Quinte’s Mini-Con – Gabrielle Wilson is one of the lead organizers of Quinte’s Comi-Con-like convention. The 23-year-old is dedicated to creating cosplay costumes, reading comics and watching anime. Wilson and her friends figured they couldn’t be alone in their obsession, so they made the motion to make Belleville’s first Mini-Con. Photo by Shelby Wye.
BELLEVILLE – Belleville’s geek flag is set to fly next weekend, Nov. 9 and 10, as Quinte’s first-ever Comi-Con-type convention comes to town.
A dedicated group of anime, gaming, manga and comic fans have worked hard over the past few months to create Quinte Mini-Con, which is a much smaller-scale version of Comi-Con. It’s being held in the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre.
Gabriella (MDA) Wilson is one of the six event organizers for the Mini-Con.
“Belleville is in the no man’s land of (this type of) conventions, between Toronto and Ottawa, so I was like, ‘I want to change this,’ ” said Wilson.
This is her second time being involved in creating a convention: this past summer she helped create Frost Con in Toronto. That was an overwhelming success, with almost double the attendance that she and the other organizers had estimated. This success, Wilson hopes, will carry over to Quinte’s Mini-Con.
“We definitely have the advantage of space here. The Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre has rented out the entire gymnasium and two meeting rooms for us,” she said.
The Mini-Con will be hosting 10 guests, including masters of cosplaying – taking on the role of a popular character – such as Toronto Joker (a.ka. That Joker Guy) and Melting Mirror.
The event not only gives fans the chance to dress up and act out, but also to get educational advice. Attendees can meet with fantasy writers, graphic designers and other panelists to talk about the business and, more importantly, how to get into it.
Wilson says there’s a lot of anime, gaming, manga and comic fans out there in Belleville, and hopes even those new to conventions will stop by.
“Try it. You might find you enjoy it. I was a little nervous the first time I went to a con or did cosplay, but I had fun, I made friends. It gives you the chance to meet like-minded people.
The cost is $20 for the entire weekend, $15 for Saturday only and $10 for Sunday only. For more information: quinteminicon.weebly.com.
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