Hundreds gather at Barkly Square for PopCon 2023

Hundreds of people across Victoria came to Ballarat's Barkly Square on Saturday, September 13 to join in on some pop culture fun.

Coming in from Bendigo and Echuca were two keen Dr Who fans, Greg King and Michael O'Neill.

Mr O'Neill was dressed as the Tom Baker Doctor, also known as the fourth doctor.

He said regional events like PopCon were great fun.

"Why not get dressed up as your favourite character? All these people here, you've got little toddlers to people in their 60's - this is all for fun," Mr O'Neill said.

His Dr Who costume was put together with op shop finds and some online shopping, like the iconic Dr Who scarf.

"It's just great to have something like this in the regions, more places should have something because it's just fantastic," Mr King said.

Mr King, dressed as the twelfth doctor played by Peter Capaldi, said he had been a Dr Who fan all his life.

"I found it when I was a child and just loved it from the start," he said.

"Number 12 is one of my favourites, my favourite is the third doctor played by Jon Pertwee."

One of the larger displays and booths was for the Dr Who Society Victoria.

Another popular booth was Ballarat Swordcraft - which is Australia's largest Live Action Role Play (LARP) community.

Treasurer Sarah Kelly said they chapter had a booth to help promote the community.

"We've also been sending people on quests all over the place and we're holding workshops with shield and swords," she said.

"Events like PopCon are always good to help grow our community. You meet a lot of people with the same sort of interests."

Volunteer manager for the chapter Samantha Harriage was dressed as a fire mage and used local artists to make her cosplay including a detailed dragon puppet.

"Today has been absolutely fabulous," she said.

"We've had a steady stream of locals but also people from all over Victoria have been here to show their support for an event that has only been around a few years."

City of Ballarat youth ambassadors and volunteers Bindi Downey Phillips and Jacob Osenaris.

Jacob is 16 and a youth facilitator with the City of Ballarat council.

"We got to help people with with their lovely costumes down at the photo booth," he said.

"It was really great seeing the look in their eyes when they got their photos."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Jacob said he volunteers because he "loved being out in the community".

Ms Downey-Phillips, also a youth facilitator, was dressed as ball-gown Barbie.

"I recently saw the Barbie movie and I loved it," she said.

"I thought it was such a good, powerful movie for women, so I dressed up as Barbie."

Ms Downey-Phillips said there was a great sense of community at PopCon.

"It's really important because it encourages people to get out and talk in the community and get engaged with the community," she said.

PopCon launched in Ballarat in 2017 and built a strong following to more than 1000 participants by 2019.

The FReeZA program is a Victorian state government funded initiative that gives young people (12-25 years) the opportunity to lead the planning and staging of live music, arts and cultural events within their local communities.

PopCon is on during the Victorian Youth Fest, a month-long celebration across the state to highlight contributions and achievements of young people.

Sign up to receive The Courier's news alerts straight to your inbox.