Welcome to FACTS Hi there, FACTS fan! This is your Guide to the 28th FACTS Galaxy, a handy tool to find your way around the better universe that you have just entered. And boy, is our galaxy MASSIVE again! On your space journey through Flanders Expo, you will encounter exotic creatures, graphite and ink magicians, intergalactic heroes, and enough experiences to last multiple lifetimes. Not to mention the huge Treasure Hall with its vast array of other-worldly loot, where you will find unique collector’s items and the things you wanted when you wished upon a star. That’s right, we’ve set our phasers to ‘stun’ again! FACTS is the ultimate place to mingle with other species and to realise that we’re all very much alike: people with a passion coming together to celebrate their interests. Now boldly go where no-one has gone before and investigate every nook and cranny, because FACTS has filled them all with mystery and joy for you. Safe travels! Alexis Leplat Show Manager
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Useful information ENTRANCE/EXIT Hall 8 serves as the entrance, but also as the exit. Want to get back to reality? Return from whence you came, traveller!
OPENING HOURS It’s Saturday? Stay until 21:00! Is it Sunday? Stay until 17:00!
PARTY The doors to the best fandom after-party open around 20:00. Start partying around 20:30, end it off with DJ Kristian Nairn (aka Hodor in Game of Thrones) around midnight. Place to be: Flex XL!
OUTSIDE If you must get back to reality temporarily, ask for a stamp from the crew at the register when exiting. Otherwise, we can’t let you back in!
WEAPONS Dangerous weapons that are bought at FACTS must remain in their wrappings and casket. If we see you waving a katana around, we’ll have to confiscate it and hand it to the police. Don’t ruin your own party!
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RESTROOMS The toilets are located in Halls 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8. This visit costs a small fee of 50 eurocents.
CASH Don’t have credits left, but you badly want that one collector’s item to come home with you? You can get cash beneath the balcony of Hall 1 and near the stairs of the Q&A room.
SMOKING Not allowed, not even with futuristic types of cigarettes. There is a smoking area between Hall 5 and Hall 7, at the Foodtruck Festival, if you want to get some ‘fresh air’ though.
WIFI Flanders Expo has … free Wi-Fi! Has there ever been a sweeter sound than saying those two words together?
APP The FACTS app is like a little droid buddy showing you the way and reminding you when you need to be in which hall. Search FACTS 2017 in the Play Store or App Store and start wondering how you ever managed to find the FACTS entrance without it.
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FIRST AID Should you be careless with lightsabers and you pull a little Luke Skywalker, then head to the first aid station in Hall 1. The Red Cross can be found under the balcony on the left-hand side.
PARKING If you’ve reached FACTS by car, then don’t forget to validate your parking ticket in Hall 8!
THEFT If you know something is stolen at FACTS, then go to the policeman who’s stationed in Hall 1. His office can be found near the VIP entrance. To be clear: when you enter through Hall 5, keep left and go under the balcony.
LOST & FOUND There are lots of reasons why something goes missing. Nifflers. Shrinking keys. Or simply misplacing your stuff. Call 09 266 69 14 if you’ve lost something at FACTS.
CHARGING POINT CosplayCloud should have a charging station for your smartphones, in the Cosplay Hall. FACTS, saving droid buddies from certain death since 1993.
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PUBLIC TRANSPORT Tram 1 takes you to and from FACTS free of charge upon presentation of your FACTS ticket. If you didn’t know coming here, then don’t forget when heading home!
PICTURES You can take pictures of pretty much anything, but there are a few exceptions. Cosplayers? Ask them politely before taking it. They’ll be happy to oblige. Actors? Don’t do it without permission. Not all actors like being photographed without their consent. Ask the FACTS crew for advice if you want one.
STILL NEED HELP? Ask the FACTS Crew! You will recognise them by their matching T-shirts, merriness and helpfulness. They are fans, just like you, so don’t be shy!
BULLYING FACTS is a safe zone where everyone gets along. We do our best to keep it that way. We try to dissuade people from emphasising the differences and to emphasise the similarities: we’re all here to celebrate our passion. Since FACTS is strongly against bullying, we will escort all disruptive and disrespectful people to the exit. Should you encounter bullying or see it happen to others, then inform the FACTS Crew and we will act accordingly.
