Attending conventions has been a hobby of mine dating back to middle school, so when I heard the Bowling Green Anime-Fest was coming up, I knew I had to be in attendance.
The Bowling Green Anime-Fest took place in the Corvette Museum on Sunday, Oct. 20. The space was small, but packed wall-to-wall with vendors of every kind. There were people selling figurines, prints and stickers and surprise bags. Anything nerd-related a person could want, they could surely find at this convention.
The energy throughout the convention was palpable– vendors were excited to share their work, while con attendees were excited to find cool items related to their favorite interests. Everywhere I looked people were buzzing around, excited to be in the presence of so many like-minded people.
One of the vendors I was able to speak to was Clint Lindsey, owner of Miniclicks. Miniclicks specializes in creating LEGO minifigures one wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else. Lindsey said he loved the convention experience for the “wow factor.”
“People walk up to our booth and their eyes light up,” Lindsey said.
Another vendor I spoke to was Garris. L. R. Coleman, author of the Curse of Crowns book series. Coleman came to the convention hoping to share his book series with more people.
As I wandered the convention and learned more about the vendors and their stories, I found myself falling more and more in love with this small-town convention. Everyone there was devoted to their art, whether it be vendors or the cosplayers. Clearly, the other attendees felt the same.
Echo Frausto, one of the attendees, shared she came to the convention for the culture.
“[I like] to see all the craftsmanship and creativity that people put into their cosplays,” Frausto said.
Throughout the day, the convention hosted fun activities to get people involved, such as anime-based trivia and a cosplay contest.
Cosplay is when people dress up as characters from various forms of media. It can be seen as performance art; some cosplayers work on their costumes for months at a time to make them as screen-accurate as possible.
The cosplayers at Bowling Green Anime Fest were incredible. As they walked across the stage displaying the costumes they had carefully put together, their passion for their craft was evident.
All in all, Bowling Green Anime-Fest was a wonderful convention to attend, whether it be for the con newbie or the well-weathered convention veteran. I would highly recommend attending to support both the community and the local artists in the Kentucky area.
Commentary Writer Emma Hardesty can be reached at [email protected].
