Everywhere I turned, a different character from my favorite show stood smiling at me. Was it a dream? A hallucination? No, it was Coastal Comic Con! March 1st and 2nd, the Coastal Comic Con was hosted downtown. Shops, vendors, and panels were set up, and people were encouraged to show up in cosplay as their favorite characters– I myself went as Celeste from Danganronpa!

Conventions are a wonderful opportunity to meet like-minded people who have the same interests as you. You don’t have to worry about judgement. Everyone is welcome! From collectors to cosplayers, there’s something for everyone. Everyone is incredibly friendly– you’re welcome to ask for pictures and talk about almost anything!

The vendors sold everything from merchandise to hand-made crocheted dinosaurs (one of which I purchased, it’s adorable!). Though if you want to go to a con, I recommend bringing at least $40, if possible, and looking at all the stalls before you buy anything. There’s so much offered, you don’t want to miss out on something cool because you spent all your money at the first stall.

A competition was hosted for people who went all in for cosplays. While I was there on Saturday the 1st, I saw a really cool Venom cosplay and a really good Darth Vader cosplay. Both were awesome, and everyone looked great!

The convention also offered food; pizza, nachos, walking tacos, almost everything under the sun! My boyfriend and I both got a slice of pizza, which was actually pretty good (by conventional standards, at least!).

Though the turnout for this con was awesome, there’s an even bigger convention coming up in Raleigh– Galaxy Con! I plan on attending in July. If this is something you’re interested in, even if you’re not up for cosplaying, I definitely recommend checking it out! You won’t regret it.