Get the FACTS app! WHY DOWNLOAD? It has ALL information about the event and it will allow you to form a personal programme. The app will remind you of important sessions. HOW TO DOWNLOAD? Search ‘FACTS 2017’ in the App Store or Google Play Store. The FACTS logo should pop up.
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April 1st 2017
Flanders Expo Ghent
DJ Neon DJ Kristian Nairn, aka Hodor Actor and DJ Kristian Nairn, aka Hodor in Game of Thrones, will ‘carry you’ through the fandom experience of a lifetime with his 1.5-hour Rave of Thrones, The Rebirth DJ set. Also entertaining you: DJ Neon! Geek until you’re weak With tons of like-minded friends. Don’t miss this fun after-party! Buy your tickets at the merchandising shop The magic starts at 20:30 Reality returns at midnight FLEX XL (at the Q&A room) Flanders Expo, Ghent We’ve hired De Lijn public transport at night! Take the trams at 00:05 and 00:24 at Flanders Expo!
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COSPLAY AT FACTS
Our event may grow like a zombie horde moving through Times Square, but FACTS will always respect and cherish cosplayers. With a huge number of cosplayers gracing us with their presence every edition, FACTS still stands as one of the sturdiest castles or safe havens where the cosplay community can keep returning to. We love seeing the wonderful outfits you keep creating. We stand in awe of the shows you give us. But most of all, we adore the fact that you come to our convention to make not only yourself, but also your fellow fans and everyone around you happy. Celebrating yourself and your passions is one of the most admirable things a human being can accomplish, and you, the cosplayers, are the pinnacle of that concept. And for that, we thank you. As long as FACTS lives on, you will have a place to come home to.
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“Never forget what you are. Armour yourself in it, and it can never be used to hurt you.� Tyrion Lannister
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COSPLAY IS NOT CONSENT
Sure, Wonder Woman and Poison Ivy look great this year. But never forget that there are real people behind those costumes.
SO TREAT THEM WITH THE RESPECT THEY DESERVE. IF YOU’RE FEELING HARASSED, PLEASE REPORT IT IMMEDIATELY.
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Cosplay Parades
Coming together to celebrate common interests has never been so visible as on the Cosplay Parade stage. Join your cosplay brothers and sisters of the same fandom in the middle of Hall 1 and get on the catwalk together. Dressed as a Star Wars character? Then join your fellow Star Wars cosplayers on stage and show yourself at your best. Imagine the pictures!
The Cosplay Code Friendliness gets you a long way. Show cosplayers respect and they will show you just how awesome they are! Always be polite. There are people behind the costumes. Cosplay is not consent. Keep your hands to yourself! Take pictures, but ask nicely first! A cosplayer has the right to refuse to be photographed. Shaming will not be tolerated. If you are caught harassing, then you’ll be escorted to the exit.
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Signing Sessions Hall 4
Photo Sessions Hall 4
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Panels and Q&A Flex XL
Spencer Wilding
Spencer Wilding
FAC Amanda Tapping Nathan Fillion Ben McKenzie
Amanda Tapping
Ben McKenzie & Morena Baccarin
Morena Baccarin
Kristian Nairn
Morena Baccarin & Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion
Kristian Nairn
Ben McKenzie
FAC
Morena Baccarin Firefly 2.0 with Nathan Fillion and Morena Baccarin
* All actors will be signing all day long, except when they are at the photo booth, doing a panel or having their
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Cosplay Stage Hall 6
Cosplay Parades Hall 1
Workshops Flex 1
Speed Dating Flex 3
Lileven: ‘Props Making for Beginners’ Sci-Fi Parade (Star Wars, Star Trek, …)
Speed Dating Session 1
CTS Cosplay Contest + Catwalk Joe Jusko & Claudio Castellini: ‘Barbarian and Co(s)mic Influences’ Nerdland – Maandoverzicht
Anime / Manga Parade Video Game Parade Comic Book Parade (Marvel, DC, etc.)
CTS Cosplay Awards
Cosplay Group Picture
Shoko and Jerome Cosplay, ‘Pattern making for armors’ Matsu Sotome ‘My work and how to get under the skin of your character’
Speed Dating LGBT Men
Speed Dating Session 2
Speed Dating LGBT Women
Lightsaber demo Speed Dating Session 3
Drawing Battle Rob DenBleyker vs. Pieter de Poortere
breaks - The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the programme.
