Mitch Traphagen Photo
Florida has a hard-earned reputation for being the Weird Capitol of America so, as such, it is possible that not many people who found themselves in downtown Tampa this past weekend so much as batted an eye at the cast of characters crossing streets and congregating at the Tampa Convention Center.
Late July in Tampa means that it is time for Metrocon, Florida’s largest anime convention, now in its 11th year. Anime is related to Japanese animation, an artistic medium which literally brings to life characters from stories and comics. As of press time, attendance numbers were unavailable but more than 8,000 people attended the convention last year and organizers were hoping for a bigger showing this year. Suffice to say that thousands of people, ranging in age from the single digits to middle and post-middle age let out their inner anime characters over the weekend. Many of the elaborate costumes were made by hand and included props ranging from wild weapons to…well, I’m not sure what some of them were.
Regardless, those who attended, and even some spectators, appeared to have a great time. For more information, visit www.metroconventions.com.
080113 Metrocon – Images by Mitch Traphagen
