Some local creatives are hoping to bring a popular social convention to Rowan County celebrating online culture. The NexusNippon Mini-Convention aims to bring a day of events for local fans of Japanese anime and manga.
Guests will have the opportunity to engage with and enjoy many aspects of these comics and animated shows. That includes panels for fans of the science fiction series Gundam, a doll collector meet-up, and events for costume lovers like a cosplay contest and masquerade event.
Adelle Baker is the coordinator for Nexus Nippon. She said there are some closer events for broader nerd culture, like the Lexington Toy and Comic Convention, but she aims to create a fun event specifically for anime and manga fans on this side of Kentucky.
“Even though as weird as it is to think about anime as mainstream, we don’t really have any events like that here. And with it being mainstream, I don’t feel like we should have to travel three to five hours to go do a larger con,” said Baker.
Baker added when crafting the convention, organizers aimed to serve a unique part of the eastern Kentucky community. People unfamiliar with anime culture and fan spaces may not get the full picture, but she said everyone is welcome to come enjoy the fun.
“It’s really for people, I feel like, people who are considered outcasts in the sense of maybe they don’t get super into sports or they just didn’t fit in at school or a job or wherever it is they are. I think it’s a really good place to feel community and connected,” said Baker. “I feel like for the outside looking in, if you’re not into that, it’s good to keep in mind these are people just trying to have a good time.”
NexusNippon will run on June 7 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Morehead Conference Center. The exhibitor hall, showcasing local artists and vendors such as CoffeeTree Books, will remain open until 5:30 p.m. A full schedule of events and exhibitors, as well as ticket information, is available at the NexusNippon website.