Harrogate Convention Centre to hold board gaming festival

A three-day board gaming festival will take place next weekend at Harrogate Convention Centre.

AireCon 2022, one of the biggest board gaming festivals in the UK, will run from March 11 to 13.

Attendees can expect a wide variety of games, product launches and special guests.

Guests include the creator of popular game CoraQuest and gaming YouTubers.

The festival was founded in 2015 when Mark Cooke set up a private mini-convention attended by friends in his Yorkshire flat. It has expanded each year and moved into Harrogate’s convention centre after selling out a smaller venue in 2016.

Mark said;

“The first public AireCon sold out and the entire venue was full. Every year it just keeps going beyond what we possibly could have imagined.

There’s something about board gaming that brings people together; it breaks down barriers between people, it’s a lot of fun and it’s time away from screens.”

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In 2017 the festival gained support from Nabil Homsi, who owns the board game store Travelling Man. The store now has several branches across the UK.

Travelling Man will provide more than 600 games for the event.

New to this year is the AireBus, a shuttle bus travelling from London to Harrogate with built in board gaming tables.

There are still a limited number of tickets left which can be bought here.

Harrogate district gears up for comic convention with giveaway

Libraries will give away comic books on Friday as the Harrogate district gears up for the arrival of a comic art convention this weekend.

More than 400 artists and exhibitors are set to attend the Thought Bubble Comic Art Convention on Saturday and Sunday at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk and Batman and Sin City artist Frank Miller are among the guests.

Other artists include Joelle Jones (illustrator and writer for Batman and Catwoman) and Doug Braithwaite (artist for many Marvel and DC comics, including Wolverine, Thor and Batman).

Attendees are encouraged to come dressed as their favourite characters, and there will be a competition for the best homemade cosplay outfits.

North Yorkshire County Council, which runs libraries, has teamed up with Thought Bubble to offer free comics and graphic novels for people to take home or give to friends on Friday.

The comic books will be available on a first come, first served basis at libraries throughout North Yorkshire. The giveaway includes titles from Marvel and DC, including stories about the likes of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Avengers and more.

Harrogate’s library will also host an exhibition of artwork, fan-made zines and comics created by art and design students at Harrogate College.

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County Councillor Greg White, executive member for libraries, said:

“Comics are not only fun, but can be a great way for children to develop their love of reading, so this giveaway is not to be missed.

“The county’s libraries has an extensive range of comics and graphic novels for children and adults – both in branches and online – so anyone who enjoys comics or wants to rediscover them should visit their library or search our online catalogue to see what’s on offer.”

Comics will be available from the libraries in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Skipton, Northallerton, Selby, Pickering, Malton, Whitby, Filey and Scarborough.