My Trip to The Sonic Boom US West Chapter

Like many of us, I was disappointed to hear that Sonic Boom was heading to St. Louis. I can totally understand though. Many Sonic fans back East miss out on these things. As a Southern California native, I’m lucky enough to go to events like E3, Comic Con and have an annual pass to Disneyland. So I was happy that people in the mid-US got a chance to enjoy some Sonic fandom, but still, many in other US regions feel left out. So now, Sonic meet ups are starting to spring up in a few states. The first of them is the Sonic Boom US West Chapter (to be called Sonic Revolution next year). Was it a homing attack hit or a Death-Egg disaster? Read on.

I almost didn’t get a chance to go since my tires were giving me trouble. That and I got lost on the way there (why does the 57 freeway have TWO Chapman avenue off ramps within 5 miles of each other?!) However, I prevailed and made my Way to the Dave and Buster’s in Orange County. It was then I realized I made a huge mistake. I FORGOT MY 3DS! Five or six of the fifteen attendees had their 3DS with them playing either Sonic Generations or Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed. Host Shayne Edwards recognized me right away (or I was just the last on the list of attendees) and took me to my seat. We were allowed up to $20 on a meal, but since this was independently hosted I didn’t want to spend too much and just had a mini pretzel dogs appetizer.

I immediately started hearing a debate next to me about both the comics and Sonic ’06 and joined in. It was so nice to just get into a conversation about Sonic outside of a podcast or on the internet. Not often I get to meet other people with similar interests. The staff hosting had some Sonic music playing. Mostly the more goofy Euro stuff (rather than the dorky Crush 40/Cash Cash stuff but I like my Sonic music to have a more American flavor dagnabbit). They also showed off some videos courtesy of the Sonic Show who helped sponsor the event. There were a few planned videos to show, including Metropolis Mayhem and Sonic Shorts 8 but sadly, the files were corrupted. Some of the videos shown (especially the one with Sonic in some magical anime dress)made me cringe in my seat with embarrassment. There was one very cool video with silhouettes of all the Sonic characters that looked hand animated in a charcoal style. If anyone can find that one on youtube and link it in the comments, I’d be very thankful.

We had one cosplayer in attendance. Bishop Garham who had won the cosplaying contest at Sonic Boom 2013 in St. Louis (y’know, that tiny event) had brought her Metal Sonic costume to our little party. It’s pretty impressive too! Not only did she have it very detailed, but both the eyes and chest lit up. Very detailed.

Then came the final festivities and the best part of any Sonic event, FREE GOODIES! Everyone in attendance received a tiny button with Big and Knuckles fishing, an exclusive SBWC poster with Sonic and Tails showing the power of teamwork and a download code for Crush 40 Live at the Summer of Sonic 2012. All courtesy of The Sonic Show. Then, some raffle prizes were given out. From a Funko Sonic figurine to a hardcover edition of The History of Sonic the Hedgehog. After that came the trivia contest. I was one of the three chosen thanks to the raffle. It was multiple choice on all questions. Some were easy, some were very tough. I managed to guess my way to first place (AKA I got lucky). First place prize was a copy of the UK paperback novel “Sonic in the fourth dimension”. I honestly hadn’t heard of it before, but I hear it’s pretty rare. Second place got a Sonic wallet while third place got a Sonic lanyard. With that, the festivities were over and everyone said their goodbyes.

While Sonic Boom US West Chapter was a much smaller affair than an event like “Summer of Sonic” or “Sonic Boom” I still had a lot of fun. With a smaller crowd, it was easier to talk to others and get to know them a little better. It made for a friendly atmosphere and a good time all around. I have volunteered myself to help out with next year’s Sonic Revolution 2014. Hopefully we can make it into bigger and better. I’d love for this event to be the next “Summer of Sonic” for the western part of the US.