Geek U.P. held its sixth annual geek festival last weekend in the MUB ballroom, bringing together geeks from the gaming, comics, and cosplay worlds. From open to close, the festival exploded with cosplay competitions, board and video gaming, live music, and a Pokémon spelling bee. Dolan Moles, MTU student and regular volunteer at Geek U.P., expressed his appreciation for the event. “It’s a smaller, more community-focused convention,” Moles said. “It’s all about supporting the charities while having an enjoyable time seeing some pretty cool cosplays and shows.”
Six years ago, Shana Porteen, owner of Black Ice Comics, co-founded Geek U.P. with voice actress Patricia Summerset, known for her role as Princess Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and other Zelda games. They wanted to create a local community event where you could “geek out over anything” and “find your people.” Their first event was put together and advertised in a mere three weeks, yet hundreds of people showed up. “Wow, we’re really kind of on to something,” Porteen remembered thinking. The event has grown exponentially since, attracting celebrities from around the country.
From the start, this year’s Geek U.P. set out to be different. Due to busy celebrity schedules and tight constraints, Porteen knew the festival could not be as big this year as it was before, and even considered not putting it on. The community changed her mind. “I had people coming up to me in grocery stores saying, ‘Please, you gotta do one!’”. So, Porteen improvised.
Working previously with Omega House, Copper Country Humane Society, and Unite Mental Health and Wellness, charity has been a centerpiece of every Geek U.P. event. “We knew at the center of it was always going to be a charity,” Porteen said. “When you are dedicated to a community, I think you have a responsibility to give back.” This year was no different. Geek U.P. worked with Husky Food Access Network and the Husky Food Bank to make the price of admission a non-perishable good or household item.
