30. 03. 2026 | Barbucha
Last weekend in Prague’s Chodov district belonged to all fans of British humor, sci-fi, and fantasy. From March 27 to 29, 2026, the premises of the Květnového vítězství Elementary School were transformed into the deck of a mining ship and an Indian marketplace from the year 23 AD. The twenty-third edition of the festival Trpaslicon, themed “Lemons”, attracted hundreds of visitors who weren’t deterred even by a journey of 4,000 miles at a brisk pace.
Genome rewinded to the Max: Grand Opening
The entire event kicked off on Friday at 8:00 p.m. with the Opening ceremony in the Main Hall. The central theme was the installation of the rejuvenating shower TRPÅSLICÖN—a Swedish device designed to wind visitors’ genomes up to the peak of their physical strength. However, as it turned out, the “three-hour” assembly with an Allen wrench (which is three days in Swedish) led to unexpected space-time jumps that accompanied us throughout the program.
A Program Packed with Plenty
Visitors could “consume information” across five parallel program tracks:
- Main Hall: Offered everything about Red Dwarf, including a discussion with the czech voice actors and the legendary VIP evening with masked fans.
- Britcom: Here we confirmed that the Britis are still running round sporting blue tattoos, out their heads on booze, fightin‘, vomitin‘ and passin‘ out, and explored gems like Simon’s Cat, The IT Crowd, and Monty Python.
- Doctor Who: This program line celebrated its 10th anniversary at the festival this year and featured discussions about Gallifrey as well as “Kara-WHO-ke” karaoke.
- Sci-Fi & Fantasy: As usual, the section focused on the works of Terry Pratchett and also explored the world of Star Wars and the Solarpunk phenomenon.
- Trpaslíkon: A new section for the youngest visitors featuring a playful program and “org-nannies.”
Special Guests and Technological Innovations
A truly amazing moment was the interview with the British Ambassador Matt Field about the similarities between London and Prague humor. There was also a talk show with Jan Maxián and an expert perspective on the Czech translation of the series.
The visual aspect was handled by technology partner ViewSonic, which equipped the deck with 4K interactive totems for navigating the program and laser projectors for a crystal-clear image. Thanks to them, not even Kryten could have found a single speck or speck of dust on the projection.
Ingenious Costumes and a Cipher for the Chosen Few
Saturday evening culminated in a Costume contest, where the ingenuity of the costumes was absolutely stunning. Voting took place via the modern Con-Bot app. For those who wanted to stretch their brain cells, there was the Enig puzzle challenge, where teams tried to prove they had a higher IQ than the gym teacher.
Cuisine at Pirate Luigi’s
The Buffet at Pirate Luigi’s offered an abundance of food, from spicy vindaloo and jalfrezi to gazpacho soup, which the staff willingly (albeit with fewer smiles) heated up upon request. For the brave, there was a spicy toast-eating contest, where the absence of taste buds was an undeniable advantage.
Remembering Rob Grant
A somber note was struck by the remembrance of Rob Grant (1955–2026), co-creator of Red Dwarf, who passed away shortly before the release of his new book Titan. The lecture traced his career and recalled his visit to Prague Comic-Con in 2025.
In Conclusion
Trpaslicon 2026 ended at noon on Sunday, when visitors and organizers in white T-shirts worked together to ensure that no slime was left behind at the school.
We’re already looking forward to 2027! 🍋🚀
