GEEK 2014 is here at last.

Hailed as possibly the South East’s most exciting family event this half term, the fun-packed gaming expo opens its doors at Margate’s Winter Gardens.

GEEK is taking place for the third time from February 21 to 23, providing a celebration of games and play for all ages.

Meet, make and play at GEEK where you will find activities for casual as well as dedicated gamers, with both digital and analogue, new and familiar all part of the show.

There will be two halls of games to play, workshops, talks, presentations and demonstrations.

Special areas will include the Minecraft Cave, Indie Zone, Tournament Zone and Game Lounges.

Activities will include a Cosplay masquerade, card games, board games and arts and crafts.

Event organiser Kim Steward said: “GEEK has grown and grown and we are so excited to see the variety of interest, features and participants at this third show in 2014 increase.

“The fact that we have a timeline of retro consoles sat alongside those of today, and now the amazing Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset for 3D gaming in the future, is just fantastic.

“It has been wonderful to see all types of people come to GEEK, even from other places in the world including America, and we look forward to welcoming all our visitors this week.

“GEEK 2014 as a single event, I believe, will show better than any other just how creative and inspirational gaming can be.”

A celebration of video games is at the heart of GEEK with hundreds of different ones to play on 150 consoles. Visitors can trace their development from the 1980s to the present and enjoy a hands-on reunion with long-lost favourites.

Sunday is family day at GEEK. As well as the usual games, there will be interactive story time and homemade arcade games for the little ones.

Parents and carers will find talks discussing gaming and families of particular interest.

One of Sunday’s talks is aimed at children aged between three and seven, called Story Time: Tell, Read and Play. Storytelling is rooted in our history and heritage and fairytales and traditional tales have been collected and told by storytellers for hundreds of years. Storytelling is also rooted in gaming.

Emily Guille-Marrett, from ReadingFairy.com, will encourage children to explore storytelling in all its forms. They start by joining in the actions and rhythm of telling traditional tales, from The Enormous Turnip to The Gingerbread Man.

Youngsters can then sit back, relax and listen to Emily read from a variety of picture books featuring fairytales that authors have hacked, mashed-up and rewritten. Many will still be surprisingly recognisable.

Finally, there will be a chance to watch, read and play apps by Nosy Crow, including the award-winning The Three Little Pigs. Emily is a big fan of Nosy Crow Apps because they bridge the gap between quality reading and gaming brilliantly.

Kim said: “We would like to thank Nosy Crow for supporting this session. For those who would like to know more, they can see the range of children’s picture books and apps at NosyCrow.com.”

The finale of the event on Sunday will be the GEEK 2014 awards ceremony with trophy. This will include a trophy for the best Cosplay on Saturday and a people’s choice indie award. Visitors can vote for their favourite indie game from those showcased at the event.

There will also be awards for winners of Sticky Sunday following earlier competitions involving food for the games Punch The Custard, Jelly Track and Field.

GEEK 2014 is open from 10am to 6pm each day with an evening session on Saturday from 7pm to 11pm.

Single day tickets are £13 for adults, £7 children (five to 14) and free under fives. Concessions are £11, family tickets are £36, and evening tickets £5. Two-day passes are £24 (adult), £12 (child) and £20 (concession). Three-day passes are £36 (adult), £18 (child) and £30 (concession). Special rates are available for groups and people who are registered disabled. For more details contact the box office on 01843 296111.