We are hard at work planning for the 2015 convention on Saturday, May 9th.  We have already set in place fun for the night before on Friday, May 8th, at ARTS/West, we will be hosting an art opening for an exhibit of pop culture themed artwork then screening a film - times to be determined.  The main convention will take place from 10 am to 5 pm at the Athens Community Center with a costumed dance party to follow at Casa Nueva Cantina.

We are working on finding fascinating and fun special guests.  In addition we will be inviting back many of our former artists and guests from the last three years.

We are also planning on having some fun activities, workshops and panel discussions for all ages.  So far we have role playing games, light saber fighting workshop, props workshop, costuming workshop, and much more.

Be sure to come dressed in your best pop culture costume - we will be giving out prizes to the best.

Stay tuned to this blog and to our facebook page for updates on the 2015 convention.

We have so much planned for the 2014 Ratha Con.

Here is a schedule for the presentations and workshops:

Daniel Trout - Bullwhip presentation - 11 am - 12 pm - Large exercise room

Dungeon's & Dragon's game led by Benton Molina - starts at 11 am - main floor 
*registration required

Comic Panel with Sandy Plunkett, Steve Richter, Terence Hanley, and Ken Eppstein moderated by Sam Berlin - 11:30 am - 12:30 pm - large conference room

Magic Gaming - starts at 12:30 pm - main floor *possible regristration required

Charles Milhouse dicussion on self publishing - 12:30 - 1:30 pm - Large conference room

Model Making with Jay Pare - 2 pm - main floor *registration required

Wearable Wounds with Danette Pratt workshop - 1 - 2:30 pm - small conference room *registration required

Light Saber Choreography with Blindwave Productions - 1:30 - 2:30 pm - large conference room

Stage fighting workshop (to apply techniques learned in Blinwave presentation) with Brian Evans and Tom Fiocchi - 2:30 - 4 pm - large exercise room
* registration may be required

Daniel Boyd's presentation of his films and graphic novels - 2:30 - 3:30 pm - large conference room

Costume contest - 4 pm - parade of costumes 4 - 4:15 pm

We will also have our Artist Alley, sellers, local collectors with their collections on display, and artisan vendors selling their handmade work.

Cost is $5 for everyone 13 and up and kids 12 and under are free.

We have returning comic creators like Steve Richter, Larry Blake, Terence Hanley, Jesse Marks, Lee Smith, and Derek Croston to name a few and so far a new creator, Terry Eisele, (http://www.terryeisele.com/) who has created a set of graphic novels based on the real-life events of the Lidice massacre.

Terry Eisele

www.terryeisele.com

This year at Ratha Con we will have a bullwhip demonstration by Daniel Trout. This is what Daniel says about his study and a little about what to expect from the demo: "I have been fascinated with whips since I saw that first flash on the big screen in the opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark as a wide-eyed 6 year old, and have been making a serious study of whip artistry for the last 10 years. In that time, I have had the opportunity to work with and get to know some of the most talented whip performers and whip makers in the world today, including many of the artists who supply whips to the entertainment industry, and the coaches who teach the performers how to use them.

The presentation would be loosely structured and interactive, explaining how the whip works, what it can do, what it can't do, and deconstructing some of the myths and untruths that have been built up about the bullwhip over the last 100 years."

On the day of the convention we will have a D & D game run by Benton Molina, local college student who has been a DM for several years.  His game is called "The Wolf Spider's Den".  Game description: In Noren, a fantastical alternate-Europe, banks rely on dangerous methods to make money.  These methods do not utilize loans or deeds, but instead involve the raiding of ancient treasure troves.  For these raids, or 'Acquisition Runs', banks hire licensed adventurers, or 'Cutters', to do the fighting.  Players will take on the role of these hired adventurers.  They are hedge-knights, sorcerers, burglars, and other miscellaneous fortune-seekers.  The game will run approximately 5 hours and will be played by the first 6 people to register at the door on the day of Ratha Con.  Players should be at least 11 years old.

http://youtu.be/XBZ9PelNcIA
A video from our first convention - done by one of our talented comic artists, Derek Croston.

Pop Culture art exhibit to take place at ARTS/West during the month of April in honor of Ratha Con.  Art that represents anything from popular culture.   Please contact ARTS/West for information - 740/592-4315 or artswestathens@gmail.com

Deadline is March 10th for submitting work

Announcing our other special guests

Ratha Con is proud to announce our other special guests:

Blind Wave Productions

Blind Wave Productions from Marietta, Ohio who won the 10th Annual LCC (Lightsaber Choreography Competition). They will be presenting a workshop on lightsaber choreography, as well as, setting up a table with a monitor to show their videos.
http://youtu.be/faQO57Iwlo0

Special Guest for 2014 Convention

Ratha Con is proud to announce our first special guest for the 2014 convention:

Charles Millhouse

Charles is an independent author and has published eight books in the science fiction/fantasy genre. He best describes his style of writing as Retrofiction: The use of golden age storytelling set in futuristic or period settings, dealing with character(s) or situations in unbelievable circumstances.

His eighth book, The 4th in the Talon's Epic Series - "The Long Twilight" was published in September 2013.

Charles lives in Southeastern Ohio with his wife and two sons. He is currently plotting or outlining a new idea to be published in the near future.

Charles will be presenting a panel discussion on self publishing, in particular digital publishing.