Fantasy Fayre 2023: Off Planet

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄’𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧-𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙨.” 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙𝙤𝙣 – 𝘽𝙞𝙜 𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙮

Aliens (intelligent & otherwise), space cowboys, tech wizards, adventurers, agents and creatures of all types went Off Planet to experience the very first science fiction festival, hosted by AlterEgos Events.

Rusty Hook was transformed into a space station of epic proportions, with the TARDIS welcoming guests as they came through the gate. Venturing into the Resturant at the end of the Universe, Dungeons and Dragons adventures were under way and LeeLoo entertained those wishing to watch sci-fi classics in the MultiPass Movie House.

Those looking for combat were not disappointed as the Holodeck offered up a Medieval flavour and MegaCity One was in full force.

All of AlterEgos favourites were back! Questers travelled across the universe, interacting with all the attractions and vendors. Those with the smarts battled it out in the sci-fi quiz and the Cosmic Costume Contest was out of this world.

Guests were further thrilled with a tricky escape room, rocket launches and battling bitty bots in Robowars.

Giving away Trillian’s Treasure (valued at 10k+) and a mini-auction to end the day, left everyone feeling like they’d had an out of body experience.

Something new for the imaginative duo at AlterEgos, Off Planet certainly aimed for the moon and landed amongst the stars!

Beam us up, Scotty!

Discworld Day 2022 : An Ankh-Morpork Adventure

“𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘬𝘩-𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘻𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘯𝘬𝘩-𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.”
– Terry Pratchett, Mort

It is safe to say, that whilst Terry Pratchett and his works are not necessarily considered mainstream, fans and newbies alike were able to experience magic and learn about his brilliance. There is never a dull moment at our events and 2022 yielded some of the most elaborate costumes we have ever seen! The Quest was also hotly contested, bringing in some of the highest scores we have seen to date and one lucky person walked away with The Luggage’s Loot Raffle, with goodies worth over R5000.

One of our favourite’s on the calendar, this “little” biennial event is one that people speak about for week, as memories of the event and the special moments that were experienced remain at the forefront of people’s minds.

Terry Pratchett’s world came to life at Rusty Hook as guests were treated to scenes from the Discworld.
Exploring the traders in the shades, being conned by CMOT Dibbler, battling with Feegles, narrowly dodging Death and Binky and joining The Watch with Captain Carrot were just some of the highlights of the day.

We were inundated with superfans of the author, who dressed up as their favourite characters and came along to interact with our cast. From Witch Trials with Granny Weatherwax to quizzing with the Patrician it was certainly decided that one of the best moments of the day was singing dirty songs with Nanny Ogg in the Broken Drum.

As always, the Alter Egos Teams pulled out all the stops, paying special attention to each and every detail, ensuring that our guests were really immersed in this magical world.

The Odium screened movies all day and Rincewind thrilled guests with close up magic.

Discworld Day 2022 in Pictures

5 November 2022 | Rusty Hook, Honeydew

A Jump to the Left 2022

…and crawling on the planet’s face,
Some insects called the human race.
Lost in time and lost in space
….and meaning.

It was a night they were going to remember for a very long time.
As Transylvanians descended on Rusty Hook on 1 October for a night of bad behaviour, the mood was set with participation packs and costumes.

Taking guests back to the good old days when sneaking into midnight screenings in fishnets was all very taboo, we thrilled, chilled and fulfilled with the screening of Richard O’ Brian’s masterpiece, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Our incredible cast of amateur performers put their best (high-heeled) feet forward to do the Time Warp, jam with Eddie and his Teddy and sent Frankie home.

Madness took its toll, in the very best way and we cannot wait to return to the moon-drenched shores of Transylvania with you again in 2023.

A Jump to the left 2022 in Pictures

1 October 2021 | Rusty Hook, Honeydew

Medieval Fayre 2022 : There & Back Again

We never thought we’d get here and after two long years of an endless rollercoaster, Medieval Fayre 2022 was finally going ahead on 6 June!

Apparently, our fans missed us and along with some help from our friends at MixFM, Medieval saw a record number of guests through the gate.

As always, guests embraced the day 100% and thrilled us and each other with their beautiful costumes and attention to detail.

