Multigenre Fan Convention Pyrkon (pol. ''Festiwal Fantastyki Pyrkon'') (commonly known as Pyrkon) is a Polish

fan convention Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...

held annually in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

on the first weekend after the spring equinox and dedicated to an integration of

Science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

and a promotion of science-fiction/

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

literature,

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

, film, television,

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

, RPG,

LARP A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique feature ...

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...

s and

miniature wargaming Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming in which military units are represented by miniature physical models on a model battlefield. The use of physical models to represent military units is in contrast to other tabletop wargames that use ...

. Pyrkon is the biggest event of this type in Poland and one of the biggest in Europe (over 55,000 people in 2022).

History

Pyrkon has been held by the Second Age Science Fiction Club (''Klub Fantastyki "Druga Era"'') every year since 2000, except 2005 when they held

Polcon Polcon is the oldest Poland, Polish speculative fiction Convention (meeting), convention, organized each year in a different place by the local speculative fiction Club (organization), club. The Janusz A. Zajdel Award is awarded during the conven ...

. (In 2011 they organised both Pyrkon and Polcon.) Pyrkon has been a non-profit convention from its beginning, and all organizers, lecturers and

gofer A gofer, go-fer or gopher is an employee who specializes in the delivery of special items to their superior(s). Examples of these special items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, or a car. Outside of the business world, the term ...

s are volunteers. Initially Pyrkon was held at the Dębiec district of

in the following places
Elementary School nr 21 in Poznań
000–2010br>Gymnasium nr 42 in Poznań
008–2010br>Cezamet Hotel
008–2010br>High and Technical Schools Complex nr 19 in Poznań
010Due to the increasing number of visitors, in 2011 the convention moved to the present location, the

Poznań International Fair The Poznań International Fair (PIF, pl, Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie, MTP) is the biggest industrial fair in Poland. It is held on the Poznań fairground in Poland. Poznań International Fair is located in the centre of the city opposite ...

and the

Liceum ogólnokształcące A general education liceum (Polish: ''Liceum ogólnokształcące'' ) is an academic high school in the Education in Poland, Polish educational system. They are attended by those who plan to further their academic education upon graduation from Educa ...

nr 2 in Poznań (''Liceum Ogólnokształcące nr 2 w Poznaniu''). On 6 March 1999, Second Age organised "Science Fiction Day" in the "Sun" District House of Culture in the Przyjaźni (Polish for ''friendship'') district in Poznań.Program of "The Day with Science Fiction"
/ref> It was the direct predecessor of Pyrkon. The tradition of holding Pyrkon on the first weekend after the spring equinox started in 2006. Usually it is also the weekend when

Daylight saving time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time or simply daylight time (United States, Canada, and Australia), and summer time (United Kingdom, European Union, and others), is the practice of advancing clocks (typicall ...

begins – participants are informed in a convention guide book and on posters of the need to adjust their timepieces.

Etymology

According to one theory, the name "Pyrkon" comes from the 10th Book of Pausanias' "Guide to Ancient Greece", where he quotes "Eumolpia", a

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

poem attributed to Musaios, a son of Antiophemos, which states that

Delphic Sibyl image:Michelangelo - Delphic Sibyl.jpg, Michelangelo's rendering of the Delphic Sibyl on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel The Delphic Sibyl was a woman who was a prophet associated with early religious practices in Ancient Greece and is said to ...

belonged to

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

and Gaia (Earth) in common, and that Gaia gave her oracles herself, but Poseidon used Pyrkon as his mouthpiece in giving responses. According to the other theory, the name "Pyrkon" is derived from ''pyra'' ("potato" in Poznań's

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

) and the suffix ''-kon'', which is added to names of all Polish fan conventions.

Program

Main Attractions

Pyrkon's goals are realized in * meetings and discussion panels with science fiction and fantasy authors * meetings with books and games publishers * thematic lectures related to all spheres of science fiction * popular science lectures, especially about

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, history,

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and

cultural studies Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...

* RPG sessions and LARP-s * lending

s (Games Room) * lending old video games * board games,

s and

tournaments * demonstrations and premieres of board games, collectible card games, miniature wargaming and video games * thematic competitions with prizes * cosplay contest with prizes - The Masquerade

Other Attractions

The following also take place on Pyrkon: * concerts * fighting shows * fireshows * dancing shows and lessons *

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

and

DDR DDR or ddr may refer to: *ddr, ISO 639-3 code for the Dhudhuroa language *DDr., title for a double doctorate in Germany *DDR, station code for Dadar railway station, Mumbai, India *' (German Democratic Republic), official name of the former East ...

contests
Pyrkon Dance

Program Sections

Attractions (lectures, discussion panels, meetings with guests, contests, concerts etc.) on Pyrkon are divided into thematic sections. Most attractions are held in Polish. Pyrkon 2019 had 19 program sections, which are listed below: * Integration Section – integration section is a zone to meet new friends and participate in integration games. There, you can strengthen ties with already known people, but also meet other participants with similar passions * Film Section – lectures about films and film-making, amateur film shows, lessons of creating YouTube content * Computer Games Section – computer games contests and tournaments, lectures about game design, creating

Let's Play A Let's Play (LP) is a video (or screenshots accompanied by text) documenting the playthrough of a video game, often including commentary and/or a camera view of the gamer's face. A Let's Play differs from a video game walkthrough or strateg ...

