Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM SEPTEMBER 13-19, 2023 UCW 11 e Cumberland County Public Library will be bringing back a popular, family-friendly, one-day mini-convention to celebrate all things fandom – Librari-Con. Librari-Con first started in 2007 and quickly became an annual event. However, due to COVID-19, Librari-Con went virtual in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the library put the event on hiatus. But this year, it is back. Samantha Belmont, a Youth Services Librarian and Project Manager of Librari-Con, says she is excited to bring this event back with the help of Friends of the Library. "It's a really great intergenerational program that brings families of all ages together and individuals from the community as well," Belmont said. ere will be panels, activities, themed story times, costumes, and more. e 501st Legion, a Star Wars Cosplay group, will be coming back, as they have done every year since 2007. ey are hosting a panel called: Behind the Mask- Secrets of Professional Star Wars Costuming. Other panels include discussions from e Carolina Manga Library, adaptations of mangas and books into movies and TV shows, and a discussion of how pop culture has influenced theater with Sweet Tea Shakespeare, For those who love more hands-on activities, there will be plenty. A Dungeons & Dragons one- shot adventure, Nerd Slam trivia, Avatar the Last Airbender-themed Jasmine Dragon Tea Brewing, an Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator, and Pokémon Card Game Raid Battles with Game On! All of these activities will be happening throughout the convention. For those who have smaller kids, there will be activities for them as well in the Chibi Corner. ey will have self-directed crafts and room to play. Papercraft stations include a Mario pop-up toy, Ninja Turtle puppets and paper plate Pokéballs. ere will be two separate story times as well. At 10:30 a.m., there will be a story about the Super Mario Bros., and later on, at 2:30 p.m., there will be a Dragon story time with songs and other dragon-related activities. e Librari-Con will close out with a Cosplay Runway at 4 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to dress up as their favorite characters from anime, video games, television and film. Registration for the runway starts at 3 p.m. "I want them to experience that sense of community. It wasn't too long ago that being a nerd or a geek was something that made you an outcast," Belmont said. "But now we can all come together and even find new passions if you are not part of that community, and really feel like you are part of something that is bigger than yourself. And we love to do that in the library, bringing the community together and providing those experiences." e Librari-Con will be in-person and free to attend at the Headquarters Library located at 300 Maiden Lane from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 16. For more information about Librari-Con, the Cumberland County Library has put together a LibGuide that has the complete schedule, cosplay rules and a gallery of previous Library- Cons. e LibGuide can be found at https://cumberland.lib.nc.libguides.com/. HANNAH LEE, Staff Writer COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com 910-484-6200. LibrariCon makes big return to Cumberland County Library after short hiatus by HANNAH LEE EVENTS