Pop Culture Collision
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Lexington artist Justin Stewart, who created this piece specifically for ComicCon, will display and sell his art at this year's event, which takes place March 15-16.
When longtime toy collector Jarrod Greer’s pitch for hosting a comic and toy convention at the Lexington Convention Center was accepted, he admits he had no idea how the event would go.
“I don’t want to say I didn’t think it would work, because I always thought it would,” Greer said. “I just didn’t think it would work this well.”
The first Lexington Toy & Comic Convention in 2012 was a one-day event that saw around 4,000attendees walk through the doors; last year’s event more than doubled that attendance. Taking place March 15-16, this year’s convention is poised to be the largest event the Convention Center will host all year, with a projected 15,000+ attendees from more than 20 states and several countries expected to attend.
“The work Jarrod has done with this event is astounding,” said Joe Fields, Director of Convention Sales at the Lexington Center. “On top of having a substantial economic impact on hotels and restaurants, Comic Con brings an incredible amount of energy, fun and excitement to downtown Lexington.”
Lexington ComicCon is more or less a labor of love for Greer and his wife, Jaime, who live in Flatwoods, Ky., where Jarrod works full time for a machine and welding fabrication shop. The couple organizes the festival in their spare time, primarily over email. Greer laughingly admits to being a “horrible micromanager” when it comes to managing the event but adds that having his hand in virtually every detail of the event might be why it has done so well: At press time, the LexingtonComicCon Facebook page had gained more than 15,000 “likes” since 2013’s event, quickly nearing 20,000 fans, with no sign of slowing down.
If the fast-growing in interest in his “pet project” continues at this rate, it is Jarrod’s hope and that he and Jaime will eventually be able to relocate to Lexington to focus on the event full time.
“Last year I told my wife if we broke 10,000 people through the door, then I was going to make this my full-time job,” he said.
“We got 9,948 people through the door, so it wasn’ t even open to discussion,” he added with a laugh.
While Jarrod isn’t imposing an ultimatum on himself and the event this year, the Greers are excited to see how this year’s event shakes out. They like to emphasize the diversity and “unbelievable cross section” of the ComicCon community –– kids, teenagers and adults of all ages enjoy the event, and an ever-increasing number of women have become a growing force in the demographic.
“We get everything from little kids who are into toys and comic books and movies up to 60-year-old men who are trying to complete their quarter million dollar comic collection,” he said. “A lot of people see it advertised and they think it’s something they might not necessarily be interested in, but we have so many people come in and they say ‘you know, I really didn’t think I would like this, but this is the coolest thing I’ve been to all year.’”
More information, including a schedule and a full list of exhibitors, vendors and media guests, can be found at www.lexingtoncomiccon.com.
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WHAT TO EXPECT at Lexington Comic & Toy Convention:
George Takai, Los Angeles, CA.
George Takei
MEDIA GUESTS
More than 60 celebrity guests –– including “Star Trek” stars William Shatner and George Takei, Melissa McBride from “The Walking Dead” and original Pink Power Ranger Amy Jo Johnson –– will conduct Q&As, panel discussions, photo shoots and meet-and-greets with attendees throughout the weekend.
VEDORS AND EXHIBITORS
The Regency Ballroom will host more than 200 booths that feature a blend of local, regional and national artists, and collectors and vendors of almost every type of comic, toy and game imaginable.
COSPLAY
Short for “costume play”, CosPlay – a subculture that involves elaborate handmade costuming – is a “major aspect” of Lexington ComicCon, according to organizer Jarred Greer. This year’s event feature a Saturday afternoon costume contest than $2,000 worth of prizes during a costume contest Saturday afternoon; more details and pre-registration instructions are available at the event’s website.
Lexington Comic & Toy Convention
March 15-16, 2014
Lexington Convention Center
10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday
10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday
www.lexingtoncomiccon.com