While many cons, or conventions, appeal to a specific interest, organizers of the Glass City Con— July 16-17 at the SeaGate Convention Centre— have opened up our local con to anime, gaming, comic books and all things American pop culture.
“There’s a lot of crossover,” explains Chris Zasada, Glass City Con CEO. “A lot of cosplayers are into superheroes. So, we try to appeal to the American nerd, because not everyone’s into anime.”
Photo credit: Creaotic Images
Glass City Con even hosts a cosplay dance workshop, no cartoon required.
Con artists
Fusing American pop culture with Japanese anime, gaming and cosplay has transformed the Glass City Con into one of the state’s best. Year six saw 2,000 attendees.
“Everyone else has a con, why can’t Toledo?” asked Zasada. “This year we have more special guests, voice actors and industry people, a larger dealer and game room. There’s a lot more events this year.”
Special guests include fan favorite John St. John, a San Diego-based voice actor who has provided the voice for numerous video game characters, including the popular Duke Nukem video game, for 20 years.
Photo credit: Creaotic Images
Extension cords are in full use with arcade machines, consoles and tabletop gaming crammed inside Glass City Con.
One big costume party
According to Zasada, one of the biggest draws is cosplay, or costume play, where attendees come dressed as their favorite character from anime, comic books, videogames and other medias. Workshops and contests offer photo opportunities.
To answer another big focus, gaming, the Con will offer more than 30 arcade machines, 30 consoles and a large selection of tabletop games and actual one-on-one combat— with foam armaments, of course.
The Chicago-based Harp Twins will also make an appearance to play popular video game theme songs, Lord of the Rings music, and more, all on the harp. Zasada expects them to be a big draw.
About 100 artists and vendors, many local, will offer a variety of merchandise, games, movies and artwork.
Glass City Con will be held July 16-17 at the SeaGate Convention Centre. For more information, visit glasscitycon.com.
