Ratha Con

Ratha Con Dates and Locations

Ratha Con is a pop culture convention taking place on May 7 & 8th, 2016 in Athens, Ohio. The night before, on May 6th, at ARTS/West, 132 W. State St., Athens, OH. there will be an art opening of pop culture themed art and a screening of a film. Art opening at 6 pm and film at 8 pm. The main convention on May 7 & 8, 2016 will be from 10 am to 5pm both days at the Athens Community Center, 701 E. State St. Athens, OH 45701. Saturday the 7th will be followed by a costumed dance party at Casa Nueva Cantina, 4 W. State St. Athens, OH. starting at 10 pm.

The 2016 admission cost will be $10 for adults, $5 for kids 12 - 17, free for kids 11 and under. These prices are subject to change - dependant on the special guest(s).

Monday, March 14, 2016

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

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

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.

Friday, May 1, 2015

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

Friday, April 24, 2015

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

Monday, March 30, 2015

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

Monday, March 9, 2015

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?

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

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.

Directions

To reach the Athens Community Center 701 E. State St. Athens, OH:

From Columbus – take 33 East to the E. State St. exit. Turn left onto E. State St. Your destination is on the right (2^nd light after Applebee’s).

From Chillicothe – take 50 East to 33 West to the E. State St. exit. Turn right onto E. State St. Your destination is on the right (2^nd light after Applebee’s).

From Marietta – take 50 West to the E. State St. exit. Turn right onto E. State St. Your destination is on the right (2^nd light after Applebee’s).

From Pomeroy – take 33 West to E. State St. exit. Turn right onto E. State St. Your destination is on the right (2^nd light after Applebee’s).

The Athens Transit buses run every hour to the Athens Community Center from several locations throughout the city of Athens. Go to athenstransit.org or call 740/592-2727 to get the full schedule and times. Cost is $1 to ride the bus.

To reach ARTS/West, 132 W. State St. Athens, OH:

From Columbus – take 33 East to the E. State St. exit. Turn right onto E. State St. Follow it through the city until you come to a converted church in front of you with a cemetery on your right and a sign for ARTS/West over the front door. Go to the right and take the drive on the left up to the parking lot behind the building.

From Chillicothe – take 50 East to 33 West to the E. State St. exit. Turn left onto E. State St. Follow it through the city until you come to a converted church in front of you with a cemetery on your right and a sign for ARTS/West over the front door. Go to the right and take the drive on the left up to the parking lot behind the building.

From Marietta – take 50 West to the E. State St. exit. Turn left onto E. State St. Follow it through the city until you come to a converted church in front of you with a cemetery on your right and a sign for ARTS/West over the front door. Go to the right and take the drive on the left up to the parking lot behind the building.

From Pomeroy – take 33 West to E. State St. exit. Turn left onto E. State St. Follow it through the city until you come to a converted church in front of you with a cemetery on your right and a sign for ARTS/West over the front door. Go to the right and take the drive on the left up to the parking lot behind the building.

To reach Casa Nueva Cantina, 4 W. State St. Athens, Ohio:

From Columbus – take 33 East to the E. State St. exit. Turn right onto E. State St. Follow it through the city until you come to an intersection with Court St. Your destination will be on the right within the first building on the block.

From Chillicothe – take 50 East to 33 West to the E. State St. exit. Turn left onto E. State St. Follow it through the city until you come to an intersection with Court St. Your destination will be on the right within the first building on the block.

From Marietta – take 50 West to the E. State St. exit. Turn left onto E. State St. Follow it through the city until you come to an intersection with Court St. Your destination will be on the right within the first building on the block.

From Pomeroy – take 33 West to E. State St. exit. Turn left onto E. State St. Follow it through the city until you come to an intersection with Court St. Your destination will be on the right within the first building on the block.