By Aubrie Methven
Campus News
Following a two year hiatus due to complications of holding a convention during a global pandemic, Saratoga’s very own Comic Con made a triumphant return last month. After speaking with artists and small business owners alike, it’s clear that conventions play an integral role in getting the word out about their businesses, and sharing their passions with others.
What I had garnered from the few hours I spent wandering around feeling out of place as one of the only people out of costume, is the sense of community everyone I spoke to seemed to feel. “It’s just a great community, and it’s a really easy way for people to find others that share their interest,” said a vendor for a custom cosplay raffle. “People put so much love and effort into their cosplays, so conventions are a great opportunity to share that work with others,” she continued.
One artist, known as Art By Mar, has been attending Comic Cons all around upstate New York since 2013. She sells her own artwork as well as the work of others at her booth. She’s very well-known across conventions due to her being such a seasoned veteran. “It’s been so exciting to be back, you don’t get to have the same connection with people to this degree online” she replied when I asked about how it felt to be back at conventions.
When asked about the experience of cosplaying at a convention, one cosplayer dressed as popular Disney character Judy Hopps replied, “It’s my first time going to a convention, so I was really nervous, but everyone has been so sweet and the atmosphere has just been so inviting.” Really driving home the idea of just how inviting the atmosphere is, regardless of your interests. This is made even clearer with the mention that over the course of three hours, I hadn’t seen a single person unhappy or disinterested about what the convention and the people attending had to offer. There really was something for everyone.
Along with the cosplayers and vendors, there were also tables for seemingly unrelated companies and organizations sprinkled in, like T-Mobile and the US Air Guard, who saw this as a family event and a great way to get the word out about themselves, much like the artists and vendors throughout the city center.
However, vendors were not the only ones that viewed the convention as a family event. Walking into the center, you could see an entire families in coordinating costumes, and even a dog named Lily, dressed as Captain America. “We’ve been to conventions all over the state, ‘’ said her owner, also dressed as Captain America. “We’ll be coming back to Saratoga in May, I’ve been working on our latest costumes, and next time we’ll be going as Ghostbusters.” he said before letting me know that Lily was a hugger. Which I can indeed confirm.
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