ATTENTION - we have a new website with all of the information for the 2016 convention.  Please go to therathacon.com.  THANK YOU!!!

There has been a change in the schedule:

At 1 pm Z.E.R.O.S. (Zombie Eradication & Rescue Operations Squad) will offer their presentation and then Cassandra Morgan's presentation will now be at 3:00 pm.

Admission: $10 Adults; $5 12 - 17; 11 and under free

First 30 paid tickets receives a free Ratha Con poster created by Stave Richter

2015 Ratha Con Schedule (subject to change)

10:00 am     Convention Opens - whole building

Food vendors begin selling (Room C “Not Guilty” - grilled

sandwiches & outside “Holy Guacamole” Mexican fare)

                    Quidditch Match - teams chosen and practice (field behind building - 

must register and sign waiver to participate)

Hero Head & Rogue Squadron Pod Casts begin (gym)

10:30 am     John Marks gives workshop on making molds for special effects

makeup and sculpture (Room B)

11:00 am     Model building, painting, and altering with Jay Pare (art room -

registration required)

Casey Hoffman’s Cosplay Workshop #1 (conference room - 

registration required)

Bullwhip Demonstration with Dan Trout (Room A)

Quidditch Matches (field behind building)

RPG games begin (Room C - registration required)

11:30 am Blind Wave Productions’ presentation on lightsaber choreography

and screening of their videos (Room B)

12:00 pm   Casey Hoffman’s Cosplay workshop #2 (conference room - 

registration required)

12:30 pm Blind Wave Productions begins Light Saber Choreography hand to 

hand techniques (exercise studio - must sign waiver form to

          participate) 

1:00 pm Cassandra Morgan’s presentation on writing and self publishing

(Room B)

Steampunk Talk & tea featuring the Whiplash Tribal Fusion Dancers

(Room A)

2:00 pm Travis Horseman presents the graphic novel “Amiculus” and

discusses using Kickstarter to help with self publishing 

(Room B)

3:00 pm Z.E.R.O.S. (Zombie Eradication & Rescue Operations Squad)

presents a workshop on protecting yourself from zombies

(Room B)

Bullwhip presentation with Daniel Trout (Room A)

4:00 pm Costume contest (gym/main convention floor - registration required)

6 short films by Andrea Ricca - total run times: 31 minutes (Room B)

4:30 pm RPG gaming finishes (Room C)

Lightsaber choreography techniques finishes (exercise studio)

5:00 pm Convention ends - food no longer served

5 - 8 pm Humans vs Zombies mini game (community center grounds - 

registration with Athens HvZ required during convention)

10:00 pm Ratha Con after party at Casa Nueva Restaurant & Cantina (Free 

adults and $2 under 21)

All Day/main convention floor:

Celebrity/special guests:

TV and Film Star Chalet Lizette Brannan - signing autographs 

John Marks - special effects makeup and sculpture

Cassandra Morgan - author

Travis Horseman - graphic novel creator

Comic/graphic novel creators:

Steve Richter Terence Hanley

Chris Monday Shawn Langley

Abby Costilow Nix Comics

Lee Smith Jack Wallace

Kelci Crawford Todd Goodman

Mark Fisher Larry Blake

Jenna Thompson

Visual Artists:

Emi Olin - graphic illustrations

Brytton McGuire - painting/drawing

Dane Eichinger - print making

Larry Bailey - photography

Penni Al Zayer - henna

Red Mandalorian - intergalactic flower seller

Presenters:

Daniel Trout - bullwhip

Z.E.R.O.S. (Zombie Eradication & Rescue Operations Squad)

OU Flying Bobcats - Quidditch team

Athens HvZ - Humans vs Zombies

Airship Athena - Athens Steampunk organization

Fun extras:

Hero Head & Rogue Squadron Live Pod Casts

Ghostbusters, WV Division - ghostbusting fun and games

Ratha Con space ship - climb in and pretend

Lego zip line races - build your own zip line racer or use one of ours to

challenge your friends

Magic card play - casual gaming, table by Super-Fly Comics

Sellers:

Super Fly Comics

Hrothgar’s Hoard

Frank Gorscak

Classic Toys & Collectible

Chippies Anime

Bunnie Ferro

Jason Kiley

WooHooligan Comics

Banana Road Costumes

JZ Toys

Our special guest, Chalet Lizette Brannan has just signed on to a Star Trek project.

Amazing Cosplay artist Casey Hoffman will be offering two cosplay workshops. Here is her synopsis on her workshops and her short bio:

Workshop #1: Transform Yourself… into a Dragon!

Come learn the all the tricks of becoming a scaly creature! We'll go over 3D makeup techniques, costuming, and what surprising household items you can use to completely transform yourself into another species! Everything taught in this workshop can also be used for other cosplays, including: Snakes, Dinosaurs, Mermaids, Elephants, Aliens and whatever else your imagination can dream up!

*Audience participation is required

Workshop #2: Transform Yourself… into a Wood Nymph!

Come learn the all the tricks of becoming a stunning ethereal creature! We'll go over makeup techniques, learn the art of "distressing" costumes, and learn what's growing in your backyard that you can use to completely transform yourself into something mystical! Everything taught in this workshop can also be used for other cosplays, including: Fairies, Butterflies, Elves, Gods/Goddesses, and whatever else your imagination can dream up!

*Audience participation is required

Obsessed with "dressing up" since she was a little girl, Casey Hofmann's first endeavors into the magical world of cosplay began by freaking out all the neighbors on Trick-orTreat night. Since then, she has designed and produced professional makeup and costumes for theatre companies, won numerous Cosplay awards, worked in a costume shop, terrified local citizens at zombie walks, and completely filled her Mom's basement with her fantastical creations.

