GW: Warhammer Weekend In Texas
We took a trip to visit the first Warhammer Weekend in Grapevine Texas hosted by the Warhammer Citadel Team – and we had a pretty good time hanging out!
When Games Workshop announced, they were setting up a new style shop in Grapevine, Texas we were pretty excited. This new Warhammer Cafe was going to be a prime-time spot for folks in the US to come and get a glimpse at all things Warhammer. Not only were they planning on having plenty of game space, but they also wanted to have food, host events, and also bring Forge World to the US in a place where we would all have access. Given the fact that BoLS is based out of Austin, we were only a few hours drive away as well.
As time went on, GW decided to name the new location the Warhammer Citadel Store & Cafe. Everything was looking good but then some bad news happened, and they had to delay their Grand Opening. However, the crew at the Warhammer Citadel didn’t want to disappoint the fans. So in less than a month they put together a Warhammer Weekend, and it turned out to be a lot of fun:
If you’ve never been to a convention, even a small one, it can be a little hard to imagine all the planning that goes into it. The stuff that’s happening behind the scenes from logistics, to event coordinating, to just getting the people there to pull it off can be pretty crazy. Transporting terrain to an event can be terrifying! Plus you have to get all your stuff setup, and if you’ve got vendors you have to get all that coordinated…look, it’s not easy by any means. Now try to imagine all that planning and headache condensed down into three weeks. Oh, and you still aren’t entirely sure how many people are even going to show-up! (Surprise, it was a lot!)
Well, my hat is off to the Warhammer Citadel Team because they pulled it all together. There were a LOT of folks there, hanging out, shopping, and of course, PLAYING all things Warhammer. The GW Crew hosted multiple events, had a Warhammer Store setup, and had a Narrative Gaming area as well as open play/board games. Was this the biggest event I’ve ever seen? No, but it was a pretty big deal for the US Warhammer Community. If they can pull this off in three weeks, I can’t wait to see what they have planned when they have their own space.
The fact is that soon we will have a place in the US that GW can hold events similar to the Warhammer Weekend. If Nottingham is the “Warhammer Mecca” then for folks in the US the Warhammer Citadel is going to be the next best thing. We were chatting with the crew there, and they are so excited about opening up it’s infectious. We can’t wait to see what they have put together in all its glory, and you can bet we’re going to be visiting the location for events and other coverage moving forward.
I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but how cool will it be for this new place to have seminars where they reveal new products like Warhammer Fest? What if they start hosting US Grand Tournaments at this location as well? And Forge World at a place you can shop like you can in Nottingham?! If the Warhammer Weekend was any indication of what these guys can do in three weeks, I’m pretty confident they can do all of those things with their space and time.
Here’s hoping the Warhammer Weekend was just the first of many. It was great to see all the folks that came out to play, shop, and just hang out. We can’t wait to see what’s next!
