Free Comic Con Events at Petco Park Yesterday

Comic Con ended yesterday. I decided to go down there to see some of the things going out outside the event. Most of those events took place around Petco Park and the library.

I was greeted with a lot of building wraps all over the downtown area. I can't wait to see Minority Report. I loved the movie.

Game of Thrones trailer, one of many in front of the convention center.

This was a free event just outside Petco Park. Mostly, it had to do with video games.

On the other side of Petco Park, the Nerd Carnival was going on. These Lego dinosaurs were right outside.

They were promoting the Jurassic World movie.

I went inside and there were all kinds of video games to try out. But there were lines to all of them. I used to like playing video games, but not so much anymore. I wouldn't know what to do if I had tried to play.

They also had panels going on. I think this lady (I forgot her name, sorry), is part of Amy Poehler's Smart Girls online community. She was talking about doing voice overs for several of the games and videos that Legendary puts out.

Here are some shots of the outside of Petco Park. (By the way, there were tons of people in all kinds of costumes walking around, even on the trolley.)

The Tony Gwynn statue:

The Jerry Coleman statue and photos:

I didn't get a photo of my favorite thing that I saw because it was copyrighted. The library had an art exhibit feature the history of Comic Con over the years. There were program covers, banners, and drawings from many of the famous artists that visited Comic Con over the years, including the artists who drew the Family Circus and Beetle Bailey. You also got to see how the famous Comic Con toucan developed before they changed the icon to an eye, instead.

Comic Con!

Comic Con in 2012
Kevin Dooley
Flickr/Creative Commons

Being in San Diego, I'm almost front and center for the world famous San Diego Comic Con. Unfortunately, getting a badge there is very difficult. There are other giveaways and you can volunteer, but even those opportunities can disappear faster than they come. It also turns the downtown area into a complete madhouse. So, it doesn't look I'll be going over there this year.

Luckily, our local media does hours and hours of live shows and interviews while Comic Con is going on. I swear they interview just about everyone there, plus they have a lot of inside shots and interesting facts. So, living in this town has some perks.

If you're planning to go down to gawk at all the people, please keep these tips in mind:

• The streets will be so packed that it will be hard for you to see anyone
• The front door area of the convention center is usually blocked from view unless you're on that side of the street, so you won't really see anyone
• There are also signs and exhibits that block views
• Many of the nearby restaurants will be packed and may have restricted access
• Off-site Comic Con presentations (like that at the library) usually require you to have a badge unless otherwise noted (the library does have one Comic Con presentation open to the public, but the rest are closed)
• Unless you have a badge, your chance of seeing a celebrity in that area is slim

So, your best bet is to watch the local news stations if you want to see anyone or anything interesting if you don't have a badge. However, you might want to go downtown if:

• You like to watch the gawkers
• You like the party atmosphere
• To tell people that you were there
• To perhaps see something interesting (by chance)

If you go, be aware that selfie-sticks are not allowed, even when viewing from across the street. Also, good luck getting there by car. Try taking public transport, which will probably be packed early in the morning.

Edit:

OK, a friend of mine pointed this out on her Instagram account. It's free and not too far from Comic Con if you want to go.

Nerdist Carnival