Gay geeks host ‘geekend' activities around C2E2, including Mutant High Prom
Fri. April 26, 2013 10:38 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
danny bernardo (center) with fellow geeks
photo credit // a/s/l media
Chicago, IL -
As the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, best known as C2E2, hits McCormick Place this Saturday, the Chicago chapter of Geeks OUT has an entire "geekend" of activities planned, including their inaugural Mutant High Prom.
"Our prom is a celebration for queer geeks of everything they are," said Danny Bernado, Geeks OUT Chicago's event coordinator. "With so many people coming in from out of town, we're hoping that we'll be able to help queer geeks that are not from Chicago or New York discover this amazing community that we're starting to build on the national level."
Geeks Out Mutant High Prom at Spin Nightclub will feature an attendee-elected cosplay prom court announced at the stroke of midnight, themed decorations, hot tunes for the dance floor, some deliciously geek-themed drinks and prom photos provided by a/s/l media in the form of their chic and stylish photo booth, according to Bernardo.
"We're hoping that a lot of cosplayers will enter to be a part of the Cosplay Prom Court," he said.
The event at Spin Nightclub, 800 W. Belmont Ave., will start at 9 p.m. - 3 a.m. There is a $5 suggested donation to Geeks OUT. An additional $5 cover for Spin begins at 11 p.m.
This year will also be the first C2E2 with a Geeks OUT presence. The national LGBT geek organization will host a booth (1180) at the event, where members will direct visitors to the must-see queer sights outside the convention.
"Queer geeks often have to negotiate two different identities, much like the superheroes we admire," explained Bernardo. "I'd been going to conventions for a few years now, but there was hardly anyone ‘like me' there. Or they were hard to find. So when I discovered Geeks OUT a couple of years ago, my life changed. I knew that as a gay geek I wasn't alone."
Danny Bernardo is a columnist and official geekologist to ChicagoPride.com and the GoPride Network, where he writes Geek On and Backstage Pass. Bernardo recently penned The Queer Guide to C2E2 2013.
"Our prom is a celebration for queer geeks of everything they are," said Danny Bernado, Geeks OUT Chicago's event coordinator. "With so many people coming in from out of town, we're hoping that we'll be able to help queer geeks that are not from Chicago or New York discover this amazing community that we're starting to build on the national level."
Geeks Out Mutant High Prom at Spin Nightclub will feature an attendee-elected cosplay prom court announced at the stroke of midnight, themed decorations, hot tunes for the dance floor, some deliciously geek-themed drinks and prom photos provided by a/s/l media in the form of their chic and stylish photo booth, according to Bernardo.
"We're hoping that a lot of cosplayers will enter to be a part of the Cosplay Prom Court," he said.
The event at Spin Nightclub, 800 W. Belmont Ave., will start at 9 p.m. - 3 a.m. There is a $5 suggested donation to Geeks OUT. An additional $5 cover for Spin begins at 11 p.m.
This year will also be the first C2E2 with a Geeks OUT presence. The national LGBT geek organization will host a booth (1180) at the event, where members will direct visitors to the must-see queer sights outside the convention.
"Queer geeks often have to negotiate two different identities, much like the superheroes we admire," explained Bernardo. "I'd been going to conventions for a few years now, but there was hardly anyone ‘like me' there. Or they were hard to find. So when I discovered Geeks OUT a couple of years ago, my life changed. I knew that as a gay geek I wasn't alone."
Danny Bernardo is a columnist and official geekologist to ChicagoPride.com and the GoPride Network, where he writes Geek On and Backstage Pass. Bernardo recently penned The Queer Guide to C2E2 2013.