CaliCON 2021 Highlights

On Nov. 6 2021, 2 years after its last iteration, Calimacil’s CaliCON welcomed guests once more. Held at Calimacil’s workshop in Sherbrooke, it featured several local manufacturers of handmade goods, local organisations and businesses relevant to immersive games and the use of foam weapons, fantastic costumes and products from big names such as Calimacil, Epic Armoury and Mytholon.

What's CaliCON?

The CaliCON is a LARP convention organized and hosted by Calimacil that showcases craftspeople, community leaders and creators that contribute enhancing LARP games and immersive experiences. It aims to bring together the LARP community, attract new faces to this enchanting universe and create networking opportunities.

Initially built to cultivate deeper relationships with and between Calimacil’s partners, it has since evolved and its doors are now open to all. Now, attendees get the chance to step behind the curtain and explore behind the LARPing scenes, getting to meet organizations and businesses that help breathe life into the hobby.

2021 pandemic edition

After an unfortunate hiatus in 2020 due to the many effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were determined to make 2021 work and went all out. For the event (and to make space for all our new Epic Armoury stock!), we overhauled our workshop nearly from top to bottom. We were really excited to be finally able to open up our doors again as hosts!

While still in the midst of a global pandemic we obviously had to organize the event a little differently. Beyond simply following local health safety protocols, here are a few things we changed:

Offered VIP tickets to reserve a time-slot and be ensure access despite strict indoor attendance limits;
Built a temporary store that was both larger and more accessible than our usual one;
Set up a livestream that ran for upwards of 7 hours with Diratia Productions’ expert help;
Held special workshops to build and paint your own custom sword;
Set up dedicated outdoor spaces like a fireplace and a coffee tent to keep warm.