New Year’s Eve is all about dressing up and having a good time. Why not do something different this year and dress up as your favourite Cosplay character?
The Brisbane Powerhouse will host a New Year’s Geek party this year, encouraging people to unleash their inner “geek” in a comfortable and friendly environment.
“We’ve had New Year’s events here in the past, but sort of more traditional ideas,” Artistic Director, Kris Stewart says.
“We were kicking the idea around almost a year ago about what is something we don’t think people are doing out there. What is an audience that is interested in a new experience, not the beer barney night out, something a bit more fun.
“We had spoken in the past with Supanova about partnering on some things. We sort of liked the Powerhouse to be really about contemporary culture as much about comedy and music as it is theatre and dance, it’s just a place to have a good time. We really want to engage with what is happening more broadly in popular culture. So we kicked some ideas around with them.
“It’s all about really having a good time. There’s a whole bunch of things we thought we could roll into it, and people would have a really good time with it. And it didn’t seem like anyone else was doing it.”
Kris is hoping people will get into the spirit of dressing up and release their inhibitions.
“There’s a lot of stuff that we grew up with and you sort of get to a point where you’re like 'I suppose I’m not meant to like that anymore'. But a lot of this geek culture is about people enjoying themselves and having a good time and I think that’s a really cool thing to be a part of.
“I think giving people a different option on New Year's Eve, something they can do with their friends is kind of cool fun. For that reason, to get rid of New Year's stress, it is a fun part of it. People love the chance to dress up and have fun with their friends and I think anything that encourages that people really appreciate, so I’m looking forward to people really diving into that.”
The New Year’s Eve party will involve various events focused on popular culture. “There’s going to be music, lots of games and trivia and fun participatory things. We are going to have retro arcade games people can sit and play with. There’s also food and wine on arrival. It is also an all ages event which I think is kind of cool. It’s going to be a safe and fun environment for teens as well which will be great.
“There is going to be a lot of variety throughout the night. We are going to have two to three different rooms doing stuff, so there will be a variety for people in that way as well to make sure there are different options for people.”
Kris is hoping the party will become a tradition, allowing people to have a different experience on New Year's Eve. “We might be able to change the theme each year, but I would love to sort of have this idea of a nerd’s New Year's Eve celebrating geek culture and be something we could do every year.”Kris is hoping people will have a great time and let their hair down in a comfortable and accepting environment. “We really hope to see people just having a really good time. That’s when we know it will be a success for us, when people are coming and feeling really relaxed and knowing that it is a great place for great time.”
The Brisbane Powerhouse has various events coming up such as the 'Wonderland' festival, 'Melt', the Brisbane Comedy Festival and 'Flaunt'. “'Wonderland' is our sort of big festival of circus and cabaret and comedy and carnie folk. We are going to have a big world food market out the front with a whole bunch of different food vans. It’s going to be a new big event for us.”
New Year's Geek will be held at the Brisbane Powerhouse 31 December. The 'Wonderland' festival runs from 3-14 December.
SUPANOVA
21st to 23rd Nov – Adelaide Showground28th to 30th Nov – Brisbane Convention And Exhibition Centre
10th to 12th April – Melbourne Showgrounds
17th to 19th April – Gold Coast Convention And Exhibition Centre
19th to 21st June – Sydney Showground
26th to 28th June – Perth Convention And Exhibition Centre
