The line stretched from the front of the Santa Clara Central Park Library and down the side as adults, teens and kids all anxiously awaited the return of Santa Clara ComicCon. After a COVID-length hiatus, the popular event was back on Oct. 22 and better than ever. Fans were excited about the return.
“I used to come here all the time before the pandemic and I was waiting for so long for them to come back,” said Sarah.
She and her two children dressed up as Marvel characters. Sarah says the whole family loves the twists that the Santa Clara library puts on ComicCon.
“[We] love the story time. We saw Moana story time and there’s a Batgirl story time that we really loved one year. This year we’re really looking forward to Mandalorian story time,” said Sarah.
Santa Clara ComicCon also drew 10-year-old Myra and her 7-year-old brother Ojas.
“[I like] the fact that we could do lots of cool things and all these arts and crafts, see all the costumes, everyone dressed up. I thought it was pretty,” said Myra.
“I wanted to dress up because it was about to be Halloween,” said Ojas, who wore his Viking costume.
Meanwhile, Lukas says Santa Clara ComicCon is a chance to connect with people with similar interests.
“I wanted a chance to cosplay and I love seeing everyone else’s cosplays and just interacting with other cosplayers and I like seeing all the vendors all the artists what they have for sale,” said Lukas, who dressed as Papa Nihil from the band Ghost.
For Lila, it was her first visit to the event but she was excited to see what Santa Clara ComicCon had to offer.
“I’m mostly looking forward to exploring. I haven’t been here,” said Lila. “It’s just kind of a small mini-con to get myself pumped up for SacAnime is my next one.”
Gynnie, one of the members of the 501st Legion, says events like this are what she loves best.
“It’s a really fun local event that we can see all the local vendors and costume makers, and it’s really good for all the kids to come out and see all their characters that they read about,” said Gynnie. “I think they’re seeing the characters come to life. I think it’s great they actually see all of us still enjoying doing that as adults.”
For artist Phuong-Mai Blasich, who designed the Santa Clara ComicCon shirt, it’s not only a chance to give back to the community but also reach a new generation of artists.
“I’m trying to give back and see the love for pop culture and encourage youth that they can become an artist in the Bay Area. We have a wealth of really professional talent in the Bay Area. So, just trying to be accessible,” said Blasich.
Patty Wong, the City Librarian for the Santa Clara City Library, was one of the chief organizers of the event. She says more than 6,200 people RSVP’ed on Eventbrite.
“For some people, it’s the first time so it’s a really great experience for all of us to come together here at the library and enjoy each other’s company and learn more about science and science fiction and comics. It’s just been great,” said Wong.
Was the line to get in because you were there at opening or was there a line throughout the day for crowd control?
How bad were the traffic and parking situations around the library and Central Park?
I would like to go next year and I wonder how much better it would be to ride my bicycle there instead of driving.
Hi Buchser,
The line was at the opening. There were still crowds outside when I left but not as long of a line. Ride your bike. I did and then didn’t have to worry about parking. There were a lot of people walking in.