The first ever mini comic con in Pontypridd took place at the Muni Arts Centre on the 16th of June, attracting more than six hundred visitors through the door to enjoy a day of brilliant geeky fun! There was excitement and anticipation leading up to the event with social media followers hailing it as “the best thing ever’ ” and another “so excited something like this is actually happening in Ponty.”

Supported by the Your Pontypridd BID, the event featured various traders with unique gifts and various film, tv and comic memorabilia. Transparent Treasures described the day as “super amazing – we met some great people, made new friends, had a great laugh singing and dancing about in cosplay.” It was a great opportunity to get one of a kind Father’s Day gifts with lots of different items available including artwork by the four guest artists which included Simon Williams who has worked on several Panini UK titles and has drawn characters such as The Incredible Hulk and Spectacular Spiderman, GeekedFest also featured an exclusive appearance from Pontypridd couple Jason & Kat Cardy, Jason’s published works include Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spiderman and many more.

The Muni Gallery saw over three hundred visitors with TATL Gaming and A Better World running out of entry wristbands, having to borrow additional wristbands from the venue. For just £2 entry visitors to the Gallery could enjoy playing on a range of gaming consoles from PlayStation to Nintendo and much more. A Better World provided a range of board and strategy games which proved very popular with visitors with many spending hours enjoying the range of gaming fun.

Another highlight was the Costume Parade as the Cosplayers from all over the UK, some attending their first Comic Con braved the valleys weather to bring colour, smiles and a few frights to the town centre and Ynysangharad Park at lunch time.

They gathered at the fountain as the rain stopped, proving geeks bring the sunshine as the parade began. Residents, visitors, businesses all stopped to have selfies and photos with Batman, Bananaman, Thor, Game of Thrones Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo, Penny Wise, Deadpool and the Ghostbusters among the many on parade.

Local business had visits from Batman and two Storm Troopers to ensure Pontypridd’s allegiance to the Empire! The Costume and Play crew did a great job of guiding those in costume along the route and engaged with curious and excited spectators and the hundreds wanting photos to remember the day.

BID Manager Victoria Pulman said “This was my first Comic Con and it was an incredibly positive experience and I’ve definitely have the geek bug. It was great to see so many of our local businesses supporting the event and attending with their families which helped make it such as success.

I’m looking forward to continuing the excellent partnership with Geekedfest for as long as the BID continues”.

James Payne, Projects Officer for Your Pontypridd BID said “GeekedFest Events have been a pleasure to work with, it was great to be part of organising a unique event which the town has never seen. The BID is tasked with bringing new ideas and attracting new visitors to the town and GeekedFest Pontypridd has achieved both these goals. It was great to have the support of South Wales Police who are always very supportive of the BID, and it was a great opportunity to showcase The Muni Arts Centre as one of the best venues in Wales. We can’t wait to work with GeekedFest Events again and we look forward to more success”.

Staff at the Muni Arts Centre said "It was an honour to host the first Geekedfest, mini comic con, in Pontypridd. It was such a fantastic day with something for everyone. We are so excited for the next one"

We would like to thank South Wales Police for their fantastic support and being good sports at the event. We would also like to thank GTFM for being our media partners on the day and providing their roadshow. We would also like to thank Chair Margaret Hughes and BID Director Angela Cavil for attending and showing support. It was also great to have local support from Pontypridd Town Council Leader Cllr Simon Pritchard and Curator of Pontypridd Museum – Morwenna Lewis, and businesses in the town who helped to support the event with flyers and posters and came along on the day.

Laura Austen, Operations Director, GeekedFest Events Ltd said 'With 4 years of events behind us I can positively say GeekedFest Pontypridd was the most successful event we have had. The engagement from all involved was overwhelming! We never expected the demand for such an event but we are glad and honoured to have brought what we are so passionate about to Pontypridd. I can speak on behalf of the team that we had a a fantastic day and every trader has already asked when is the next one!

The Cosplay zone is something we are always very proud of and having worked in partnership with Costume & Play for 3 years now we know we have nothing to worry about. For many who attended the event it was their first ever event in cosplay so to feel welcomed and part of something amazing is exactly how we wanted to people to feel and they did. The turn out for cosplayers and their hidden talents was unprecedented and we hope this won't be their last GeekedFest! Costume & Play also commented "we are especially grateful to the police and PCSOs for sparing their time to escort the town parade it means alot to have that kind of support".

In addition we put on a fantastic Gaming area upstairs which is run by the fantastic guys at TATL Gaming in Port Talbot. They know what they're doing and that room didn't stop all day, Troy Wright of Tatl Gaming commented to me "It was a successful day, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We could have doubled the amount of equipment and still not had enough!". We are all still buzzing about the day and also can't wait to work with Your Pontypridd again! Thank you to everyone involved especially my fantastic team and James & Victoria of Your Pontypridd!

To see more photos and information about future events please visit https://www.facebook.com/YourPontypriddBID/ and https://www.facebook.com/GeekedFest/