The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
COMIC, SCI-FI FANS COME TOGETHER
First Wildwood Micro Con proves to be a hit
Smiles and superheroes were everywhere during the first Wildwood Micro Con, a convention for those immersed in the culture of comics and sci-fi.
Although, Micro Con was not relegated to just comic books and costumes. Attendees were treated to a roaming magician, virtual reality, video games, crafts, food, costume content and more — at the Wildwood Cultural Center in Mentor.
Wildwood Manager Nick Standering highlighted that the goal is to continue the convention in future years and have attendees return. Micro Con was Standering’s own idea.
“It’s something we hope to build off of,” he said. “The plan will be to keep it here. And that’s why we tag it as a ‘micro con’, because we’re not a huge, big convention center, but we want to make sure we have a lot of great things for everyone to enjoy.
“There’s nothing in Mentor as far as a micro con or just a comic con... So we thought, what a good opportunity. I mean, Wildwood being a historic mansion in the woods, (it’s a) beautiful setting out here for something like that.
“It’s something we hope to build off of. The plan will be to keep it here. And that’s why we tag it as a ‘micro con,’ because we’re not a huge, big convention center, but we want to make sure we have a lot of great things for everyone to enjoy.”
— Wildwood Manager Nick Standering
Pretty unique, not just your typical convention center.”
Three floors of the Wildwood Cultural Center featured activities for attendees, from crafts on the third floor to free comic books on the first. Local magician Dustin Kaiser circulated Wildwood and performed a variety of tricks for attendees. Star Wars and Marvel movies were shown on the second floor. The local Ghostbusters chapter was also present, parking their Ecto-1-inspired Mini Cooper outside of the building.
Super Heroes to Kids in Ohio, a non-profit charity group, gave out free comic books for kids. Members dressed as Captain America and Spiderman were there to take pictures as well.
“A lot of families don’t really get in contact with a lot of companies that’s giving away free stuff, especially if their kids are going through something,” said Board Member Bond Pyant. “So what we do is we connect and partner with those companies.” He referred to the charity as a “middle man” between companies and families.
Pyant mentioned that the group was invited to come to Micro Con.
“They wanted to give us a donation to our group,” Pyant said. “We said: ‘In lieu of the donation, why don’t we come and give you something?’ Because we’re also trying to do partnerships. So we come out here and the people who follow us also come out here, so that way they get to know about this place (Wildwood) and this great venue.”
Families with young children appeared to be a prevalent demographic. Kids and adults in costumes interacted with each other, sharing smiles and superhero talk.
To that end, members of Heroes United, a non-profit charity group for kids, came in costume to share photo opportunities. Member Rocky Ruiz said that the group visits similar events, usually in Northeast Ohio.
During the first two hours of the event, Standering described the response as positive. He highlighted that it was a good thing, as Wildwood hopes to bring Micro Con back after another trip around the sun.
“Being a new event, we want to really garner that interest,” Standering said in a previous phone interview. He had highlighted that they wanted to show attendees a good time and have them come back.
“That’s what makes it successful,” he added, “the people that are coming to our event.”