I recently attended the fifth annual Rose City Comic Con in Portland, Oregon. This was my second time attending, and I loved it even more than last year.
RCCC continues to be one of my favorite cons of the year. The reason is pretty simple. RCCC is the perfect blend of big and small–they do an excellent job of keeping a blend of programming that includes small intimate panels along with enough big celebrity ones to keep everyone happy. There are plenty of people to meet and costumes to gawk over, but attendees never feel crushed in a crowd. And to top it off, a good half of the exhibitor space is dedicated to creators and you can actually find the biggest names (like  Kelly Sue DeConnick and Matt Fraction) sitting right there to meet you!
I opted to do a cosplay each day of the convention which is always fun. On Saturday I went with my Ashitaka which is always fun to wear. It’s one of those classics that a lot of people don’t recognize but those who do are very excited and vocal about! This was my last trial (from which I made some corrections) before taking Ashitaka to a contest (I won first place beginner at RenCon). Then on Sunday I did my Keith from Voltron: Legendary Defender. This was the first time I ran into a whole crew of other Voltron cosplayers. I was in heaven. And one of them was even using on the custom bayards I make and sell!
RCCC has a really great Kids’ Area that not only includes stuff for kids to see and do but even has kid-specific programming (like lightsaber training and Avengers trivia with prizes). I was sad that my son couldn’t be at RCCC this year with me because he would have loved it. One of my favorite booths in the Kids’ Area was Slightly Twisted Balloons. There were a ton of Star Wars balloon animals, including a giant AT-ST.
For gamers, there was both a large console gaming area that included a bunch of retro consoles as well as a huge tabletop lending library with plenty of tables to play at.
One of my favorite panels I attended was the Cosplay Family panel with Downen Creative Studios, BH Cosplay, Avalyn Cosplay, and AJ Cosplay. This panel not only draws a great crowd of parents and kids wanting to get into cosplay but it also inspired the weekly Cosplay Family Spotlight I’ve been running since then. This panel also gets around, and I’ve since attended it at another convention as well. I’m hoping we’ll also see it at ECCC this year because it is a great panel!
Saturday night was the cosplay contest and there were so many great costumes! To see some of my favorites from the floor (several of which were also in the contest), flip through the gallery below!
And the final topper of the convention was a concert by The Doubleclicks. I always enjoy seeing them live. So funny, so much fun, and such great songs. Angela did inform me that they no longer play the song I always request, so I’ll no longer be requesting it because that would just be harassing them. The concert ended with a fellow in the front row proposing to his girlfriend! What a way to cap off a fun-filled weekend.
I highly recommend RCCC for any con-going family. Portland is a great city with a lot to see and do, tons of great food, and the convention is super family-friendly.