As one of Johannesburg’s premier events, Medieval 2022 was certainly one for the books. We realised how much we missed our community and how important it is to embrace the weird and the wonderful.

It will go down in history, that’s for sure.

La Vue Lodge was transformed into various elements from Tolkien’s classic stories and guests were treated to The Shire, Mordor and even The Eye of Sauron.
As Ringwraiths circled ominously, favourite characters wandered amongst the guests thrilling them with stories and surprises.

All the favourite attractions were back, with some bonuses and fun was had with The Hobbits from Dahogrian Empire, arrows were shot with Phoenix Horseback Archery and much food was consumed from the Snorting Boar Smoker.

Nobody left without a special something to remind them of the day and with over 100 unique traders in attendance, there was something to appeal to everyone.

Medieval Fayre 2022 in Pictures

4 June 2022 | La Vue Lodge, Muldersdrift

Fantasy Fayre 2022: The Bestiary

Unicorns, dragons and all magical beasts;
Mermaids, griffins and werewolves came to feast
At the Fantasy Fayre, ‘specially for all
Who have feathers and fur and claws galore!

All manners of beasties and their handlers descended on Rusty Hook on the West rand on 5 March for a day of magic, proudly created by the team at AlterEgos.

With so much to do, more to see and multiple unusual activities taking place throughout the day – visitors were spoilt for choice.

After two long years of waiting to return to Wonderland, the day was filled with absolute joy as we were once again able to get together and let our imaginations loose.

Rusty Hook was filled with mermaids, unicorns, dire wolves, dragons, birds of paradise, krakens and water monsters.

Apart from the favourite attractions, competitions and quests, the Alter Ego’s Team had some surprises up their sleeves.
With a lot of noise and quite a bit of fire, guests were treated to an appearance by the Witcher who battled and defeated the meanest beastie of them all, much to the delight of the fayre-goers.

Even a short afternoon thundershower could not dampen the spirits of those around and it was unanimously agreed that Alter Egos came back to events in full force, having lost none of their pre-Covid magic.

Fantasy Fayre 2022 in Pictures

5 March | Rusty Hook, Honeydew

1 October 2021 | Rusty Hook, Honeydew

A Jump to the Left 2021

It was true that there were dark storm clouds, heavy, black and pendulous toward which they were driving.
But they, being normal kids on a night out …they were not going to let a storm spoil the events of their evening!
And no amount of rain could dampen the spirits of the hundred Transylvanians who arrived at Frank n’ Furters castle at Rusty Hook to pay homage to the cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show.
We all took a Jump to the Left, and stepped to the right, dancing and singing along with our favourite characters.The hunger for these nights out amid the global pandemic was palpable and every single attendee embraced the fun and shenanigans of one of our favourite events.

Though wet and cold, literally nothing could dampen anyone’s spirits and it was certainly a night out that everyone would remember for a very long time.

A Jump to the left 2020 in Pictures

4 December 2021 | Rusty Hook, Honeydew

A Jump to the Left 2020

Amid a global pandemic, we were permitted (albeit briefly) to reconvene and continue with our smaller events.

As firm fan-favourite, we were thrilled to be able to go ahead with A Jump to the Left, as all Brads, Janets, Frankies and Rocky defrosted their Meatloafs and dusted off their fishnets.

Even with the strict Covid-19 protocols in place and masks, masking our smiles there was no denying the absolutely undeniable magic of the evening as the Alter Egos performers let loose their personalities that had been under lockdown for so long.

The audience were thrilled to be out and about as we sang, did the Time Warp and rocked ourselves back to the sweet, sweet moonlit shores of Transylvania.

A Jump to the left 2020 in Pictures

28 November 2020 | Rusty Hook, Honeydew

A Viking Thing 2020

We came, we saw, we pillaged.

Vikings, warriors and shield maidens of all ages dressed up and enjoyed a beautiful South African summer’s day experiencing old Viking traditions (and some new ones) at Rusty Hook on the Westrand.
From tug-of-war to Kubb to a Viking quiz, fancy dress competitions and deciding the most majestic Viking beard – guests were treated to a market full of Viking themed crafts and goodies. Floki’s boat yard was open for business as aspiring boat-builders tried their luck at floating their boats on the dam.

