Weekend warriors invade Brandon
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/01/2019 (2661 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
You’d think you were walking into a war zone, and in a way you’d be right.
Inside the doors of the Westoba Agricultural Centre of Excellence, well over 100 people in camouflage fatigues and black tactical gear bent over their weapons and checked their “ammo,” waiting to do battle during the Westman Airsoft Con this weekend.
“I think it’s a really good sport for me,” said Yun Ing, 21, who had come out from Winnipeg with a group of pals to participate in the airsoft convention on Saturday.
“We are not in the military, but we like the guns and the military uniform, so we came out to try this,” he smiled.
Airsoft is a team-based theatrical military/law-enforcement re-enactment sport. The weapons are armed with plastic pellets to shoot opponents or metal ones strictly for non-human targets.
Kevin Solomon, the organizer of this year’s event, said this is just a chance for airsoft enthusiasts to haul out their guns in winter and enjoy the sport.
“In the wintertime, it’s hard to play airsoft outside, because it’s cold,” he said, adding some of the guns don’t take well to exposure to that kind weather.
“A lot of these guys are fanatics,” said Solomon, who has been playing the sport for about 15 years.
“They love the sport. They play all summer, every weekend,” he said. “This is a time for them to come bring out their new guns they got for Christmas and get, kind of, a couple of days of fun in.”
The event features prizes, airsoft retailers and a 9,000-square-foot “killhouse,” where non-combat attractions such as dog and horse shows are normally held.
“It’s just a little war zone,” Solomon chuckled.
While the event was being touted as the first annual Westman Airsoft Con, it has been held in Brandon for the past eight years as the Show ’N’ Shoot Airsoft Convention.
Solomon, who took over the reins for this year’s event, said he wanted to change things up a bit and decided to give it a new name with new games to present to the players.
“I’m trying some different stuff to see if it works, just little things,” he said.
Little things such as killing the undead.
“Later on tonight, we’re going to turn off all the lights when it’s darker, and we’re going to play zombie games,” he said.
About 40 participants will play zombies, with happy-face balloons tacked to their chests for the players to shoot and kill the zombies.
“Just a variety of games to keep it spicy and have some fun,” Solomon said.
Dallas Brown, who normally organizes the convention, said he was happy to let Solomon have all the fun this year.
“I wanted to get a different perspective this year,” said Brown, who was looking forward to taking part in the games instead of having to organize them.
» brobertson@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @BudRobertson4