* Literature Section – lectures and discussion panels about science-fiction and fantasy literature and meetings with authors * Science Section – popular science lectures * RPG Section – lessons on making good role-play sessions, presentations of new RPG systems, meetings with role-playing games creators * LARP Section – LARP games, contest for best LARP on Pyrkon, presentations of LARP systems, lectures about making LARP costumes, improving larping skills * Comics Section – lessons of comics drawing, meetings with comic book artists, lectures about comics * Manga & Anime Section – lessons of manga style drawing, lectures about Japanese comics, animation and culture in general * Contest Section – competitions about every part of pop culture * Board Games Section – Games Room – presentations of new board games, games' rules lessons, lending board games * Beginners' Section – short introductory lectures about every aspect of Fandom for beginners who have never visited any convention, played a board game, seen science-fiction film etc. * Kids' Section – science-fiction and fantasy related attractions for children younger than 10 years old * Exhibitions, Shows, Workshops – dance lessons and shows, concerts,

Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...

exhibitions etc. * Fantasium Suburbium - The zone in which villages created by participants are related to the world of fantasy. There are, among others, handicraft workshops or fight and dance shows. From the groups exhibiting there, participants can hear a bit about reconstruction, as well as learn a bit of the armor creation, sewing or jewelry making * Fantasium Creatium - A place where artists from all over the Poland exhibit their fantasy-related works. Both professional artists and beginners can submit their exhibitions. Inside the Fantasium Creatium there are, among others, science-fiction, fantasy, post-apocalyptic, handicraft and science zones * Fantasium Ludicrum - The block, which includes stage performances - concerts and shows - and film screenings. The Fantasium Ludicrum performed, among others, Percival Schuttenbach, actors of the Poznań Musical Theater, there was also a performance of the "Ark" of the Theater of the Eighth Day * Fantastic Initiatives Zone - The zone is intended for festival organizers and fantasy conventions from all over Poland. It serves as a place to meet, exchange experiences and make contacts with potential members of fantasy organizations. There are also smaller Polish fantasy events advertised there * The Masquerade - One of the highlights of the program during Pyrkon is The Masquerade cosplay competition. Its participants compete in the categories: Best Cosplay, Best Own Project, Best Group Presentation and Best Solo Presentation. The main prize is the Grand Prix. In addition, the 2019 The Masquerade winner received the right to compete in the Cosplay Champions competition. The condition for joining The Masquerade is to create your own costume. It can depict a character known from the world of fantasy, but it must be made by hand. Each participant presents his disguise first only to the jury, which assesses whether the cosplay was really created from scratch. The Masquerade is traditionally held at the Earth Hall - the largest hall located at the Poznań International Fair. Due to the limited number of seats in the audience and the great interest of the audience, the show is also displayed on a large screen at the Fair, as well as broadcast live on Pyrkon's social media channels.

Foreign guests

Time and place

Awards

* contest of "The Convention Guide-Book" Web Portal (''Informator Konwentowy''): "The Best Fan Convention of the Season"Convention Guide-Book: Convention of the Year/Season
** Pyrkon 2006 – 2nd place (Winter 2005/2006 edition) ** Pyrkon 2007 – 1st place (Winter 2006/2007 edition) * contest of "The Convention Guide-Book" Web Portal: "The Best Fan Convention of the Year" ** Pyrkon 2008 – 1st place * contest of "The Convention Guide-Book" Web Portal: "Fan's Choice" ** Pyrkon 2006 – 2nd place (Winter 2005/2006 edition) ** Pyrkon 2007 – 1st place (Winter 2006/2007 edition) ** Pyrkon 2008 – 1st place (Year 2008 edition) * plebiscite of "The Cathedral" Web Portal (''Katedra''): "Science Fiction" in category "The best fan convention or other SF mass event", in year 2012 simply "Event" ** Pyrkon 2007 – 1st place ** Pyrkon 2008 – 3rd place ** Pyrkon 2009 – 3rd place ** Pyrkon 2010 – 1st place ** Pyrkon 2011 – 1st place ** Pyrkon 2012 – 1st placeThe Cathedral – Science Fiction/Fantasy 2012 Plebiscite
/ref>

References

{{Reflist, 3 Festivals in Poland Science fiction conventions in Europe Polish science fiction Recurring events established in 1999 Spring (season) events in Poland