Ratha Con after party at Casa Nueva Cantina - 10 pm.  Adults FREE and underage $2

Attendees are highly encouraged to wear their costumes!!!

Brought to you by Athens Bass Crew founders Sector7G and Thoughtbeat. There will be a mix of classic dance music, 8-bit video game samples, sci-fi themes, and whatever other nerdishness we end up pulling out of our bag of tricks all accompanied by video projector visuals befitting an evening such as this. Come out and get your dance groove on, or just kick back and enjoy the ambience.

Hey Ratha Con fans! Follow us on Instagram! https://instagram.com/rathacon/
We'll be posting pics all day during the convention of your costumes and our special events. ‪#‎rathacon‬

Ratha Con (@rathacon) • Instagram photos and videos

Athens, Ohio Pop Culture Convention

INSTAGRAM

We are ready to reveal our special guest. Her name is Chalet Lizette Brannan. She is a young rising star who has been in several films and tv series, many of which are science fiction.
She will be at our convention signing autographs and taking pictures. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we reveal her films and shows or go to her IMDB page to see for yourself.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5192551/?ref_=tt_cl_t5

Posting of our first special guest who will be a presenter at the convention:

Travis Horseman - Writer/Creator

Travis was born in Springfield, Ohio, and discovered comic books at the age of six. Since then, the course of his life has been shaped by his love of comics, theater and classical history. In addition to being a writer, he has been an actor, a director, a produced playwright, and occasionally, all three at once.

After writing the first draft of Amiculus as a ten-page play in college, he began adapting it as a comic, intending it to be a short 32-page project to test the waters for a different series. Eight years and 162 pages later, it has become an epic unto itself.

Travis is a graduate of Ohio University's School of Theater, and currently lives in Columbus, Ohio.

AMICULUS is a quasi-historical epic, telling a “lost” history of the fall of Rome through the eyes of its last emperor, a 12-year-old boy named Romulus. Through him we see Rome at the moment of its collapse, besieged by a vast barbarian army. Yet within Rome a secret war rages, revealing an intricate mosaic of conspiracy within conspiracy, bloodshed and betrayal, tragedy and loss. At its center is AMICULUS, a mysterious cloaked figure manipulating generals, kings, and western civilization. As the mightiest empire on earth crumbles, we are left to wonder: did Rome merely fall, or was it pushed?

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.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

10:00 - 11:30 am - conference room, ground level/athens community center

Panel Discussion with comic artists Sandy Plunkett, Steve Richter, Chris

Monday and michael easton

10:30 am - 5:00 pm - Children’s activity area - coloring pages, mask making,

etc...

10:30 - 5:00 pm - Boffer Sword Play - in front of Community Center -

(registration required in children’s area)

12:00 - 1:30 pm - conference room, ground level/Athens Community Center

Discussion on costume design with Ohio university theater professor, thomas

fiocchi.

1:30 pm - Build A Superhero Timed Contest - teams of 3 or 5 work togther to

create a superhero with attributes and a name. (Registration Required)

2:00 - 3:30 pm - conference room, ground level/Athens community center

Special guest, Joanne Padgett, author of “Vampires of Camelot” will lead a

discussion on self publishing.

4:00 - 5:30 pm - conference room, ground level/Athens community center

Panel discussion with Ohio University professors, Michael Gillespie, Kevin

Haworth, and Akhil Huston, about using comics and graphic novels in academia.

5:00 pm - Main Floor, community center- winners of raffle named

5:30 pm - Main Floor, community center - costume contest

(registration required)

Gaming run by John Pare and JT Johnston -

11:00 am - 3:00 pm - Castles & Crusades for 6 people (registration required)

4:00 - 6:00 pm - axis and Allies for 4 people (registration required)

1:00 - 4:00 pm - Mutants & Masterminds for 6 people (registration required)

All Day:

ARTISTS’ ALLEY

Larry Blake

Jesse Marks musingmark.deviantart.com

Sandy Plunkett plunkettart.com

Steve Richter steverichterart.com

Katherine Wirick katherine.kreider-wirick.com

Ken Eppstein nixcomics.com

Michael Easton mkeaston.com/mkeaston

Lee Smith OhioComics.com

Terence Hanley/Five Star Comics hanleyart.com

Chris Monday flyingweevil.com

Derek Croston methodcomix.com

Courtney & Chris Young

Joe Dragunas facebook.com/TheArtOfJMDragunas

Gary Gibeaut/Five Star Comics garygibeaut/fivestarcomics.co

Art Vendors

Nancy Baur - comic greeting cards & comic themed sewn items

reewesablefiberarts.blogspot.com

Thomas Fiocchi - costume items

Special Displays

Connor Miller

James Hamilton & Brent Smalley’s Nerdiversity

Models

Jay Pare

Sellers

The Wizard’s Guild Athens, OH

Super-fly Comics & Games Yellow Springs, OH

Jerry Lowe

Frank Gorscak

Fan Clubs

Rebel Legion - Great Lakes Base greatlakesbase.com

501st Legion - Ohio Garrison ohio501st.com

Food Vendors

Not Guilty Food Cart

Fluff Bakery

Gaming - casual magic games - inquire at The Wizard’s Guild booth

6:00 - 10:00 pm - Costume Dance Party - Multipurpose room/Community

Center. - Music with DJ Barticus and new, local Band “The Geek Girls”

 Admission is FREE with Ratha Con handstamp and $2 for others. Beverages and baked items for

sale to help raise money for ARTS/West.

A Secret Map promoSteve Richter's new gallery show, A Secret Map, opens Friday, May 10, in Athens, Ohio, 6pm til 9 pm at UnionArts Gallery on West Union.

Check this out - happening tonight.  Great way to get ready for the con tomorrow.  While you are at it go to The Kennedy Museum to see a retrospective of Sandy Plunkett's work.