Live Shots: At SiliCon, fans of all flavors let their freak flags fly

At the start of the SiliCon pop culture and technology convention on the morning of August 27, host Adam Savage encouraged participants to let their “freak flags fly”—and participants obliged.

A delightfully quirky crowd had converged in San Jose to celebrate all manner of imaginative and creative endeavors. The last few years have given even more reasons to step outside the everyday and into a world of costumes, cosplay, heroes, science, exploration, and creation. At SiliCon, MythBusters like Savage existed side by side with other worldly personas. Raven Fox Capes and Cloaks (take the “What type of cloak wearer are you?” quiz on their website) were sold next to Chose Wan Apparel’s model DeLorean Time Machine—with Christopher Lloyd available for fans. Plushies and anime icons were for sale across from Plague masks. George Takei, who despite his family’s horrific internment, has gone on to joyfully advocate for inclusion and social justice, signed autographs in celebrity row.

In conversation with Jonathan Knowles, Adam Savage described how his childhood curiosity led to his adult desire to constantly pull the curtain aside and figure out how things work. Savage acknowledged that he was privileged to have parents who celebrated and supported his creative endeavors (even when he violated his childhood naptime). In many ways, SiliCon is Savage’s way to give that freedom to create to all of us. SiiCon celebrates our differences, but even those differences coalesce under the power of imagination and creation umbrella that brings the world NASA exploration, Mario Brothers, anime, plushies, Star Wars, Star Trek, and all other creative world we can imagine! —Patty Riek