The thirteenth annual Owen Sound Mini Con will offer a day focused on comics and fandom.
Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library will host the event this Saturday, May , from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Deputy Chief Librarian Nadia Danyluk promised an engaging day of fun, including board games and a Stranger Things photo wall.
"We run a full day of events on the Saturday that involve video game tournaments and cosplay competitions," Danyluk explained. "There's a prop-making sandbox. There's no real sand involved, just, you know, lots of craft supplies to make your own costume-based props. There are paper crafts and button making. There are prizes to be won."
Participants can come in costume to take part in a morning kids cosplay parade at 11 a.m. or the full cosplay competition in the Auditorium at 3 p.m.
There will be exhibitors there to showcase and sell their work, while the First Owen Sound Scouts will run a snack bar. The event is free, but there will be items for purchase.
"You might want to bring some money along, because our wonderful exhibitors will be selling some of their creations," Danyluk revealed. "So we've got, you know, jewellery and drawings, and, you know, 3D printed things, and you know, people who create comic books."
Danyluk added that the Mini Con is a huge attraction each year.
"It's probably the most successful program we run over there in terms of, just like, the volume of people that we get through the library doors on a one-day basis," Danyluk pointed out. "So last year, looking at our numbers, I believe we had around 1,600 people through the library over the course of the day."
She said the costumes are fantastic
"One of my favourite things about it really is the costumes that people come in, and especially costumes that people have made themselves," she shared. "You're walking around the library, and you've got all these different like superheroes and anime characters and video game characters walking around as well."
She said the library has helped inspire the fandom.
"Our graphic novel collections, especially for kids, are so incredibly popular, and they're a great way for kids to engage with reading," she continued. "And this is a fun way for us to celebrate all that kind of stuff, and people get really excited about it."