IFConVictoria 2015 brings fantasy to Victoria

Update: This event has been cancelled.

Halloween is a very special time of year, when the veil between the spirit world and our world parts and all the ghosts, candy fairies, and costume-shop owners slip through. Bill Code and his team thought that this would be an excellent time of year to put on a fantasy convention; after all, everyone’s already in costume.

Code has been involved in many conventions and has been a fan of all things fantasy, superheroes, and sci-fi since he was 12. He’s determined to make IFConVictoria 2015 (the IF stands for Island Fantasy) exactly what his childhood self dreamed of.

“I decided, you know what? You can’t do anything small; you’ve got to go big or go home. That’s why IFCon is on such a large scale,” says Code. “There are a lot of systems to be put in place. Not only are you doing the bookings, you’ve got to do the setups, the movie room, Q&As, costume contests, exhibitions, all the insurance; putting on an event this size is a lot of work.”

All the work that’s been put into IFCon over the past 16 months is worth it to Code. The event will feature a pile of celebrity guests, from The X-Files’ Smoking Man to TV’s Buck Rogers. Other guests have been feature on shows including The 100, Flash, and Continuum.

“We have an Addams Family panel, we have two different Power Rangers panels, we have a science fiction panel, we have a fantasy panel, we have an armour workshop, we have exclusive showings of R-rated horror movies, we have a paintball zombie shooting range,” says Code. “Just a whole bunch of different things that assure there will always be something to do.”

There are a lot of expenses involved in putting on an event like IFCon, but this hasn’t deterred the convention’s team from creating the best and biggest show they can. And they’re not just working to entertain the public at largeŃthe proceeds are going to help a very worthy cause.

“This event is completely for the BC Children’s Hospital, so everyone who’s working on it is doing so on a volunteer basis, myself included,” Code explains. “It’s all going to the kids.”

As it turns out, helping out children is a top priority for Code.

“I’m big on the kids,” he says. “I’ve got a one-year-old granddaughter that’s my love and joy. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I just think there are a lot of underprivileged and sick children, and the BC Children’s Hospital, I think, spends money more wisely than other charities.”

IFCon Victoria 2015
October 31 and November 1
$45 for weekend pass, Pearkes Rec Centre
ifconvictoria.com