'I've come home': How Sci-Fi on the Rock brings like-minded fans together

Every year, sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book fans from all across Newfoundland and Labrador wait for their chance to come back to Sci-Fi on the Rock.

Many of them spend all year in schools, communities, and towns where there may only be a handful of other people who share their interests.

But when they get to the convention, and look around and see Pikachu darting to their left, and Reptar, Cyclops, and Professor McGonagall to their right, one thing's for sure.

They're back with their people — hundreds and hundreds of them.

"When I first came to Sci-Fi … when I walked in I felt really insecure because, I mean, I'm a 44-year-old woman dressed up like a witch, what the heck?" says Heather Lane, who arrived in costume as Professor McGonagall from the Harry Potter series.

 "But when I walked through the door I was instantly recognized, so I just felt like, 'OK, I've come home.'"

From a young brother and sister duo dressed up as Cheryl and Jason Blossom from the Riverdale TV show based on the Archie Comics characters, to Harley Quinn and the Joker from the Suicide Squad film, there was no shortage of characters on display on Saturday.

Tight-knit community

Rowan White came dressed as Star, the main character of the anime series Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

She said the sense of community at Sci-Fi on the Rock is second to none.

"A lot of people here are always gonna be friends with each other, especially where a lot of people come back or fly in from different places," said White.

"You get to know all of the people who are selling work, all of the people who make a lot of cool costumes, and it's sort of like making friends instantly over stuff that you really enjoy."

Many in the crowd at the Sheraton Hotel in St. John's live in town, but just as many others, like Brooke, travelled hours away. 

Brooke didn't want to give a last name, is from Marystown and has been coming to the con for the last five years.

"We just like having any excuse to hang out with friends and other people with the same interests," said Brooke.

"It's a lot easier to find them at a big con like this than during the year. Because a lot of us are reclusive and just kinda stay indoors playing the games that we talk about here."

Feels like home

Standing in the atrium, you can see this community growing in real time.

People of all ages — adults, teenagers, young children — mill about, dancing and getting to know each other.

Some were strangers before they walked through the doors of the convention this weekend, but now they're standing together like kin, united by a shared love for fandom.

Near the back, two young adults sit and play the piano, cycling through recognizable songs. 

They play everything from the ballad "Say Something" to "Welcome to the Black Parade" by the band My Chemical Romance.

But they finally settle on one song that everybody knows, and the familiar notes ring on the piano, and the crowd of kids chants in unison.

"Don't stop believing. Hold on to that feeling."

It's the perfect song for a group sing-a-long, but it also partly reflects why people keep coming back to conventions like Sci-Fi on the Rock every year.

Here, attendees can be themselves, fully and without fear.

Sci-Fi on the Rock continues on Sunday at the Sheraton Hotel in St. John's.