Signing Sessions Hall 4
Photo Sessions Hall 4
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Panels and Q&A Flex XL
Spencer Wilding Spencer Wilding Kristian Nairn
Kristian Nairn Break
Amanda Tapping
Nathan Fillion
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Kristian Nairn Ben McKenzie Ben McKenzie & Morena Baccarin
Amanda Tapping
Morena Baccarin Morena Baccarin & Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion
Ben McKenzie Gotham with Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin
FAC
Morena Baccarin
* All actors will be signing all day long, except when they are at the photo booth, doing a panel or having their
Cosplay Stage Hall 6
Cosplay Parades Hall 1
Workshops Flex 1
Speed Dating Flex 3
Lynah Cosplay & Shibeez: “Cosplay embroidery without a sewing machine” Sci-Fi Parade (Star Wars, Star Trek,…)
Speed Dating Session 1
Speed Dating LGBT Men
CG Cosplay Contest Whilce Portacio: ‘Image, Wildstorm and Beyond’ Lightsaber demo
Anime / Manga Parade Video Game Parade
CTS Cosplay Awards
Maho Cosplay “Cosplay make up for beginners”
Comic Book Parade (Marvel, DC, etc.) Cosplay Group Picture
breaks - The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the programme.
Speed Dating Session 2
Speed Dating LGBT Women
Can you tame The Beast?
Find your soulmate in the speed dates!
The world’s biggest inflatable obstacle course is set right here, in the FACTS halls! Can you slay this 272-metre-long monster? Find out in Hall 3!
If FACTS is the perfect place to meet so many like-minded people at once – and it is – then it’s also the ideal moment to meet the Mary Jane to your Spider-Man, the Batman to your Catwoman. Good luck!
Whilce Portacio: ‘Image, Wildstorm and Beyond’
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The legendary artist and Image Comics co-founder Whilce Portacio will share his insights on the comic world with you. Expect anecdotes from Image, Wildstorm, Marvel, DC and other mythical comic places. Under the Q&A Hall, Sunday, 14:00 – 15:00
Jusko & Castellini: Barbarian and Co(s)mic Influences In the FACTS panel ‘Barbarian and Co(s)mic Influences’, Joe Jusko and Claudio Castellini revisit previous work and reflect on how they are influenced by fantasy and sci-fi. Comic fans, this one’s for you! Under the Q&A Hall, Saturday, 14:00 – 15:00
Asgard Sings karaoke at FACTS! Set fire to the rain in the FACTS KARAOKE bar with your friends. The only requirement is wanting to have fun. Head to the FLEX Hall and put your golden lungs to the test! Location: Under the Q&A Hall
Check out the other workshops and panels on page 16-19 FACTS also offers cosplay workshops, hands-on workshops, inspiring talks and much more in the FLEX Halls. Check the schedule on pages 16 to 19 if you want to get the maximum out of your FACTS visit!
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ARTIST ALLEY
Time to put the ‘comic’ into your comic con! Heroic Marvel, DC and Image sketches, Disney drawings, gorgeous European art: the FACTS Artist Alley has it all. Our international and local graphite and ink magicians are happy to sign your beloved comics, to put sketches on your precious paper memories and to discuss art with you in a way that only they can. Quickly, to the Artist Alley!
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Rob DenBleyker Elia Bonetti Goran Sudžuka Marco Turini Paolo Deplano John Bolton Claudio Castellini Giuseppe Cafaro Nicolas Bournay Julien Hugonnard-Bert Lorenzo Palloni Giovanni Timpano Ferran Rodriguez Laurent Libessart
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Rufus Dayglo Kas & Graza Whilce Portacio Joe Jusko Marco Failla Yıldıray Çınar Jérémy Art Grafunkel Romano Molenaar Mauricet Laurent Zimny Kenny Rubenis Charel Cambré Mauro Padovini
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INTERGALACTIC IMMIGRATION AGENCY
Nathan Fillion
home planet home galaxy species known aliases Captain Malcolm ‘Mal’ Reynolds (Firefly & Serenity), Richard ‘Rick’ Castle (Castle), ODST/Spartan Edward Buck (Halo), Evil Priest Caleb (Buffy, The Vampire Slayer) and much more.
