Use Your Imagination

If the acronym RPG connotes something other than “rocket propelled grenade,” you’re probably psyched for this weekend’s ConQuesT Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention. Professional RPGers (role-playing gamers) and LARPers (live action role-playing gamers) flock to the event, as do anime diehards who partake in Cosplay (dressing up in costumes). The 39th-annual convention — sponsored by the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society — also features sci-fi writing workshops, a fantasy art show, LAN gaming, a masquerade ball and appearances by sci-fi luminaries such as Joe Lansdale (the author of Bubba Ho-Tep) and horror novelist William Mark Simmons. It’s a geek-out paradise: a social network that was united by Star Trek long before the dawn of MySpace and Facebook. A three-day pass to this weekend’s brouhaha at the Hilton Kansas City Airport Hotel (8801 Northwest 112th Street, 816-891-8900) costs $55 for adults or $27.50 for children ages 6-12. Learn more at conquestkc.org.

May 23-25, 2008