Geek Village is not a new convention. It has been around for a few editions, and it has seen its fair share of controversies in the past. However, we’re simply going to focus on this one, which took place on the grounds of Hex Castle, in the rather picturesque town of Heks, Belgium, for the first time.
From a visitor’s point of view, the entire event appeared well organized. Parking was free. Staff were friendly and able to provide directions. Even though they had several fields at their disposal, they chose to set up all the stands along the sides of a tree-covered lane, to provide natural shading. Furthermore, they had found a sponsor to set up a misting area for even more cool, and at the info stand you could, also free of charge, refill your water bottle. When asking questions to member of the staff, I was always met with friendly and clear answers. Which was great.
A fellow cosplayer suffered an incident with a fellow visitor who got handsy, and that person was promptly removed from the premises. So they also take the “cosplay is no consent” very seriously.
Food trucks were set up along a square with covered seating. So even though queuing was still unprotected from the sun, one could eat and drink in the shade. A necessity, because on the Saturday we were coming out of a heatwave and the Sunday was still very warm.
In addition to the regular festival fare, visitors could trod the beautiful grounds of Castle Hex. Which is enjoyable in and of itself, and provides plenty of space for a quiet reprieve or the taking of photos.
The terrain isn’t the most accessible, but far from inaccessible at the same time. There are a lot of hardened roads, and while traversing the grounds with wheeled mobility aid was not always easy, it wasn’t close to the worst I’ve experienced. All lanes were more than wide enough. Even the food court was set up in such a way that there was plenty of space to get around.
My one complaint would be the coins you needed for food and drinks. Firstly, having a human distribute them in addition to machines would be great, because paying with cash was a nightmare. Being able to purchase from a person would also aid the visually impaired. Secondly, please make them transferrable between editions. At €3 per coin, the costs rack up quickly. It would be so much more practical if you could just take your left-over coins home and spend them next year.
Finally, there was a large contingent of steampunks present, so if you wish to dress up specifically in ‘punk, this is a good place to be!
All in all, this was an excellent event, and I hope the organization will keep improving for their future editions.
