Meanwhile, plenty of Fandemonium action was going down at the nearby Hilton. Panels with titles like "Who Wins in a Fight -- Vampires, Zombies or Werewolves?" or "The Ten Worst Science Fiction Movies Ever Made" (one answer: any made-for-TV movie on SyFy), were the kind of chat sessions any convention-going sci-fi geek (like me) would be familiar with -- but none were animation-related.

Adding a fan-directed sci-fi/fantasy component to Red Stick might be a good idea if it were anchored by an anime track or the occasional American effort like The Iron Giant. As Fandemonium stands now, however, it still has a way to go. Other than a handful of authors and Star Trek/Stargate veteran Robert Picardo promoting his appearance in a low budget sci-fi movie, big genre names were absent and overall attendance was low. An all-but empty dealer's room (three occupied tables out of 25 or 30 set up for the event) was a particularly telling sign.

Red Stick asked Baton Rouge resident Sydney LeJeune, organizer of the town's annual sci-fi convention, to create and run Fandemonium. "It was kind of a short notice," she said by way of explanation. "Vendors usually decide which conventions to attend a year in advance. This weekend is the Austin Comic-Con --Star Trek fans who would have come here from Texas are there instead. I don't blame them -- that one's a lot bigger."

The festival's last act was its most spectacular, a show that filled the stage at the city's River Center Arena. My younger son is a collector of original soundtracks (like his dad), but it turns out he's not a John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith fan --when he says "soundtrack" he's talking about video game music.

He would've loved "Video Games Live," and someone who never picked up a game controller in his life (guess who) had a quite splendid time as well. The stage was overflowing with the city's 90-piece symphony orchestra and a huge choir squeezed in just behind them while a trio of video screens displayed game images and appropriate psychedelia overhead. The bombastic music accompanying Halo or the orchestral suite performed against a montage of Sonic the Hedgehog games could easily hold their own against any Hollywood production. (Educational bonus: the Sonic montage packed 19 years of videogame evolution -- from pixilated 8-bit Sega games to high-end Xbox 360 animation -- into a handful of minutes.)

A mini costume contest (the winnah: a youngster dressed as Legend of Zelda's Link), a high-stakes Guitar Hero session and a blazing (real) guitar turn by concert creator and composer Tommy Tallarico eliminated any risk of the evening turning self-congratulatory. (And you've never lived until you've heard Tetris music performed by 90 classically-trained musicians.

Time to put a bow and ribbon on this thing: 437 films from 36 countries competing for awards in nine categories (all of which were winnowed down to the Golden Baton winner Lilac Wine)… a brand new Red Stick award, the Sci-An trophy (two winners there: CNN for its Deepwater Horizon simulations, and the Manitoba Museum for its multi-screen Ancient Seas presentation)… and tons of other stuff I wasn't able to take in.

And now, a few opinions on Red Stick, beginning with festival director Stacey Simmons: "Overall, I was pleased with the festival. Our overall attendance was down, which was a little disappointing, but also expected since we changed our ticketing structure and with the economy in general in tatters.