Lublin stands by Falkon. This legendary fantasy festival has become an annual icon, attracting thousands of participants to the Lublin Fair. Unfortunately, this event has not taken place for years, and the inhabitants of Lublin and visiting lovers of fantastic worlds had to do without their favorite days of the year. This time, however, something changed, and on the Lublin stage appeared … the StarFest Festival!
The fantastic StarFest Festival of Imagination took place between 4 and 6 November in a place known for Falkons, i.e. in the halls of Targi Lublin. Fortunately, there was a group of people in Lublin who decided to create a new fantastic event!
What could you see during the three days of StarFest? The halls hosted about 400 events related to broadly understood fantasy and pop culture. Participants could take part in meetings with the stars of popular culture. Creators from Grupa Filmowa Darwin or Szymon Pękala from War of Ideas talked to the fans. The section of lectures, lectures and discussion panels has been divided into blocks: literary, popular science, pop culture, sci-fi, role-playing games and varia. In addition, competitions and tournaments were waiting for us at the stands, and the main stage was full of shows and concerts.
One of the halls has already been classically dedicated to a large library of board games. There was a separate zone with computer and console games, including the retro ones! Guests could also explore a huge zone full of commercial and themed stands. Variety guaranteed! There I met Franciszek Piątkowski, a Lublin-born author of novels drawing heavily on the beliefs of the Slavs. An extremely interesting character, and a ready dedication in the book for me. That’s what StarFest is like – you don’t know when you’ll meet your favorite writer!
What the StarFest Festival has to fight against are natural associations with Falkon. The new festival in Lublin is a new creation, so it will not gather as many interested people as the already valued convention. There are slightly fewer people, the exhibitors are also less numerous. However, considering that this is the first edition of the new festival, the whole thing is very impressive. If the next ones take place, I bode great successes to the organizers!
I spent long hours at Targi Lublin checking all the available attractions. I also had the opportunity to give a lecture on “The Return of the American 80s in Today’s Popular Culture”. It’s been a long time since I spoke before such an engaged and interested audience. I appreciate the contact with the organizers. Hope to see you next year!
Photos courtesy of Błażej Pasternak and the StarFest Festival team