Sioux City's first Geek Con to allow area nerds to let their freak flags fly (2024)

Are we well into the decade of the dweeb?

With superhero flick like "Deadpool & Wolverine" topping the box office and Olympians like Rubik's Cube-solving "Pommel Horse Guy" Stephen Nedoroscik snagging medals, the time might be right for the notable nerd.

At least that was the belief of Bart Miller, president of the nonprofit Sioux City Tabletop Gamers and the mastermind behind Sioux City's annual Game Con.

This year's salute to gamers of all stripes has been given a significant upgrade.

In addition to hosting a board game, tabletop game, video game and role-playing game tournament, the newly rechristened Sioux City Geek Con will also feature local artists, vendors, shopping and workshops that will celebrate all manner of geek culture.

More important, the three-day event taking over the Sioux City Convention Center, 801 Fourth St., Aug. 23 - 25, will have an all-star lineup of celebrities to dazzle the area's pocket protector population.

"This is our first-ever attempt at a Geek Con," Miller said. "So, we've gone all out for star power."

So, who's headlining the big event?

Miller is enlisting the services of Sean Kanan, the veteran actor who terrorized Daniel-San in the movie "The Karate Kid III" and its Netflix spinoff "Cobra Kai" at night while making hearts flutter as the dastardly Deacon Sharpe on CBS's daytime drama "The Bold and the Beautiful."

"We're even arranging for Mayor Bob Scott to name Aug. 23 as 'Sean Kanan Day' in Sioux City," Miller explained.

Also slated to create a big impression is Dmitrious Bistrevsky, the 6-foot 6- inch Ukrainian-born actor who fills the suit of Darth Vader in Disney+'s "Obi-Wan Kenobi" miniseries.

"While Dmitrious will sign autographs and appear on panels, he will run 'Star Wars' lightsaber training demonstrations and trainings throughout Geek Con," informed Miller.

Actor Charlie Schlatter, best known as a costar in the long-running Dick Van Dyke vehicle "Diagnosis Murder," will also be present.

"You'll probably recognize Charlie's faces from many TV shows but you'll also recognize his voice," Miller said. "For many years, Charlie was the voice of the bee in Honey Nut Cheerios commercials."

Other celebs slated to appear will be Philip Shahbaz (voice actors in videogames like "Assassin's Creed"), Amy O'Neill (the daughter from the 1989 move "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids") and Omaha-based illustrator Fredd Gorham, who has worked on various Marvel/DC Comics titles as well as a "Star Wars" series of tradable TOPPS Cards.

However, the first celebrities to reach out to Miller's organization were Wesley Eure and Kathy Coleman, who portrayed the Marshall siblings on Sid & Marty Krofft's campy-yet-iconic "Land of the Lost," a live-action Saturday morning show from the 1970s which continues to be shown as reruns to today's audience.

"I deliberately booked Wesley and Kathy to draw out an crowd of people my age," the fiftysomething Miller said. "But I also wanted to attract the younger demographic with performers (like Bistrevsky) who are here to promote new shows."

This "something for everybody" approach had worked with Miller's Game Cons for the past five years. He is certain of a similar result during Geek Con.

"Each year, Geek Con grew just a bit bigger in both scope and attendance," he explained. "We held our past shows at the Abu Bekr Shrine Temple but, sadly, outgrew the place."

By utilizing the much-larger Sioux City Convention Center, Miller said he needed to think big.

"Both Omaha and Sioux Falls have hosted successful Geek Cons," he said. "I am hopeful that our community will be just as receptive."

To that end, Miller has booked more vendors and artists for gamers who are flush with cash as well as costumed attendees who want their freak flags to fly.

"Geeks can come in any age or form all walks of life," he added.

Miller should know. He is a longtime South Sioux City Community Schools algebra teacher.

An avid game player since childhood, Miller has seen an increase in nerdy endeavors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think a lot of people rediscovered family time when they were forced to spend more time at time," he said. "The trend has continued even after the pandemic has slowed."

Which means the time might be right for a Sioux City-based Geek Con.

"Who would have thought it would suddenly be cool to be a geek?" Miller said with a smile.