The ale and mead flowed freely as The Dahogrian Empire entertained with battles throughout the day.

New highlights included Custard the Albino Reticulated Python and her friends from Dami’s Exotics, which was an absolute fan favourite on the day and Fenris Wulf, who entertained the crowds with their Viking Metal music, bringing a real sense of camaraderie to the even.t

All in aid of sending the  the Juggerknights to Spain in April, to represent South Africa in the Full Contact Medieval Combat World Championships, the Alter Egos team (with the help of very generous sponsors and the enthusiastic public) raised just short of R35 000.00 to send our team overseas. Unfortunately, due to the current world crisis and multiple travel bans, the championships have been put on hold. The fighters will keep the money safe until a new opportunity arises.

Due to the overwhelming response to this event, A Viking Thing will become a biennoal adventure and we look forward to pillaging with you again!

To be kept in the loop about all the exciting Alter Egos events still to come, make sure you follow our Facebook page!

A Viking Thing 2020 in Pictures

7 March 2020 | Rusty Hook, Honeydew

Discworld Day 2019: An Ankh-Morpork Adventure

And what an adventure it was as discworlders and roundworlders alike converged on La Vue in Muldersdrift on 9 November.
Sir Terry Pratchett smiled down on the day, making his presence known by the beautiful sunshine with just enough wind to dislodge some witches hats.

Fans of the man, from as young as 3 years old, explored the Streets of Cunning Artifacers, offered up bananas (and popcorn) to The Librarian with much Óoking’, whilst Death and Binky stalked amongst The Shades.
The Watch recruited some willing and some (un) willing, Twoflower lost his luggage and the Octavo glowered over the Unseen University.

With so many adventures to be had, the venue was a haze of activity as multiple Susans, Feegles, Tiffanys and Wizzards went postal.
A hugely successful dress up competition was held under the Sapient Pearwood tree, shortly after we crowned a victorious (albeit 2nd place) winner in The Witch trials.

With homage being paid by every single visitor, rat onna stick being consumed at an alarming rate and us narrowly avoiding Dibbler cutting his own throat it is safe to say that the pages of the most popular of STP’s books came to life.

The cherry on the top of what can only be described as a magical day, was the VERY FIRST screening on African soil of the short movie, Troll Bridge.
Kindly loaned to the Alter Egos Team by SnowGum films, it was collective goosebumps as we realised how fortunate we were. 100 lucky people got to witness the masterpiece inside the Odium snacking on banged grains.
Each screening ended with teary eyes and rounds of applause, bringing to an end a truly fantastic day on the Disc.

Discworld Day 2019 in Pictures

9 November 2019 | La Vue Lodge, Muldersdrift

Medieval Fayre 2019 : A Viking Invasion

On an alternative time line we explored the dark ages,
One small village held out against the invaders
They knocked at the gates, shield maidens met knights
The timelines crossed over with the village alight.

On June 8, La Vue Guest Lodge in Muldersdrift was transformed into a myriad of mystical, magical and medieval nooks and crannies, crafts and tradesmen. A village of viking proportions took over the beautiful space as people surged through the gates to experience a day back in the dark ages.

The scene was set and the day was filled with unusual activities. From axe throwing and weapon forging to archery and LARPING battles, festival goers were encouraged to get involved in the action. Unicorns were ridden, knights were fought. Turkey legs were consumed, mead was drunk. There was smoke and fire, dancing and revelry.

An array of costumes of the most epic degree made an appearance, with everyone embracing the uniqueness of the day. Adventurers went on a mighty quest, wits were tested in the taverns and grown men shed a tear as the Chilli Chugging Competition threatened to drop even the most vicious of vikings.

Prizes were won to medieval melodies and even a banquet feast
Caber toss, coconut shies, KUBB viking chess and  magnificent beasts.

The 8th annual Medieval Fayre, bought to you by Alter Egos was a resounding success, with shouts of “SKAL!” ringing through the air well into the late afternoon.
Festival goers left with full hearts and fuller bellies, their loot tucked well under their arms, with promises of medieval memories and victorious vikings at the forefront of their mind.

Medieval Fayre 2019 in Pictures

8 June 2019 | La Vue Lodge, Muldersdrift