Mid City Micro-Con
East Baton Rouge Parish Public Library Main Branch
Feb. 21
Dungeons and Dragons, Animal Crossing, Spiderman, K-Pop Demon Hunters, Hello Kitty and Cult of the Lamb are just some of the characters and fandoms represented at Mid City Micro-Con this weekend.
The event featured cosplayers, workshops and a local artist market with over 50 vendors. It featured a mix of cartoon, anime, and video game fandom merchandise made by local artists.
Micro-Con was started in 2018 for writers, comic artists and fans to push for inclusivity and representation within the community. Niche conventions can feel intimidating, and sometimes nerd culture can be gatekept and unapproachable but, Micro Con was family friendly and beginner friendly even if attendees didn’t know the franchises associated with the products. Some things are just cute, and there was such a diversity of products and events that there was something for everyone.
Theworkshops were well attended. Keith “Cartoonman” Douglass must be having a moment because he also did a drawing workshop. But the real heart and soul of the place was the artist market that sprawled across two floors.
“A lot of people will see cartoons and video games, and they’ll be like, ‘That’s something you should leave behind once you get out of childhood,’ but it’s such a multigenerational thing,” said vendor Angelle Ferguson, who runs the artist booth Stark Does Arts.
It was Ferguson’s second year vending at Micro Con. They got their start in Lafayette, but Baton Rouge is home. They see doing events like this as a way to give back to their hometown, especially the library which has been a supportive space for them.
Ferguson is into Cult of the Lamb, Animal Crossing, and anime. They’ve even gotten their mom into watching some shows with them.
The artist alley was a mix of regulars that people see frequently at other events and smaller vendors who you don’t usually see at farmer’s markets and artist markets like local pop-up. Everything was locally made, reflecting a diversity of things people love: Book covers adorned with Kuromi tapestry crochet, 3D printed DnD dice holders in the shape of a goose, comic books, even the Red Stick Reads had a booth there.
Micro-Con is full of people who genuinely love what they do and are ready to spread that love to the next generation. It’s only getting bigger, next year, it won’t be so micro anymore.
