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Geeks, gamers and enthusiasts swarmed The District Friday for the first day of GeekFest West, a weekend-long festival for all things gaming. The multigenerational show brought in roughly 900-1,000 participants on its first day, with thousands more expected Saturday and Sunday.
Festivities kicked off a little after noon, with a warm welcome from Showrunner Nathan Mumm and Lynnwood officials.
“Everyone has a first convention. Everyone has a first board game, a first roleplaying session, a first cosplay, or a first tournament,” Mumm said. “Our goal is to create a place where people feel comfortable taking that first step, knowing they’ll be welcomed by a community that’s excited to share what they love.”
With that, the fun commenced. GeekFest sports a fully-equipped arcade with pinball machines, imported and domestic gaming cabinets, Dance Dance Revolution, and game consoles for community play. Not all games are of the video persuasion. Tabletop role-playing games were available for checkout and play, with many independent game creators inviting new players to take their game for a spin. GeekFest is also hosting dozens of gaming tournaments, how-to workshops and even a small escape room experience for those looking for a good puzzle to solve.
Attendees can enjoy live entertainment, like cosplay lipsync, where costumed attendees compete on their own American Idol-esque stage for enchanted onlookers. If they stick around past 8 p.m., adults can enjoy mature versions of some shows and games.
During downtime between shows, games and tournaments, attendees can step outside and browse an outdoor vendor bazaar or eat at the nearby food trucks.
While this is the third annual GeekFest West, it is the first to be held in the City of Lynnwood, moving from its previous home of Everett.
“We wanted to keep GeekFest West in Snohomish County, and after last year’s event, we looked for a City that could accommodate what we were looking to build,” Mumm said. “It was clear that Everett did not have a convention center large enough to accommodate the size of our event, so we spoke with two primary cities, Marysville and Lynnwood, both of which had facilities to host our show. In the end, the City of Lynnwood made a compelling case for the Lynnwood Event Center.”
Nerds will continue their takeover of the event center until all the game cabinets are taken away Sunday evening.
The Lynnwood Event Center is located at 3711 196th St. S.W., Lynnwood. You can learn more about GeekFest West and purchase tickets here.
The Mandalorian says:
“This is The Way…
to Lynnwood.”