Fanatics of comics, anime, video games, books, movies, television shows and forms of media and popular culture can celebrate their fandom.
Enthusiasts of pop culture and fandom can unite at the Mt. Laurel Library on Aug. 5 for the library’s annual Equal Opportunity Nerds Convention, or “EONcon,” as it’s known for short.
From noon to 4 p.m., the event will give fanatics of comics, anime, video games, books, movies, television shows and all other forms of media and popular culture a chance to gather and celebrate their fandom.
“This is our miniature version of a comic or fandom convention,” said Christine Rambo, a youth services librarian at the Mt. Laurel Library. “The name is Equal Opportunity Nerds, and really the idea behind it is that all fandoms are welcome, and it’s just a chance to spend the whole day with some geeky activities and games where you can share your fandoms or have others introduce you to new ones.”
Rambo said the library’s Teen Advisory Board has been planning the event for about three months, and there are plenty of “geeky” and “nerd-friendly” activities planned for the day.
First and foremost, guests are invited to attend the event dressed in costume as characters from their favorite fandoms for a cosplay — also know as costume play — demonstration.
Once the event kicks off, costumed and non-costumed attendees will vote on who they believe has the best or most creative outfit, with prizes for the top winners.
“Anyone who would like to come to the event as a favorite character will get the chance to show off their favorite characters,” Rambo said.
As the event gets underway, Rambo said members of the Teen Advisory Board will also be running a panel discussion as a “Character Death Support Group” where guests can talk about the times in their favorite fandoms where popular characters were killed off.
“We’ve all had those moments where a favorite character in a book or movie dies and we all yell, so the advisory board just wanted to have a panel discussion on reactions and how everyone copes when that happens,” Rambo said.
Another activity Rambo promotes for the event is an arts and crafts competition based off the popular television series “Chopped” where contestants will be supplied with random art materials and have a limited amount of time to create a piece of art related to their fandom.
For those looking for additional competition, Rambo said the library’s craft room would be open for gaming fun for the duration of EONcon.
Guests will be invited to stop by and play a few rounds against other attendees in the Super Smash Bros. fighting game or try one of the many other board games the library will have set up.
Overall, Rambo said she just hopes kids will come to the library and be able to enjoy themselves while celebrating their fandoms without fear or judgment.
“It’s always good to encourage positive elements of our fandom and that we’re all fans of something and we should all celebrate other people’s fandoms equally,” Rambo said.
EONcon will begin at noon and run through 4 p.m. at the Mt. Laurel Library on Saturday, Aug. 5. No registration is necessary for the event. The event is open to teens and smaller children who are accompanied by family members.
For more information, visit www.mountlaurellibrary.org.
