‘Happy vibes all around’: MiniCon brings big fun for fans of pop culture

SANDY, Utah (ABC4) — Attention fans of comics, anime, and pop culture: Game Haven’s MiniCon — a small fan-created event dedicated to big fun — is coming up this weekend.

MiniCon, which first started in 2019, gets a little bigger and better each year, event coordinator Dizney Court said.

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The event will be at Game Haven in Sandy on Saturday, April 20, from noon-6 p.m. Admission is free.

Much is in store for attendees to enjoy — including panels, games, an artist alley, a cosplay contest, and more.

There will also be J-pop and K-pop dance performances, with opportunities for participants to show off their moves as well.

Court said MiniCon is focused on being affordable and fun, noting that it’s a great experience for cosplayers and artists who want to learn more about conventions.

“If you just want to get started in checking out conventions, [or] meet other cosplayers without having to spend a ton of money on a badge, it’s just great if you’re starting out, or I get tons of return attendees who like it for the more casual vibes,” she said.

Eric Allan Hall, who’s been cosplaying since 1993, will be hosting a panel at the event, focused on creating inexpensive cosplay and props, using items from thrift stores, surplus stores, and yard sales.

“I’m excited to help support a local business that supports local fans of cosplay, LARPing, and other gaming,” Hall said.

Hall has around 200 cosplays and is known for portraying characters like Mr. Data, Superman, Remus Lupin, Nightcrawler, the Joker, Green Goblin, Dr. Strange, Mr. Incredible and more.

He’s also a founding member of HEROIC, a cosplay group dedicated to serving the community by portraying characters at no cost for charities and community events.

“When not in costume, I’m a corporate training developer, and you can spot me around town in my hatchback decorated like a Star Trek Shuttlecraft,” he said.

Hall is looking forward to being a part of MiniCon, and said when he’s at his panel, you’ll find him dressed as Khonshu from the Disney+ series “Moon Knight.”

As MiniCon becomes “not-so mini”, Court hopes in the future, they can move the convention to a new location.

“It will still always be smaller compared to large conventions, so I think we can still keep the name,” she said. “We’re still going to keep it at Game Haven, but Game Haven has a fourth location in the works that’s going to be much bigger. I think that’ll be our last size expansion. I think we’ll fit really comfortably into that, still being small enough that small artists and vendors can afford a booth, but just big enough that we can all have a really fun time.”

Court described MiniCon as “happy vibes all around”, and said she’s looking forward for the event to be back this weekend.

“MiniCon is just so excited to be growing and I think it’s absolutely priceless to see everybody in the community enjoying it,” Court said. “I see the positive reception online, I see the happy faces at the actual event. I want the fans, and hopefully new fans, to know that we see your positive reception and it means so much to us. We’re going to keep it going.”

You can find more information and a full list of events on Game Haven’s website.

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