Contributing authors: Antal Bokor and Marielle Bokor.
The end of a con is a weird thing. On the one hand, you're sad it's ending. It always goes by so fast that you just can't believe you're already checking out, packing up and going out on the show floor one last time. On the other hand, you're tired, especially after Saturday night's after parties, you've likely spent a good amount of money, and you're lookin' for a good meal and a fast ride home.
C2E2 always has something alluring on Sunday morning, and this time, it was the Chris Evans panel. It's by design, since packing the house on Saturday tends to happen with or without huge names, and the lines to see main stage guests we saw at the Buffy reunion, Boy Meets World Panel and Avatar the Last Airbender panel already run wild and start hours early.
Chris Evans @ C2E2 2023. Photo: Marielle Bokor
We got a chance to sit in on the Chris Evans panel on the last day of C2E2. This panel was so anticipated, that there were people lining up well before the gates opened, hoping to get in to see Captain America himself. What we weren’t expecting was how soft spoken, and even dorky, the man behind the First Avenger can seem. While he didn’t take any fan questions on the floor, the host was relaying fan questions to Evans via social media.
Chris Evans @ C2E2 2023. Photo: Marielle Bokor
It turns out that Evans is a movie nerd. Weighing in on his appearance in the upcoming Christmas action movie Red One, he said, “I actually was worried 'Is this gonna ruin Christmas for me?' because it's so special. 'Do I really want to see my mug every Christmas?' But I'm telling you, every day was Christmas, and when it wrapped I was like 'Aww.' Believe me, I couldn't get enough of it.”
Evans is very definition of charming and low-key, and we left feeling like there's a chance the people we love to see on screen are just as pleasant, if not more so, in real life.
Miss Yooka, Coco Sho-Nell and Muffy Fishbasket at Drag Story Hour. C2E2 2023. Photo: Marielle Bokor
Riding on the good feelings, we decided to head to Family HQ to support the Drag Story Hour.
Drag performers are currently under attack all around the country, including here in Chicago, as are drag events, and nerds need to show up in full force to be allies. Not to mention, Drag Story Hour is a fantastic way to refresh on the last day of a con!
Performers Muffy Fishbasket, Miss Yooka, Coco Sho-Nell and Amanda Lynn brought the glamour and positivity, and Family HQ was filled to overflowing with attendees of all ages. Kids were treated to amazing costumes and fantastic performances by all the queens, who read stories that reinforced the beauty of being who you are and finding a place for everyone to be themselves. It's a better world, if a temporary one, and it brought congoers together for a little bit of hope and a big boost of confidence, which we could all use a little more of in our daily lives.
We, along with C2E2, give our full support to these amazing, charitable, gorgeous queens and the work they do.
That wraps up all the best things we saw in panel rooms on the final day of C2E2. Thanks for taking the journey with us and remember to make the world a better place once you get out in it.