East Idaho fans brave wet autumn weather for Idaho Fandom Mini-Con

The weather in Idaho Falls Saturday was chilly and wet, but not even the rain could dampen the enthusiasm of fans who showed up to Snake River Landing for Idaho Fandom’s Mini-Con.

Mini-Con pulled together vendors, artists and authors for a small event that felt all the more intimate under the shelter that was keeping attendees dry. Con visitors browsed through illustrations, digital art and other collectibles while visiting with the artists who created said works.

Many fans showed up for the event cosplaying their favorite characters from throughout pop culture. Those who didn’t dress up could get their faces painted by a make-up artist.

Though the event was small and the weather wasn’t cooperating, the love people showed for their favorite fandoms was readily apparent.

“The amount of passion for fandoms was very concentrated,” Mini-Con visitor Robyn Buchanan told East Idaho News.com. “There was a high concentration of fandom.”

Organizers of Mini-Con planned the event to help fill the void left when the Snake River Fandom Con was canceled earlier this year. Buchanan noted that such events are somewhat unusual in east Idaho.

“The closest thing I’ve been to is one of our Renaissance Faires,” she said. “I’ve been to very small things and very few of them.”

Buchanan also sees an opportunity for the event to grow and become a major attraction for area nerds, geeks and fanboys.

“Even though it was physically small in terms of space and number of vendors, there were quite a few people packed into the small space,” she said. “It’s very apparent that’s there’s a supply and demand issue. The fans are there. The events, not so much.”

Buchanan said that as more people settle in east Idaho, a more diverse assortment of activities is needed.

“We are growing as a community and with that comes a growing number of interests,” she said. “There are so many people in our community interested in so many different things, that the fact that (Mini-Con) is the first thing of this nature that we’ve had, so far as I know, is really kind of surprising.”

Plans are for the profits from Mini-Con to be put towards planning a bigger convention next year (see details here). Like many east Idaho fans, Buchanan is fully supportive of bigger and more plentiful future pop culture conventions and similar events.

“I would love to see more of all of it,” she said. “Larger space, some amount of it indoors, maybe some more kid-friendly things and a wider variety in the vendors.”

Regardless of size, many locals, including Buchanan, are excited and hungry for more fandom-centric events in the future.

“I was really excited to find that our community has something like this,” she said. “I wholly encourage the creators to create more!”