Northland’s nerds, geeks and pop-culture fans turn out for inaugural Sandbox Fandom Festival

Madeleine Ellis, Talia Greer, Tiree Gilroy and Isabella Horsley all from Whangārei Girls High School had heaps of fun. Photo / Tania Whyte

Northland’s quirkiest kids, teens and adults came together to celebrate pop culture and all things nerdy and geeky at the inaugural Sandbox Fandom Festival at Forum North in Whangārei.

The festival, on Saturday, was a chance for Te Tai Tokerau’s community to share their love and appreciation for art, games, cosplay, animation, comics, music and tech.

More than 1000 people of all ages turned out to play games, show off their cosplay, check out the artist alley, enjoy performances, and revel in all things pop culture and geeky.

Co-organiser Verena Pschorn said they were aiming for a “mini-Armageddon”, New Zealand’s largest and longest-running science fiction and fantasy fair held in Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga and Christchurch.

“It went really well. We didn’t know what to expect at all, because it was the first event of that kind up here.

“We had almost 1000 people including volunteers and stallholders. We were really excited to see that people were interested.”

Pschorn said the festival was a hit “right from even before the doors were open”.

“We heard all these lovely conversations with people who were really excited about being here and nerding out.

“It was really lovely to see everyone come in and have a good time; the stallholders, the kids, the parents were all really happy.

“It was a really friendly vibe. That was what we were aiming for.”

Pschorn said organisers were hoping to hold another Sandbox Fandom Festival next July.

Bella Merlo from Kerikeri stood out in the crowd. Photo / Tania Whyte

Libby Dixon checks her images. Photo / Tania Whyte

Matt Headifen was impressive as Master Chief from Halo. Photo / Tania Whyte

Kahi Hall, Georgia Norrington and Aleena Khalid show the quality of costumes at the festival. Photo / Tania Whyte

Sam Skovlund plays her part beautifully. Photo / Tania Whyte

Erica Hsu looked amazing. Photo / Tania Whyte

Amalia Chetram, 5, was a beautiful Snow White. Photo / Tania Whyte

Caitlin Henderson put in a lot of effort, and it showed. Photo / Tania Whyte