WILLIAMSBURG 一 The Williamsburg Regional Library Comic Con returns Saturday, Sept. 12, for its fourth consecutive year, bringing cosplay, comics, anime, games and other activities to the Williamsburg Library, Stryker Center and City Square.
This year’s event will focus on the role of visual arts in fandom and will feature a comic book workshop led by cartoonist and teaching artist Laura Lee Gulledge. Gulledge specializes in working with neurodivergent youth and has worked with organizations including the Kennedy Center, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Baltimore Children & Youth Fund.
The convention has continued to draw hundreds of attendees since its launch, Melissa Simpson, WRL’s director of adult services, said.
“WRL Comic Convention has drawn between 600 and 900 attendees each year we’ve hosted it, which tells us there’s a real appetite for this kind of community event,” Simpson said. “It gives people of all ages a place to be creative, meet others who share their interests and discover something new at the library.”
A returning event is the WRL Comic Con Cosplay Contest, which will be held at the end of the convention. Award-winning cosplayer Avalon Lee will lead a cosplay workshop and serve as one of the contest judges
“One of the first awards I ever won was at the Williamsburg Regional Library Con for their costume contest and now I’m one of the judges. It’s a full circle moment for me,” Lee said about returning to the con.
Prizes will be awarded to the first-, second- and third-place winners in the adult/teen, children and group categories. Contest registration will be available from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Williamsburg Library Theatre Gallery.
Other activities will include anime screenings, fan trivia, a nerd spelling bee and a Taiko drumming performance. In addition, The Friends of WRL Foundation will host a used book sale, and Dominion Dogs will be serving up food for attendees.
The free, all-ages event takes place from 12:30 to 4 p.m. The full schedule is at wrl.org.
