A Fantastic Time At A Convention: FantastiCon 2025 In Toledo, OH
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IMPORTANT VOCABULARY BEFORE READING:
fan·tas·tic - adjective 1: extraordinarily good or attractive.
adjective 2: maginative or fanciful; remote from reality.
con·ven·tion - noun: a large meeting or conference, especially of members of a political party or a particular profession.
cos·play - noun: he practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game.
verb: engage in cosplay.
me·di·a - noun 1: the main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the internet) regarded collectively.
noun 2: plural form of medium.
me·di·um - noun 1: a particular form of storage for digitized information, such as magnetic tape or discs.
noun 2: the material or form used by an artist, composer, or writer.
com·ic - adjective: causing or meant to cause laughter.
com·ic book - noun: a magazine that presents a serialized story in the form of a comic strip, typically featuring the adventures of a superhero.
pop·u·lar - adjective 1: liked, admired, or enjoyed by many people or by a particular person or group.
adjective 2: (of cultural activities or products) intended for or suited to the taste, understanding, or means of the general public rather than specialists or intellectuals.
cul·ture - noun 1: the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.
noun 2: the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.
he·ro - noun: a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
su·per·he·ro - noun: a benevolent fictional character with superhuman powers, such as Superman.
nerd - noun: a person who is extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a particular subject, especially one of specialist or niche interest.
verb: engage in or discuss a technical field obsessively or with great attention to detail.
geek - noun: a person who is knowledgeable about and obsessively interested in a particular subject, especially one that is technical or of specialist or niche interest.
verb: engage in or discuss technical or computer-related tasks obsessively or with great attention to detail.
an·i·me - noun: a style of Japanese film and television animation, typically aimed at adults as well as children.
man·ga - noun: a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels, typically aimed at adults as well as children.
A FAnTASTIC CONVENTION
Any type of comic convention is amazing. They are this celebration of culture, art and creativity that brings a bunch of liked minded nerd and geeks into a specific place in one moment in time, for better or worse. FantastiCon in Toledo, OH this year was just that, fantastic! The two day con took place on March 8th and 9th at the Glass City Convention Center, formerly The Seagate Convention Centre. With plenty of booths selling homemade art, like beautiful canvas paintings, hand crafted swords, custom masks and dice or personally made digital art; there was plenty to look at (and buy if you had enough money)! Also, there were booths setup to talk about nonprofits and charities that these fantastic people put together. As well as meet and greats with famous actors, writers, you name it!
In a time machine.
Credit: The Weekly Bugle
A BOOTH FOR YOU, ME AND STEVE THREE APARTMENTS DOWN
Some of the booths, like the Back to the Future DeLorean above, were mini little experiences within themselves. In a small little scene, you could be sent to a galaxy far far away by interacting with and meet characters from Star Wars or stand by a modern day Ecto-1 with passionate Ghostbusters fans all geared up waiting for your call! Maybe you can explore the cosmos and find answers talking to the spectacular Star Trek fans or potentially get your face painted by Ms. Frizzle while the Magic School Bus rests. Plus, you could sign up for Extra Life at their booth and game to raise money for kids! If you are a fan of anything, you’ll probably be able to find something here for you.
The boys in red.
Credit: The Weekly Bugle
EVENTFUL THINGS ARE HAPPENING
Even though there is already so much to see and do, there are events to talk about to! Things like a kids and adult cosplay contest allowing everyone to show off their creative costumes, nerdy trivia, Magic: The Gathering card tournaments, actor Mark Pillow talking about Superman IV or even a SFX makeup panel with the one and only Emmy Award Winning Artist, Daniel Phillips!?!? You’ll want to experience every single thing you can here! Watching Daniel work on a piece of special effects right in front of you while answering questions was such a special treat. Seeing an expert and passionate person at work right in front of you is hard to describe. Plus, seeing everyone embody these characters in the costumes they bought or made themselves is an awesome sight to behold.
Cosplayers assembled.
Credit: The Weekly Bugle
Even though this con may be considered small compared to others, it doesn’t feel that way. It’s personality and charm makes the walls its confined in feel miles away. It was an amazing experience all over that if you have an opportunity to get out to a FantastiCon near you or any con really, do it! You want regret it. Thank you for reading and remember to stay happy and healthy.
