WhoFest 2013 - Part Two

Right!  All fixed!  Now, where were we?  And when were we?  Oh yes!  Costumes!


Poor lad. Everyone thought he was Arthur Dent. At least, up until they saw the sword and the Satsuma and realized it was The Tenth Doctor from The Christmas Invasion.   
A Time Lady   
The Tenth Doctor and The Doctor's Daughter, Jenny.   
The Fourth Doctor   
Amy Pond.   
An amazing K-9 unit. This one was capable of moving and saying several lines from the show!   
Another impressive RC unit. This Dalek moved and talked!   
A Boy (At Heart) And His Robot Dog   
Me as the City of Death Fourth Doctor with the previously seen Romana II in her City of Death outfit.      It occurs to me I neglected to mention one important aspect of conventions everywhere - shopping! Naturally WhoFest had a large number of local businesses that cater to Whovians and their interests. The British Emporium, well-known for sponsoring the annual Doctor Who Days event (and for being the only place in DFW you can buy real Jelly Babies) had a table. I bought a new Sonic Screwdriver from Piranha Toys - a web-based collectibles store. There was even Lorrie's Broideries - a embroidery shop that does custom designs. But they were just a few of the wonderful businesses on hand...



Roll2Play is a wonderful games shop in Coppell, Texas which carries materials for The Doctor Who RPG as well as a variety of family board games.    
Collected is a new but quickly-growing comics and games shop in the DFW area. They helped me out with planning gaming events at my library and I've found their staff to be courtesy and helpful in all things.

As you can see, they also carry a lot of Doctor Who swag.      As I said before, it was a great convention and a fun time. Even if I had a TARDIS to go to the next WhoFest right now, it wouldn't be soon enough.  See you all in 2015!

Doctor Who Day 2013 At The British Emporium

Last year, I went to The British Emporium's annual Doctor Who Day event.  This year, despite being a bit tired after a long weekend of shadowcasting shenanigans, I went back again and was pleased to note a much larger crowd than last year - no doubt due to excitement over the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the world's longest-running science-fiction television series.



Derek The Red Dalek is a fixture among DFW conventions and was on hand to pose for pictures.    
People cosplay for many reasons.  One of mine is the look of joy on children's faces when they see their hero (or a reasonable facsimile) in the flesh, like when these two little Whovians saw me and shyly asked for a picture.  Naturally, I asked them if they'd like a Jelly Baby... assuming their mother had no objection.

Pro Tip for Fourth Doctor cosplayers - always ask the parents first if they can have a Jelly Baby.  Alas, the days when a madman with a blue box could offer children candy without being looked on strangely are gone.  
There were many women in excellent TARDIS dresses.  For my money, I think this was the most elegant.  
A rare Seventh Doctor cosplayer, caught on film in the wilds of downtown Grapevine.   
One of the more interesting bits of merchandise on display: a vintage classic Doctor Who chess set. 
You get your choice of seven kings for the white side, of course.


K-9 also put in an appearance but did not sign autographs.
Not because he's a prima donna but because he had no way to hold the pen.  
Another Fourth Doctor and his TARDIS.  I loaned him my sonic screwdriver for a photo-op after someone handed him a Tenth Doctor model so he could fight Derek The Dalek.  These things must be done right, after all!  
There were several babies in costume in attendance, but this was my favorite.  
The one Ramona in attendance.  With her is my friend Zander in his Fourth Doctor costume.  
The Second Doctor.  Shockingly, he was largely unrecognized.  Hopefully that changed after the event's episode screening, which the recently recovered Second Doctor story Web Of Fear.  
This TARDIS later won the costume contest for young ladies under 13.  Note the Tenth Doctor trainers.     
Mickey Smith, shortly after winning the costume contest for Best Companion.
Nice to see Mickey getting some love for once.  He truly deserved better than he got.    
A pair of Docs and their Mini-Mes.  
It was a fun day for all and much fun was had.  Other pictures of the event can be found on The British Emporium's flickr account, including a very zen picture of me taking the above picture of the other Fourth Doctor.  And if you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex you should definitely make a journey to downtown Grapevine to see the wonders that The British Emporium has to offer.

Doctor Who Day 2012 At The British Emporium

I'm still going to be busy with photo editing from this weekend for a few days.  But I wanted to write a quick note about what I did today to steel myself before sequestering myself away for a time and mention a wonderful little shop in downtown/historical region of Grapevine, Texas.

The British Emporium carries a wide variety of British foodstuffs, souvenirs  and - our main point of interest - Doctor Who swag.  You have to love any shop that has a K-9 mascot and I have to pay tribute to them as the only place in DFW one can purchase Jelly Babies - a must have for any Fourth Doctor cosplayer.

They also organize an annual Doctor Who Day, with screenings, quizzes, costume contests and such.  I wish I had taken more pictures but I spent more time talking to people and posing for pictures than I did playing photographer.  It was a fun time and if you're an Anglophile in need of a certain special something, you might check their website to see about a mail order.