A fan getaway: Retro-X brings community together to celebrate multiple fandoms
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IDAHO FALLS — Artists, vendors, cosplayers and families were all under one roof celebrating pop culture at Retro-X on Saturday afternoon.
Retro-X, which returned for its fourth year, drew hundreds of people to the Elks Lodge in Idaho Falls on Friday and Saturday. Many came dressed as their favorite characters, and some were there simply to support local artists.
Dawn Langston, co-creator of Retro-X with her husband, Phil Langston, told EasIdahoNews.com that attendance at the expo was about what they expected, totalling 6,000 people.
To get folks moving through the expo, Retro-X had a treasure hunt that encouraged visits at multiple booths. Once the hunt was complete, participants had a chance to win a TV or merchandise from the expo.
Whitney Spencer as one of many vendors at the expo, there for the second year to sell her artwork.
She said having an expo like this so close to home has been a great opportunity for her, because going to expos in Boise or Salt Lake City can be very costly.
“When Retro-X started, I was very excited to have something in eastern Idaho,” Spencer said.
Aside from the artists and vendors, guest celebrities were busy both days at booths where fans lined up for a quick chat and a selfie.
Brenda Swan, an Elvira tribute cosplayer, spoke with EastIdahoNews.com about being at Retro-X. She’s an east-Idaho native, raised in Blackfoot, and said this was her first year attending the Idaho Falls event.
Swan said she was inspired to be a tribute cosplayer of Elvira because of her love of Halloween.”She is the queen of Halloween,” Swan said of Elvira.
Now a resident of Boise, Swan said she enjoyed Retro-X mainly because of the people she met.
While many adults can enjoy the nostalgia of seeing numerous toys from their childhood or meeting the actors behind their favorite characters, children had plenty of opportunities to get in on the fun.
The Phillips family, who traveled to Idaho Falls for the expo, said it was their first time at Retro-X. John Phillips said that his children, two boys, are fans of many of the characters and entertainment highlighted here.
“We also wanted to come support it so it gets bigger,” Phillips said. “We love it. We love not having to drive all the way to Salt Lake City.”
As EastIdahoNews.com went around the expo, multiple attendees and vendors were asked who their favorite cosplayer was, and a majority agreed on Zeniba from the movie “Spirited Away” by Studio Ghibli.
Angelina Thelin, who portrays the character, said her costume was inspired by her love of most of Studio Ghibli’s movies. She said she got started in doing cosplay was helping her kids with costumes, and she has been doing so for nearly a dozen years.
“I love bringing people joy. I find that when they find their favorite character, and it’s done well, and you act out that character, they just absolutely love it,” Thelin said.
She advises anyone thinking about getting into cosplay to just jump in and do it.
“If you have something you love and you want to show off, even if it’s made from cardboard, do it! Let your passion show … make it your own,” Thelin said.
