I’m standing in a line outside the Hartford Convention Center on a Friday morning. In front of me, Captain America is standing next to Captain Kirk. In front of them is Finn from “Adventure Time,” and next to him is Harley Quinn.

This unusual cast of characters is not some surreal dream, but costumed fans waiting in line to get into ConnectiCon, New England’s largest “massively multi-genre” hobby convention held in Hartford, Connecticut. Since 2002, ConnectiCon has been bringing fans of pop culture, gaming, and more together under one roof. Their tagline is “Everything But the Kitchen Sink.” From card and board gaming, to popular authors, illustrators, actors, and web celebrities, there’s more to see and do than you can hope to cram into one day, which is why the convention is spread out over three-and-a-half days of excitement.

THURSDAY, JULY 11th

Thursday evening was the convention’s soft open, with people checking into hotels, and those who pre-registered picking up their badges to get into the convention  The only event of the evening was a low-key formal dress “Nerd Prom,” with people dressed up in fancy duds hanging out.

FRIDAY, JULY 12th

Friday is the actual opening day for the convention, and it has a bit of a mellow vibe at first, as many people need to wade through the various check in-lines to get badges, but it picks up throughout the day. After spending a bit wandering the sites, checking out some of the great cosplays people were wearing and catching up with friends, it was time to get down to business. As a diehard player of the “Magic: The Gathering” card game — a game that mixes the strategy of chess with the luck and bluffing skills of poker — my goal for the day was to jam in as many drafts as I could. Three drafts and several hours later, I’d won a pile of sweet cards, and sold to vendors things that I didn’t need to cover most of my entry fees. Not too shabby.

In the evening, I went to two panels that I’d been looking forward to. The first was a presentation by author and editor Margaret Killjoy, of the independent publisher Combustion Books, on material from their forthcoming release, A Steampunk’s Guide To Death. The book is a sequel to their previous A Steampunk’s Guide To Sex, a hilarious romp through 19th century sexual practices and sexual mores. Killjoy is not only a great author and editor, but also a great speaker and presenter who took the audience on a “tour” of 19th century death practices, from the recording of last words and the capturing of last breaths, to grave robbery, cremation, and more.

The second panel was a premiere of the new short film Zombie Anonymous. Zombie Anonymous is a horror/comedy produced by DoubleTake Productions and directed by Jacob Bittens. The film is a hilarious satire of Alcoholics Anonymous and similar support groups, and is the first in a series of film satires the company has in the works.

The evening wrapped up with a 21+ dance party, overnight gaming, and film screenings.

SATURDAY, JULY 13th

One of the major draws of ConnectiCon every year is the awesome celebrity guests they bring in. This year’s convention featured a diverse array of guests, including renowned fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, Marina Sirtis from Star Trek: The Next Generation and the Star Trek movies, legendary voice actor Jim Cummings (Winnie the Pooh, TaleSpin), Michael Trucco and Nicki Clyne of Battlestar Galactica, web celebrity Doug Walker (aka “That Guy With the Glasses”), and dozens of other guests. While all these guests are amazing, the two that I was most pumped to meet and interact with were Marina Sirtis and Brandon Sanderson.

Marina Sirtis brought great poise to her role as Counselor Deanna Troi, though she joked during a Q&A with the press that many of her lines amounted to little more than having her telepathic character state things that were already obvious. Joking aside, Sirtis said that it was the camaraderie the cast shared during their time on set that made working on Star Trek so memorable for her.

For fantasy literature nerds like myself, the name Brandon Sanderson is a household name. While best known as the author who completed Robert Jordan’s epic Wheel of Time series, Sanderson is an established author in his own right, with the Mistborn series and the novels Warbreaker and The Way Of Kings. Sanderson is not only a highly successful author, he is also a very humble and down to earth guy. Not just a fantasy writer but also a rabid fantasy reader and avid fan, Sanderson’s love of literature comes across in everything he says — which is ironic, he notes, coming from a guy who for much of his childhood hated reading.

No trip to a convention would be complete without taking a good chunk of time to peruse the vendors’ room, and the artist colony area where anything your nerdy heart desires is there for sale. As a gamer, I spent most of my time browsing dealers selling “Magic” cards and vintage board games, but practically everything from costume wigs, to movie posters, to action figures was on sale. And Pocky. Lots and lots of Pocky.

Of the artists, publishers, and others present, the Combustion Books table and part of the team of webcomic “Cyanide & Happiness” were the two tables that I spent the most time at. Combustion Books is best known as the publisher of Margaret Killjoy’s What Lies Beneath The Clocktower, a steampunk adventure of your own choosing book, and a number of other steampunk-related books. “Cyanide & Happiness” is one of the most popular webcomics on the internet due to its absurd and often controversial brand of humor.

For those who are into cosplay, Saturdays at the convention also mean some of the biggest cosplay events of the weekend, including the “Masquerade,” a cosplay fashion show, and the “Death Match.” The Death Match is an audience participation event where the audience votes by voice on which of the two costumed characters advances, and which one dies a gruesome and terrible “death.” It’s a loud, rowdy, and highly entertaining event.

SUNDAY, JULY 14th

After the flurry of activity that was ConnectiCon on Friday and Saturday, Sunday felt much calmer. After 12-hour days of convention activities, plus late-night partying until 3 am or later, it seemed that many people with all-weekend badges chose to sleep in on Sunday morning. Walking through the convention center, I could see people lounging on the stairs or on the floor, but there wasn’t too much happening. Even the staff, sitting dutifully at their posts, had some time to kick back and relax.

In the gaming room, all was quiet when I arrived. There were a few tournaments going on, but not much else. I sat around chatting with friends and fellow attendees about their con experiences until a large group began to gather at one table in the room, and I went over to check out what the excitement was about.

Seated at the table were 10 people playing a game called “Jungle Speed.” Put simply, players take turns revealing cards printed with funny shapes and colors from the top of their decks until two or more players have a match. When players have a match, those players must reach for a rubber “totem” in the middle of the table. The person who grabs the totem wins, and gives all the cards they’ve revealed so far to the loser. The object of the game is to be the first person to get rid of all their cards. The game is suggested for two to eight players, but the game seemed to work fine with more. I joined for two rounds, and had a blast — it requires both hand and eye coordination, as well as a willingness to get a bit physical when you struggle for the totem.

I left the gaming room to make one final trek through the dealers’ room before it closed for the weekend, and to check out some of the other sights. And when the convention closed down for the weekend, the fun was not over yet — I had an invite to the staff after-party.

Chatting with staff at the after-party, I learned that they had received more positive feedback for this year’s convention than they could recall in recent years. Not only was the feedback overwhelmingly positive, but the unofficial numbers reported that more than 12,000 people had attended the convention. Those record numbers showed that the con has maintained its stable growth over the last several years, with 10,000 attendees in 2012, and roughly 8,500 in 2011. None of this would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of an amazing all-volunteer staff, who went above and beyond to make ConnectiCon 2013 an amazing experience for all, myself included.