Fox Con is returning after a one-year hiatus.
The event, which highlights comic books, graphic novels, video games, role-playing board and card games, cosplay and more, will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, in Fox High School’s gym, 751 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold.
It’s free to attend the Fox Con, which the school’s eSports team and Anime Club hold.
“We do this for our community so our kids of all ages can attend a comic con or anime con-like event for free,” said Lindsey Neal, a Project Lead the Way computer science teacher and the school’s eSports head coach. “For a lot of our kids, these events are out of their reach, or parents are hesitant to let them go because it’s not guaranteed to be ‘family friendly.’ Since we are a school, we can regulate that a lot better than a convention at a hotel somewhere.”
Fox High began holding comic book-based conventions in 2018, and it changed the name of the event from the Fox Comic Con to the Fox Con in 2020.
Approximately 1,000 people attended the 2020 event, but it was not held again until 2023 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neal said she could not remember how many people attended the 2023 convention, but she said it was smaller than what the event had grown to in 2020.
She said 20 vendors were at the 2023 event, while the 2020 convention had 47.
Neal said about 20 vendors are expected to be at this year’s convention.
“We will have artists and illustrators, crafts and other goods, ranging from a K-pop store to handcrafted goods,” she said.
Neal said she is still recruiting vendors for this year’s Fox Con.
Interested vendors may sign up by sending an email to neall@foxc6.org or going to smithfoxc6.wixsite.com/foxcon.
Neal said there will be three panels during the convention. One will highlight a Japanese postcard-style art, another will show people how to make Japanese good-weather charms and one panel called I’m So Proud of You (And Your Cosplay Too!) will provide guidance about cosplaying - the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book or video game.
The cosplay panel will be held after a cosplay parade and contest, set to start at about 1 p.m.
The cosplay contests are divided into three groups: an adult group for amateurs 18 years and older, which costs $20; a secondary school-aged group for sixth to 12th graders, which costs $10 to enter; and a junior group for those in fifth grade or below and is free to enter.
The adult group competes for half of the money raised from the entry fees, and the second school group competes for two weekend passes to Anime St. Louis. No prizes will be awarded in the junior group, which may wear store-bought costumes.