I am late with this report! Surprisingly, other duties occupied me so much that large part of the month passed before I sat down to this report. But enough excuses – let’s talk about KON_gres 2026.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
KON_gres 2026 was not my first underground convention, but first in such setting. The selected venue was conferencing part of The Silesian Museum. It lies at the grounds of the old coal mine. My previous underground cons (Panoptikon 2011 in Kraków, and Bilcon 2024 in Bilovec) took place at the basement level. Also some other cons used basements in their venues. Here however, the situation was different. We had to go to the floor -4 to get to the registration, and the whole convention took place at levels -3 & -4. Having said that, it didn’t feel like being underground. There was a large shaft in the central part of the conplace. Thanks to it the venue was well lit, and didn’t give the feeling of being in the (ex)mine.
One of the panels.
The Museum is quite new and it was visible in the available spaces. As members of KON_gres 2026 we were entitled to a visit in the exhibition part. Sadly, there was an electricity outage and the exhibitions were closed. I am very glad and thankful that the Museum was able to make the electricity work in the conferencing space. Yet, we didn’t loose the option to visit the exhibits – all members could take the voucher (valid till end of 2026) for a visit in the museum. As Kraków is very close to Katowice, and I like Silesia region, I’ll travel there again.
Cakes, Cakes everywhere
Straight from the Opening Ceremony I headed to an item called We are ZSFP, and we have cookies. It was a brief introduction of ZSFP – Polish umbrella organization consociating SFF clubs. The title of the item was not a lie – they not only had cookies but they also shared them. Somewhere during the day, I learned that there was a museum cafe opened at the -2 floor. It was not a surprise that they had some desserts. It wasn’t my duty to make a test. Just to be sure, I made it twice – on Saturday and Sunday.
Jadwiga the Dragoness (of the Imladris convention) could not resist the tempting of the cookies.
Still the biggest cake was scheduled for later. Straight after the Closing Ceremony we all headed to the hall to eat a piece of a big cake. The first KONgres took place in Wrocław back in 2016. The 10th anniversary was good moment to celebrate. Cake was just a part (although, a very tasty one) of the said celebration. The other part took place at the Closing Ceremony. Three fans who visited all the editions of KON_gres received small gifts. (In fact I don’t know if they were small, as I missed an event in 2020. Still the bags were not huge). To me, it was a very nice gesture, and something worth sincere thanks to the organizers.
Learning and Sharing
KON_gres 2026 was not about cakes (at least not only) but rather about spreading the knowledge and building connections. I had the pleasure of moderating one panel, and speaking in another. The first of those was about succession, and the other about chairing the SFF club. I enjoyed both of those and I hope that what we covered was of interest to the audience.
I also listened to a few programme items, and I learned certain things. Two of those treated about neurodiversity. First was a panel about leading the team of neurodivergent people. The other was a presentation prepared based on the interviews made with a few fans who are on the spectrum. On the latter we learned about how they felt in fandom and at conventions. While it was clear that there were good sides to it, there was also a coverage of the issues they faced and how badly they were treated in some situations. This shows that that we need to improve this aspect of our community.
Presentation of fandom survey results.
I also visited a few other items and when looking back, I enjoyed every single one of those. Jego Cesarska Wysokość presented results of a large survey made online with many groups of fans. Some of the findings were surprising others confirmed what some of us felt, but didn’t have a proof for. I also enjoyed Pająk’s talk about working with graphic designers. Lastly I want to thank Andrzej for a presentation about finding a venue, and making negotiations. It was useful, and I’ll put it into practice.
Mingling with Fans
Important part of KON_gres 2026 was meeting others and bonding. It worked very well for me. We started on Friday before the con. Organizers made a reservation in one pub (connected with a restaurant). I may have not spent there a lot of time, but it was definitely time well spent. I talked with some people whom I knew very well, and with some with whom my connection was not as strong. Usually I am going back to the hotel alone (being the first to leave the party), but this time there was more of us going. It was a lovely walk as I like Katowice, but I usually don’t walk around the city at night.
I didn’t have a picture showing social aspect of the con, but at least I can show some of the people who attended KON_gres 2026.
Saturday evening was a bit more challenging as the reserved pub was too small for everyone. Together with Seji we went to another one located 2 minutes away. Sadly, they didn’t have food, and we were both hungry. In the end we ate at a nearby convenience store and came back for an evening full of conversation and laughs.
Also the con itself offered a lot of space for interactions with others. I did part of it in the Tea Room (or rather area) ran by Phoe. It was there, where I offered to design and moderate a panel for the next con (which I’ll post about soon). To my surprise on one of the programme items I met a friend with whom I haven’t met for over ten years. We had to go to the Museum cafe and talk for an hour or so. It was a nice meeting!
Farewells, and the Future
At the end of the con, on Sunday we took a group picture, and I had to go for a train. I said farewell and moved onwards. Yet I know that I’ll meet many of those people at the coming events. Having said that, it may be a good moment to cover some future cons. Next two KON_greses will take place in Łódź and Gdańsk. We also got some updates about the future Polcon x Bachanalia Fantastyczne in Zielona Góra (2026) and a bid from Gniezno to host Polcon x Fantasmagoria in 2028. Till recently there was no bid for 2027, but at KON_gres one was announced. The team running KON_gres 2026 decided to propose a stand-alone Polcon in 2027. They plan to hold it in the same venue. I am looking forward to it.
Cake was served close to the end of the convention.
KON_gres 2026 was a good convention. I had a great time, and despite some issues I am very happy that I participated in it. I am looking forward for the next two editions, and I hope, I’ll manage to participate in both of them. Still, I plan on visiting some more cons on the way.
You can find more pictures in my FB gallery.
My next post will appear within two weeks from now.