A week after Eurocon, I travelled to attend Bazyliszek 2026 convention in Warszawa. It is a convention series that I like a lot. Last year they also hosted Polcon, and the team is bidding to host Eurocon in 2029.
“Just” Three Days
After five days of conventioning in Berlin (well 4 days + travel time), three days of Bazyliszek 2026 seemed like a short con. Yet it was not short at all, and quite packed with interesting things to do. I arrived on Friday evening and didn’t manage to have a lot of time at the con then. Still I attended a panel on Women in Space. I enjoyed it so it was a good start for the con.
Bazyliszek 2026 attracted many fans.
As a matter of fact the convention started for me a bit earlier. When we arrived I met some friends and talked with them. I also went to the registration. Bazyliszek 2026, like the previous ones, was a free convention opened to the public. They have however, a kind of supporting membership which helps to fund the convention – PDK. Whoever buys it, also receives some convention swag. As I learned on Friday, I bought two PDKs… For some reason I forgot about the one I obtained in April, and ordered it again in June. Well, at least I know that I supported organization that I value.
Speaking of PDK I should explain the meaning, as it is a nice wordplay in Polish. Bazyliszek started as an RPG heavy event. Experience Points in Polish is “Punkty Doświadczenia” – PD, which changes into “pedeki” in speech, thus PDK is a reference to that. Yet as an acronym it stands for “Pakiet Dóbr Konwentowych” [Convention Goods Bundle].
The plan was to go to sleep early on Friday as I was still tired after Eurocon, but it was not what happened. I had best intentions and I almost succeeded. My plan was to visit a convention pub for a minute to meet my friends, there but in the end I headed to the hotel earlier. The trap I fell into was the fact that I was not staying alone. We had to talk till, maybe not late night, but at least somehow late. Do I regret it? Right the opposite! I am sure I will manage to catch-up on sleep… someday at least.
Tough Choices
I already wrote that there were plenty of interesting things to do at Bazyliszek 2026. It was not uncommon for me to find a few interesting programme items at the same hour. Choices were made. The willingness to meet with people didn’t make the choices any easier, nor did shifts at Zajdel Award table. It would be cool to have an option to live through the con again and check also other options.
An interview with Mary Robinette Kowal.
Having said all that, I managed to listen to a few programme items. Those included interview with Mary Robinette Kowal, and prior to that her autographing session. I got not only her signature, but also a stamp with her cat’s – Elsie, paw. I wanted to attend a talk on the evolution of dogs but the room was too small, so I went to listen to my second choice talk. It was a presentation about the government and power in Battlestar Galactica. I have no idea how good the dogs’ evolution talk was, but the BSG one was excellent.
There was also a presentation about Japanese RPGs in the programme. I attended it, and it was good. Would love to have it even longer as it seems that there is way more to share on the topic. Maybe at one of the next cons?
Presentation on Japanese RPG. I am waiting for more!
Venues
Convention used three venues, and an open space between two of them. Alternatywy Culture centre was the main building. Right opposite it was the second one (local government building). Between them were a few rows of tents filled with dealers, fantables, and more. There was also a foodtrack space nearby, and a water cart. Generally water was available for anyone wishing to fill in their bottle.
In the main building there was one exhibition room. It was not very big, but featured some interesting items (and some random encounters with people on top of that). Like in the previous year, there was a big Lego exhibition at Bazyliszek 2026. There were also other items – including cosplay costumes, and SFF models. The alien in the airvent was quite awesome.
When you think that you are safe…
The last building (a new addition) was a nearby school. It was a few minutes away by foot, so it was easy for me to get there. The only problem that venue had were small rooms. Sadly, this is the issue when convention gets bigger – sometimes space is too limited. It was already announced that Bazyliszek is looking for a new venue for the next year. I am keeping my fingers crossed for the team.
Many Friends
Sometimes I feel like I am repeating myself. I always need to write about programme, usually about the venue, and always about the people. Yet what else can I do? Meeting friends and going to programme are two main reasons why I attend conventions.
At Bazyliszek 2026, there were a lot of my friends, and also some people who I only met, but hope to keep the contact in the future. This year I didn’t manage to visit the convention pub. On the first day I was too tired, and on the second I spent a whole evening at another pub/bar. Of course I was not alone there – it was still a part of meeting the people from the con.
The “tent city” between the two venues.
One of the meetings I had changed into a game of MtG, which I almost don’t know, but it was fun nevertheless. Due to time constraint I had to leave early. Thanks to that, I may say that I didn’t lose. Should I stay till the end, the situation would change for sure.
300
As indicated in the title of this post Bazyliszek 2026 was my 300th convention. Some years ago I wrote a separate post about the celebration of 200th con. I am surprised by the number 300 more than I can tell. I mean, I am noting the conventions I visit so I knew for some time that Bazyliszek was very likely to be a jubilee. Yet it is a surprise that another 100 cons passed in a blink of an eye. Still the numbers do not lie. I didn’t have the time to prepare anything special for the convention, so it was a quiet celebration almost no one knew about.
Despite some rain, Bazyliszek 2026 was fun. I was not bored at all, and even at the fantable there were no moments when I was alone. Moreover one of my friends was kind enough to play and sing my filk for me. A new experience unlocked :). I do consider Bazyliszek 2026 a good celebration. And now onwards to the next con, next Bazyliszek, and (hopefully) 400th convention!
You can find more pictures in my FB gallery.
My next post will appear in the first half of August.