Fragapalooza 2008 – Day 4 – Endings and Beginnings
What a weekend it has been. This year’s Fragapalooza has had pink hair and bald geeks, Nerf-based weaponry, chair racing and bad dancing, and a whole lot of other mayhem. I’m left sitting in my apartment, looking back on the whole event, and just going "woah".
For those just joining us from work on Monday morning, let me bring you up to speed. The largest LAN party in Canada occurred over this past weekend. Running from Aug 7 – 10, Fragapalooza attracted almost 1,000 gamers from all over the city of Edmonton and the rest of Canada. Now that the whole event is all over. My ID badge is hung up, my stuff is put away, and it’s time to look at the denouement of Fragapalooza 2008 known as Day 4.
For many, Day 4 tends to start rather late. Those that don’t manage to stay up all night tend to crash at very extended morning hours, and as a result sleep in rather late. I myself slept in until about 10:30AM after having lost all energy around 5:00AM. I could have started popping Foosh Mints or drinking massive amounts of energy drinks, but I didn’t want a heart murmur to add to my collection of Fraga swag so I just gave into my body and went to bed.
When I finally crawled out of bed, I decided to do the responsible thing and start packing up my non-gaming related gear (clothes, tent, sleeping stuff). Luckily I was saved from doing something responsible by yet another random contest. This time the contest was to see how fast you could solve a Rubik’s Cube, with the promise of nice loot to the person with the best time.
Some of the contest participants struggled with the tough little puzzle, and were provided some help (and in some cases a complete substitution) by some willing "experts." After a few minutes, a winner finally emerged. Then shortly there after, a 2nd place winner was finished. They pretty well kicked off the prize giving for Day 4.
Fragapalooza 2008 – Day 3 – The Crazy Games Begin
The final full day of Fragapalooza brings with it some interesting times. Where Day 2 is a sedate event worthy of public consumption, Day 3 is where everyone is sleep deprived, heavy stimulated on energy products, and ready to do anything for some free computer hardware. Let’s take a look at some of the weird and wild contests that make up the tapestry of mental unbalance.
The first event to be announced was one that has been suggested several years over. Unfortunately the venue where Fragapalooza used to be was, amongst other things, unsuitable for such activity. However we were in a new venue this year, and it’s floor were ripe for use in some good ol’ fashioned office chair racing. Really, what’s the worst that could happen?
Well as the video shows, there was plenty of oppotuniry for things to go wrong. It was still incredibly fun; the LAN party equivalent of a rally race. No one was hurt, and someone walked away with some pretty sweet gear. Still, we weren’t able to go without causing some damage.
Fragapalooza 2008 – Day 2 – Pink Edition
We last left off with the closing of Day 1 of Fragapalooza 2008. Held in Edmonton, Alberta, this huge LAN party had just concluded the first day with the arrival of gamers from all over the city and country. Computers were setup, ceremonies were opened, enemies were killed (virtually), and overall much fun was had. Many gamers played into the wee hours on the morning (including me, which is why this post is late), and with the break of Day 2 it was time to stop gaming and step up to support a great cause.
Due to some of the scheduling conflicts caused by our venue change, the dates that Fragapalooza 2008 were to take place on coincided with The Alberta Cancer Foundation’s Weekend to End Breast Cancer. Gamers aren’t the virtually trained killers a lot of mainstream media make them out to be, and we enjoy participating in a good cause that benefits our fellow person. So it was a natural fit that Fragapalooza had to step up in some fashion, and support The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. This lead the staff to decide to first dye their hair pink the week before Fraga, and then have it shave off at the event.
They brought on the Est-elle Academy of Hair Design as sponsors, so the hair colouring and shaving was at least done by professionals. Everyone then assembled around the stage to witness what was easily going to be the biggest spectacle of that afternoon. Many of the staffers are rather…attached to their hair. Some have been growing it for years. Added to the fact that they are supporting a great charity will make this sacrifice all the more entertaining.
Fragapalooza 2008 – Day 1
Dawn broke on the city of Edmonton, and for a select few gamers it was truly a day to awake for. Yesterday was the first day of Fragapalooza. Though the forecast was calling for a high of 32C few were worried. Soon we would be inside, under air conditioning, and enjoying four straight days of gaming madness. I gave a quick sneak preview of this awesome LAN event, and now it’s time to show you exactly what goes on inside. I’m pleased to bring you Day 1 of Fragapalooza 2008.
Day 1 started and ended in much the same way. Since this is the first day, there isn’t much going on. People are just arriving, technological and social bugs are still being worked out, and things really don’t get started. Still I was glad to see the Futurelooks.com banner hadn’t fallen from its place. This banner has seen adventures in Vegas, Taipei, and varied and sundry areas of Vancouver, and now it’s followed me to Edmonton. I’ll of course be posting a full article on the event at Futurelooks.com, once it’s over and I’ve recovered.
As for setup, it proceeded fairly smoothly. Everyone filed in, and slowly but surely got setup. There were chairs to re-assemble, components to connect, and bags to check to make sure nothing was forgotten. By about noon, it was safe to say nearly half the participants had arrived, and were setup.
In addition to the computers, many had to setup their sleeping quarters. Fragapalooza events many years ago had an area where participants could setup a tent should they want to. This year that tradition returned, and Tent City was reborn. Some us still prefer to sleep on a quick-setup mattress on the floor in front of our computers, but if you wanted a tent you more then welcome to set one up.
With many people setup and settled in, it was time to start the opening ceremonies. It was also time to give away some free stuff. Every year the Fragapalooza staff and sponsors give away some special prizes to those that registered early. This year, those that were the first 200 to register were eligible to win a GeForce 8800 GTS based video card, and those in the first 400 could win a Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme processor. Intel also had some very comfortable (and highly coveted) small pillows to throw into the crowd. Speeches were made – including one by me – and the event was now officially under way.