Photo courtesy of Eric Andreychuk, Bullard Sanford Memorial Library •
Organizers of Vassar’s first Fandom Convention prepare to do battle in front of a display case at the Bullard Sanford Memorial Library in Vassar. The event will give kids and adults a chance to dress up as their favorite superheroes and share their love of science fiction and comic books. Pictured from left are Mikayla Stakolosa as Batgirl, Dewey Rapson as Nightwing, Victoria Riley as Kim Possible and Tabitha Forbush as the Ninth Doctor from Dr. Who.
By Bill Petzold
Editor
VASSAR — It’s OK to be a little nerdy.
In certain circumstances — when the conditions are just right — it’s even all right to be a lot nerdy.
If you are a fan of superhero comics, science fiction movies and TV shows, throw on your cape and grab your lightsaber because Vassar’s first Fandom Convention is only weeks away.
Fans of science fiction shows and other entertainment properties have been gathering to revel in their shared passion for nerdiness since the 1970s. These comic book conventions — now known as comic-cons to save syllables — attract a major subculture of people around the world. Whether you’re a fan of Star Wars or Star Trek, DC or Marvel, the Hobbit or Dr. Who, you’ll find something that strikes your fancy at a comic-con.
The Fandom Convention is scheduled for 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 29 at the Dykhouse Room of the Bullard Sanford Memorial Library in Vassar. Advance registration and payment are required. Cost for the event is $20 and includes a t-shirt, souvenir bag and access to a photo booth presented by In His Eyes Photography of Vassar. Attendees must dress in full costume — no t-shirt costumes will be allowed.
The event is being organized by Deb Stakolosa, with the assistance of her daughter Mikayla Stakolosa and friends Dewey Rapson, Tabitha Forbush and Victoria Riley.
“My daughter and her boyfriend (Rapson) are really into cosplay (short for ‘costume play’) so they like to dress up,” Stakolosa said. “He dresses up as Nightwing and she goes as Batgirl. They like to dress up like that and they like the Hobbit and different things, and I said, ‘Why don’t you try doing a comic-con here in town and they said, ‘Oh, that would be fun!’ ”
Stakolosa said her daughter and friends attend Saginaw Valley State University, where they’ve made friends with others who enjoy dressing up like their favorite comic characters.
“They have a weekly meeting at SVSU that they can all dress in cosplay,” Stakolosa said. “So I said, let’s do something here in town. The proceeds will go to the library. I talked to In His Eyes photography, and they’re going to have a photo both and have Dr. Who and different backgrounds. We want to do a little bit of a trivia contest — Star Wars trivia, Dr. Who trivia, Hunger Games trivia — whoever wins that round gets a chance to get a prize.”
Stakolosa explained that $5 from every ticket sold will be given to the Vassar library, and Vassar Women’s Life No. 857 will match the funds being donated to the library. If they reach their goal of selling 100 tickets, the effort will raise $1,000 for the library.
Guests will also be able to take part in a costume contest, trivia contests and more fun and games. Vassar Band Boosters will be on hand selling concessions to help raise funds for the Vassar band, and Women’s Life will be selling fun snacks like “Kryptonite candy.”
In addition, Stakolosa said that FYE has donated posters for the event and Hot Topic gave the group some prizes to award to trivia contest and costume contest winners.
Originally, the Fandom Convention was advertised as being “for ages 12-23” — but has since morphed into an all-ages event.
“We had too many people at both ends of the age limits that wanted to come,” Stakolosa said. “We had 8 year olds that wanted to come and many, many 30 year olds. The reason we’re doing the advance pricing is we don’t have a lot of money to buy a bunch of different sizes of t-shirts, and it also helps me pay for the photo booth. You get photo sessions, a t-shirt, your entrance fee and a souvenir canvas bag all included in that 20 bucks.”
Stakolosa said that tickets may be purchased at the Bullard Sanford Memorial Library during business hours, and that those wishing to attend may pay with a check made out to the library.
For information, email VassarFanCon@gmail.com or call the library at (989) 823-2171.