A couple of hours ago, I was walking up Pike Street when I heard the intermittent eruption of loud cheers.
I looked around … nothing.
I looked around some more … nothing.
Of course, being the inquisitive sort, I could not leave the issue alone. I had to investigate.
I searched high, I searched low, and just before giving up, I decided to take a quick walk through Freeway Park.
Here, I found a strange spectacle.
Sakura-Con Circle Game at Freeway Park
Sakura-Con Circle Game at Freeway Park
Sakura-Con Group Hug
Sakura-Con Circle Game
Sakura-Con Circle Game
I felt like Bee Girl.
Near the rear entrance of the Convention Center, in the middle of Freeway Park, I encountered a circle of nerds. Since I consider myself a mega-nerd of epic proportions, I do not mean this in a negative way. Also, these folks liberally referred to themselves as nerds.
The costumed creatures were standing in a circle, and random individuals belted out “Guess What?!”.
“What?!”, the crowd would respond.
With that, the person would say something completely irrelevant and the crowd would erupt in cheers.
Download Video: MP4
Why do they do this?
I do not know, but I spent an hour at this event, and I had a good time.
I hope they have another one tomorrow.
Next year, I think I am going to dress up and attend Sakura-Con. I’m serious.
My only decision at this point is: Thong or no thong.
Party on beautiful nerds.
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
Sakura-Con 2011
the guy with the red shirt, 2nd up from the bottem is a friend of mine from high school lol
As someone who has watched the “circle game” (more properly and commonly known as “the glomp circle,”) and someone who has been attending this convention for 6 years, I figured I’d help clue you in.
The glomp circle is a combination of “spin the bottle” and “glomping,” with the latter term referring to a sort of a half-tackle, half-hug*. The “guess what” thing is mostly done for laughs or for the sake of screaming (such as “Guess what!” “What?!” “I’m happy to be here!”,) but it can also be used to issue directives to the circle – glomp the Gaara, get more people in the circle, etc. The direction in which the bottles point determines the person you glomp, hence the parallels with the slightly less innocent “spin the bottle.”
I’ve watched it since my first year, and I’ve always been fascinated by the interactions the game shows. You’ve got the “hive-mind” thing going, with the conditioned response to “guess what?” and being able to guide the circle no matter your place in it; you’ve got a physical expression of simple joy and enthusiasm in the hugging and screaming and tackling; you have a sense of belonging by the simple fact that you’re in the circle. I’d love to see a psychologist do a study on it.
* With this said, it’s been modified to more of a run-and-hug, since it’s easy to break people (or worse, their costumes!) by tackling them. It’s interesting in and of itself that glomp circles are discouraged in most conventions – but since they’re outside the convention center proper, there’s nothing the convention can technically do.
I was that slight orange child in the wheel chair. I was awarded $5 for being “The Coolest Person in the Circle” because I had a broken ankle and was still playing… Hence the large boot I was wearing. :D
I recognize far too many of the characters they’re cosplaying… It’s good to see P&S getting some love though.