NOVEL Con held in Centre County
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BELLEFONTE -- The Centre County Library and Historical Museum hosted their annual "NOVEL Con" on Free Comic Book Day.
Anyone attending the event was invited inside the library to pick up two free comic books, courtesy of Jake's Cards and Games and the Centre County Library.
The comics featured a variety of choices, from the "Smurfs" and "Animal Crossing" to "Spidey & Friends" and everything in between.
Local vendors set up shop throughout the event space, selling handmade crafts for many different fandoms.
Each vendor was happy to participate in the event, many of them have participated in NOVEL Con for years.
Sara(h) Squared Crafts had a booth featuring crochet creations, resin art and perler pixel art, with Sara and Sarah both ecstatic to be joining yet another NOVEL Con event. The pair have been active in the library and NOVEL Con for years.
Fanta-Sci had a booth selling their crafts -- the first time ever according to Hannah and Elizabeth Bryan.
"It's a local convention," said Hannah Black, of Bellemori Fibercraft, a vendor at the event, "I wanted to support it and the library. I think we've had a great turnout this year -- the weather is really nice."
Rebecca Miller was another vendor on scene with her shop Girl Gamer Gear, offering fandom gear made by and for girl gamers and boasting "custom made goodies for you!"
There were also a few artist booths where illustrators were set up.
Seth Young, an illustrator, comic artist and painter, had a table set up in the library where he sold prints of his digital art and commissions; those who purchased a commission could have him draw anything from caricatures to creatures.
Kara Ballenger and Mads Cherluck with Fire Sphere Dezigns also set up shop with their art in the library, selling pins and prints. The pair are co-authors of the graphic novel "Fire Sphere: The Fire Starter."
Monster D, an artist who specializes in "cari-creatures," didn't have any prints of his artwork to sell, but instead he "monsterified" anyone who came to his booth -- turning them into unique monsters.
His booth featured the "monsterizer," a device that was spun to figure out what kind of monster the individual would be turned into.
Lisa Shaffer, an employee at Centre County Library, ran the trivia table, "I really like trivia and knowing things, so this was the perfect fit for me. I do this every year."
Shaffer had many prizes for winners to choose from ranging from pop figures, enamel pins, blind boxes, tote bags and even signed books -- the trivia table even featured a participation prize table for unspecified rounds where everyone involved would get a prize, regardless of the score.
The trivia was held on kahoot so that anyone from the event with a phone could join; questions were themed on pop-culture and fandoms -- such as Disney trivia.
Jake's Cards and Games held a special Dungeons and Dragons one-time campaign inside the library. It was advertised as a great chance to try D&D for the first time without the commitment of a multi-session campaign.
Participation was capped at eight players for this library-themed campaign; characters were pre-made, but players were invited to also bring their own. Everyone started at level 3.
The highlight of the event was the cosplay contest, with many individuals dressing up as their favorite characters. Cosplayers of all ages were welcome to join -- with a wide array of characters being showcased.
The 2023 guest judge was a local cosplayer, Lady Latham, who also had a vendor booth, Lady Latham's Cosplay Closet.
Cosplayers were judged in four categories: quality, effort, accuracy and creativity.
The following are the winners of the Cosplay contest in each category:
-- Adult cosplay, K.K. Davidson as Emperor Kuzco from the Emperor's New Groove
-- For group cosplay, Edwards Family as the Wet Bandits and Kevin from Home Alone
-- Teen cosplay, Irene Gerber as Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Academia
-- Kids cosplay, Shayna Russman as Doc Mcstuffins from Doc Mcstuffins
NOVEL Con 2023 was a huge success.
"We are thankful to all the vendors, partners and volunteers who helped us to put on the event and look forward to NOVEL Con next year! It was wonderful to be around people who were enjoying the library and other arts and entertainment that the Bellefonte community has to offer," said Elizabeth Schwartz, Communications Manager and Centre County Library Assistant.