I attended and wrote coverage on NekoCon 2024. That convention was truly the last bit of calm before the electoral storm of the later part of the year of 2024. Then 2025 came, and we all lived an entire lifetime in the very first month of January. A friend suggested choosing joy, choosing a break in the gloom, and suggested MagFest, so there I went.
For those of you who do not know: MagFest (Super Magfest) is an annual winter music and video game festival held in National Harbor, Maryland. It features a variety of musical acts, performances, workshops, panels, and vendors from across the globe. People travel from all over to take part in this 4-day event. They risk body and mind in order to bear witness to the glory that is this spectacle.
Driving up to Maryland the Thursday before MagFest with a dear friend, I tried to muster up the enthusiasm that I usually feel when attending nerd events. Unfortunately, I couldn’t muster it. I couldn’t shake the deep gloom that had set in before January even began. Joy? Who was she? Never heard of her. It was hard to feel happiness. How could you? The year 2025 began with a bleak bang and only pointed to a future shrouded in fog and misery. In addition to the uncertainty, the world continued to be on fire. My friend and I acknowledged that we couldn’t escape from reality, but we could try and enjoy the time we had at this festival. It was going to be my first MagFest. Looking back on that dark car ride, I truly didn’t think my mood would shift. Where is hope in times like this?
However, to my surprise, all that changed almost the moment I stepped foot into the Gaylord Convention Center.
At first glance, Magfest would appear to be just like any other dorky convention to the modern layman. Weirdos packed every floor of the Gaylord with colorful cosplays, Lolita co-oords, gijinka, worbla armor, and LED lights were scattered all throughout the marble floors. But there was something more at this convention. A kind of pulse, just under the surface of everything. I felt as though there was something threaded that linked every single person.
I’m not going to lie; I simply don’t have the talent to string the words together to express what that is. I do not have the education or the “touch of the poet” or whatever it may be. I felt it though. Now, this stream of emotions manifested in acts of kindness, of service, and public declarations of passion. Freedom was found in those packed hotel rooms and crowded hallways.
I witnessed kindness, generosity, understanding, love, inclusion, and PASSION that random weekend in National Harbor. Speaking with another volunteer in the VR department, it allowed me to reflect the deep and unsettling dread I felt wandering through the hallways of the Gaylord: I have something that brings me this amount of joy. With that realization came how easily it can all be taken away from me.
And that joy turned to unimaginable fear.
It’s always when you have something to cherish and protect is when that gnawing abyss that lies dormant within you stirs. Paranoia, anxiety spikes, the works.
I am afraid. I am afraid of what’s happening. I am afraid of what’s coming. And I’m afraid I don’t have a way to neatly tie up this random festival review.
From the beautiful orchestra performance Saturday morning to the Magpie suite, I was reminded of what is born from shared passion; I was reminded of what can be created when we all lay our hands on top of one another. It is another cue that hope is found within each of us. I don’t know what’s to come, but I am grateful that I was granted a reprieve that, honestly, I don’t deserve and neither do you. We don’t have the luxury to look away and close our eyes, but I’m grateful nonetheless. I wish you all luck and solidarity in the wars to come.
Short for “Music And Gaming Festival,” MAGFest is a four day-long event dedicated to the appreciation of video game music, gaming of all types, and the gaming community. The event runs 24 hours a day, and offers consoles, arcades, tabletop, LAN, live video game cover bands, chiptunes, vendors, guest speakers, and much much more.
See more about the festival via their website, Facebook, Bluesky, Twitter (X), Instagram, and Youtube pages.
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I am delighted to hear that you had an impactful first Mag. I’ve been going since 2014, and it always feels like home when I step into the Gaylord. The unifying undercurrent you described is something that I know and treasure deeply. This year especially, it felt like we were all on the same page of joy in the face of despair, but as community building rather than pure escapist revelry. Great to see plenty of green hats around too!