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INTERGALACTIC IMMIGRATION AGENCY
Morena Baccarin
home planet home galaxy species known aliases
Photo sessions Panels
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INTERGALACTIC IMMIGRATION AGENCY
Ben
mckenzie
home planet home galaxY species knowN aliases
Photo sessions Panels
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INTERGALACTIC IMMIGRATION AGENCY
KrisTian nairn
home planet home galaxY species knowN aliases
Photo sessions Panels
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INTERGALACTIC IMMIGRATION AGENCY
amanda tapping
home planet home galaxy species known aliases
Photo sessions Panels
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INTERGALACTIC IMMIGRATION AGENCY
Spencer wilding
home planet home galaxy species known aliases
Photo sessions Panels
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Catering Ninja Turtles’ Cowabungalow “A rad meal against a rad hunger!” Pasta in a half shell € 5.00 Slice ‘n dice pizza € 4.00 Ultimo Soupo, dude! € 3.00
Dragon Meat Balls “Making your meat ball wishes come true!” Kamehameha fries € 3.50 Dragon meat balls & Kamehameha fries € 7.00 Veggie dragon balls with tomato sauce & Kamehameha fries € 7.00
Marie & Luigi “Sizzling hot burgers, born in fire.” Viserion burger € 9.00 Rhaegal burger € 9.00 Drogon burger € 9.00 French fries € 2.80
Fast & Fresh “The name says it all.” Soup € 4.50 Sandwiches € 3.90
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BrainFreeze Coffee & Comics “These coffees are obviously made of Dragon Balls Senzu beans, because I feel powered up!”
The Second Breakfast “You know about these, don’t you?” Elevensies burger € 6.00 Luncheon veggie burger € 6.00 Afternoon pizza € 4.00
Foodtruck Festival Snorlax’ Feeding Frenzy “These meals are always super effective” Sudowoodo hot dog € 4.00 Charizard burger € 6.00 Venusaur burger (veggie) € 6.00
Onigiri-ya
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Show Manager:
Alexis Leplat
Editor-in-Chief: Anthony Audenaerd Copywriter: Jonathan Van de Velde Editors: Alexis Leplat Anthony Audenaerd Jonathan Van de Velde Head of Design: Delphine De Clercq Graphic Designer: Eva Mestdagh Art Work: Jeroen Van Zwol for Zwoltopia (info@zwoltopia.com) Photography: Fille Roelants (www.filleroelants.be) Proofreader: Ed Walker
Community Manager: Head of Media & Spokesperson: Press Officer:
Venue Project Manager: Event Operations Manager: Head of Environment, Health & Safety: Event Operations Coordinator: Credit Control Supervisor: Credit Control Coordinator: Front Desk Coordinator:
Jonathan Van de Velde Anthony Audenaerd Debby Wilmsen (Diamonds & Pearls Communications)
Eveline De Bruycker Jens Vandevoorde Freddy Hebbrecht Tiffany Spigeleer Philippe De Caesemaeker Karin De Veireman - Christine Staelens Christelle Mertens
The FACTS Team: Dirk Oosterlinck, Alexis Leplat, Anthony Audenaerd, Jonathan Van de Velde, Julie Poppe, Thomas de Guerre The Mothership: Emmanuel Van Melkebeke, Stefaan Van de Walle, Jörgen Van der Beken, Koen De Baets, Peter Vermaele, Jasper Segers
Each year, FACTS is blessed with a loyal team of enthusiastic volunteers. They work the whole weekend, simply out of sheer love for our event. Give them a hug when you meet them, because they deserve it. Crew members: Kim, Toon, Benoît, Jessica, Naomie, Charlotte, Cloë, Tim, Doesjka, Joffrey, An-Sofie, Philip, Céline, Joas, Nele, Kenny, Kathelijn, Jorien, Jonas, Andy, Elisabeth, Yorick, Anne-Sophie, Olivier, Stijn, Koen, Mario, Suma, Philip, Kate, Peter, Tim, Hanne, Karen, Kim, Stevie, Bastiaan, Patrick, Gerwin, Joran, Inneke, Tom, Mieke, Peter, Rik, Sarah, Laura, Tijs, Joyce, Dirk, Kurt, Francis, Frank, Christina
Also a big thanks thanks to our partners, the management and staff of Artexis Easyfairs. This magazine is distributed for free. Its contents are subject to change. The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the programme.
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FACTS October 2017 will be held on 21 and 22 October 2017, right here in Flanders Expo, Ghent!