Attending to a Pokémon fan event... is it worthwhile?

[Gabo2oo]

Hello... you see, I'm not very good at this stuff so I believe I could ask here for opinions...

This weekend, a big convention for Pokémon fans across the country called Pokémon Day Chile will be held where I live. It's an annual event where different activities are done, such as tournaments, cosplay contests, etc. There are also a lot of stands where you can buy stuff that you couldn't find easily otherwise. This year there's even going to be a Team Rocket-themed cafe.

Never in my life have I went to a thing like this, and I thought I might as well go and check it out. The thing is, I have no one to go with me... I mean, I have only one other friend that's interested in Pokémon enough to go, but he isn't available. I'm kinda troubled because you always see people gathering together in this kind of stuff, and for me it looks like something it'd be nice to attend with a group of friends, but I'm not sure if it works when you go on your own.

I've seen someone else asking and they're telling him things such as "don't you worry, you meet lots of nice people there!", but I'm not a very outgoing person so I don't think it's that simple.

So I want to ask... what would you do in a situation like this? Do you think it would be worthwhile to go by myself?

 

[Silverwynde]

I would go ahead and attend.

When I went to my first BotCon in 1999, I only knew a few people from online and mostly via email. The only person who would attend with me was my mother, which was a little embarrassing. However, I smiled and chatted with a lot of the people I met; since we had a common interest/hobby it wasn't so hard breaking the ice! I've made a lot of friends just by saying "Hi, I love that shirt! Where did you find that?" And before you ask, I am not all that outgoing at all. My poor husband has been utterly shocked to see me start chatting with a total stranger in an autograph line. (I'm not kidding about that; he's actually had his jaw fall open a couple of times!)

It's been the same at the few Pokemon events I've attended. I smile, say hello and pretty easily make new friends. I find it easier to chat with someone at an event like that because we have a shared interest, so it makes starting a conversation a lot simpler.

If you do go, bring your camera/smart phone and take tons of pictures. Just crowd watching at an event like that can be loads of fun. Oh and money, bring money because you'll want to grab a couple of neat souvenirs. Good luck and have fun!