of the Library Theatre by 2 p.m. for instructions.
There will be a variety of activities throughout the day, including panel discussions with notables such as John Anderson, an actor and comedian from Birmingham who played a ravager in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” and has had appearances in “Black Panther,” “Sleepy Hollow” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
Another panelist is Joe Crowe, a Fultondale resident who serves as a co-director for Dragon Con in Atlanta and general manager at Spartan Wrestling.
Anderson and Crowe are taking part in a “Nerds in Space” panel discussion that covers everything from “Star Trek” to “Star Wars,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Dune,” Rick and Morty,” “Dr. Who,” “Battlestar Galactica” and “Firefly.”
At 4 p.m., there will be an interactive screening of “The Princess Bride,” a 1987 fairy tale movie, done in the style of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” interactive screenings, with people shouting out lines and acting certain scenes out in the Library Theatre. People on stage will be guiding the audience on what to do, such as raising inflatable swords at key times, Rogers said.
Ritual Trend Beauty will conduct a cosplay makeup demonstration at 3:30 p.m., and there will be Mario Speed Run video game competitions at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to see who can get through a particular Mario Brothers course the fastest.
For kids, there will be a Camp Half-Blood at 10 a.m. with crafts and activities based on the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” TV series.
There will be two sessions for people who are new to the “Dungeons and Dragons” tabletop fantasy game at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., with limited seating., and there will be retro video games from all generations in the teen department and board games available for play all day on the Library Plaza, Rogers said.
For those who like art, there will be a place on the Plaza all day where instructors will explain how to paint a mini-galaxy with watercolors. There also will be a sci-fi used book sale happening all day in the Library Theatre lobby.
For a complete schedule of activities, go to the Sci-Fi Fantasy Fest Facebook page.
