Gen Con Photo: Hey, That's Bob Ross!

Gen Con, the gamers’ convention held annually in Indianapolis, is now in full swing—and, of course, that means its many-splendored styles are as well. This weekend, sartorial choices that transform ordinary humans into warlocks, fairies, goblins, and other fantastical characters and creatures abound on downtown city streets. To note, pop-culture references aplenty appear as well. For one, the local Star Trek tribute band, Five Year Mission, will play its brand of comic/cosmic rock at the Westin on Saturday night.

Then there’s the gentleman pictured at left, a Gen Con convention-goer who delivered an unlikely but warm homage to the beloved, genteel painter Bob Ross, star of The Joy of Painting TV show that ran into 1994. The show was shot on the campus of Muncie’s Ball State University until its cancellation a year before Ross’s death due to lymphoma.

What characters and attire have you seen strolling and patrolling downtown this weekend?

Photo courtesy Kathy Backhoff