WILLIAMSBURG — Everything tabletop gaming and fantasy will be celebrated at Williamsburg’s second annual BurgQuest festival this weekend.
The family-friendly event for all ages and skill levels will bring board games and role-playing games to William & Mary’s Sadler Center from Friday through Sunday. The event will feature various programs, competitions and workshops, said Adam Stackhouse, co-owner of AVAdventure, the production company that is working with the city.
Among the offerings, the festival will feature a board game library featuring hundreds of games for players to check out and play during the event along with historical combat demonstrations, game design workshops and a cosplay competition with cash prizes.
The event was named BurgQuest to invoke both the city and the act of going on an adventure, Stackhouse said.
“We are bringing some incredible folks to create some really nice opportunities,” he said.
Attendees who want to learn how to play new games can sign up for sessions with experienced game masters. Richmond nonprofit Goblins and Growlers will provide one-shot Dungeon & Dragons campaigns while RichMahj, a Mahjong group in Richmond, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach and North Carolina, will teach Mahjong classes.
The festival will also include various live performances, including music, comedy, role-playing and game shows. Meanwhile, “Mario Party Live,” an unofficial parody of Nintendo’s iconic “Mario Party” series, will divide the audience into four teams to play minigames inspired by the games.
“We hope to ruin zero friendships, but have an incredible time playing Mario Party,” Stackhouse said.
“The Fantasy Tavern,” a live show featuring music, comedy and interactive quests, will be one of the performances at BurgQuest. (Courtesy/AVAproductions)
Voice actors Sarah Elmaleh and Noshir Dalal will host an instructional voice actor panel, followed by a one-on-one mentorship workshop by Elmaleh to those interested in voice acting.
Dalal will provide a workshop on performance capture, where actors wear a suit and bring video game characters to life through their acting and movements. Dalal’s performance capture credits include 2018’s “Spider Man” and “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.”
Badges are $40 for the three-day weekend and $30 for Saturday and Sunday for adults and $20 and $15 for children ages 3 to 10. Badges will be available on-site by credit card only if they do not sell out prior to the event.
To view the festival schedule, purchase badges and find out more information, visit burg.quest.
James W. Robinson, 757-799-0621, james.robinson@virginiamedia.com
