ToshoCON is a new yearly anime convention put on by the Salt Lake County Library made just for teenagers.
Bit of an odd concept when you think about it… Most Conventions are privately owned by a group of people and aren’t put together by the county library services.
The more cynical side of me would think this event would be a massive flop, envisioning 36-year-old librarians trying to make a connection with teens by talking about how cool Naruto is…
As it turns out this is what makes TochoCON great!
Little did I know our library system is filled to the brim with Manga loving Otaku* (What anime fans call them selves) One after another I met passionate fans who just want to talk about anime and make this event something great. It’s no secret that Utah has a massive anime geek culture and people have been coming together to make this something special.
I recently talk with the head organizer of TochoCON – Carrie Rogers-Whitehead
Gax – Tell me a little about why you wanted to put this event together in the first place?
CR – I’ve run an anime club at Kearns Library for the last six years and I found that teens are really engaged in anime. They’re engaged in the culture, they’re engaged in the books and they’re really engaged in the shows!
After the opening of our Viridian Event Center at the Salt Lake County Library we had a really big space and the idea to make an event like this had been going for awhile.
I went to anime Banzai a few years ago and I was like I think we can do this, lets do this! I knew the teens would love it so we went for it, and it was a big success.
Gax – So what were your goals when you put this thing together?
CR – I really want to get teens creative and engaged. I think sometimes we put on programs for young adults and don’t always ask for they’re input, we just do what we thing they want… So whats unique about ToshoCON is that from the very beginning we had teens involved. We had them voting on what panels they want to see and what shows they want to watch.
Last year we had three teen panelists, we had them put it together, they got the cosplays ready, they got the scripts ready, they practiced and rehearsed and then they put it on. We have five teen panelists this year and we also have teen venders. Last year we had a teen Alondra Lopez who created her own graphic novel and sold it at the event. This is something that we’re putting on but the teens have ownership in it and they have been involved with it from the very beginning.
Gax – So why Anime and not another medium like comics or movies?
CR – I found when your a teenager your going through a lot of changes in life, developmental changes, life changes all sorts of things, it’s kind of a difficult time. But anime I think provides an outlet that kind of lets you take risks and gives you a kind of avatar through different characters and stories that sometimes can be more relatable to people in this age group then other things. At that age you’re trying to find out who you are and anime is a great way to try things and find out who you’ll be. If that makes any sense?
Gax – Tell us about last years con.
We were really happy with the numbers that we got, we had over eleven hundred teens come out. It was an eight-hour convention for one day last year from 2-10 pm. We had panels, a dance, a cosplay contest, all of the anime con elements. We had the news crews out, there was even a Sunday addition of the Tribune about the con. But what meant more to me then the press response and the TV or whatever, was I had teens approach me afterwords asking “When are we going to do it again!” and they have been involved since that one ended until this one begins. They’ve been with us that whole time. When I have people that excited then that means something more to me then anything else.
Gax – Any thoughts on running a teen only convention?
CR – I feel like teens get a bad rap, but you have to find they’re interests and engage them that way. They’re getting a bad rap for maybe being sarcastic or apathetic or whatever… The problem is you’re just not finding the right thing to make a connection with them. But if you look outside the box and you find that right thing, you get to know the person who does sewing and can make their own stuff, the person who does art, the person who does writing and you can find amazing potential to tap into and really help motivate younger people to grow.
ToshoCON will be held at Salt Lake County Library’s Viridian Event Center in West Jordan August 1-2. You can find details more here.
And don’t forget Neverbot, Zendobot and myself will be hosting/moderating panels all day. Don’t be afraid to come barring gifts, by which I mean Red Bull and mostly for me. :3
See you there!