ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- Dozens of vendors and creators came together in Elmira to celebrate all things pop culture and mark the start of the Halloween season. Hallows and Heroes was held for the first time at Empire Sports of the Southern Tier in Elmira this weekend.
With a diverse spread of vendors, guests could walk from table to table and find all things comics, Halloween decor, pop culture, and more. While many attendees were able to say they saw a taste of what the creative minds of the Twin Tiers had to offer, they also say events like these are truly all about the connections.
Girl Friday Creative Events, Heroes Comic Shop in Elmira Heights, and The Game Shop put together a roster of over 50 vendors, artists, and creators together to share some of their best pop culture products with the public.
But, instead of a typical comic book convention, Hallows and Heroes had a twist.
"I think that everybody loves Halloween, especially nowadays," said Stephanie Saunders, the owner of Girl Friday Creative Events and one of the co-organizers of Hallows and Heroes. "The thing that we wanted to do differently about this event is just bringing more Halloween creators together and even other creators who also do other things, but maybe have some Halloween things they want to showcase."
While the event was held in Elmira, vendors and guests from all over came out to the extravaganza. Some of the comic book artists even traveled to Elmira from Rochester.
"I love the small-town vibe," said Meg Casey, a comic book artist who has worked on comics like Rick and Morty, Invader Zim, Adventure Time, and more. "I feel like, it's like a lot easier to make connections with people who live around the area and are passionate about the material like we're not just another table [where they] are just saying 'how cool' and move on. It feels a lot more personal, which I really enjoy."
Since this is the first year of Hallows and Heroes, details for the weekend-long con spread to the community through word of mouth and at other local events. Kaitlyn Vasquez, an attendee, said her family made the trip after hearing about the event at Wellsboro Comic Con.
Organizers say they were very happy with the first year's turnout and are thankful to all involved for making it happen. Now, they say they hope to host Hallows and Heroes annually. Some guests say they would come back if it happens again.
"I know it's been a little bit more of a smaller con, which some people might just be like, 'Oh, it's not as big,'" said Vasquez. "But you gotta start from somewhere, and I think it's really great that all of the vendors and the community got together for it to happen today, because then, who knows, maybe next year it'll be double the size for it. So just have a good time, meet other people who are also interested in things, or kind of like us, where we get out of town, of a different area, and now we're learning about the community here so we can go take a look at stuff too."
Saunders says some of the money raised from ticket sales will benefit Runway for a Cause, a local nonprofit that puts on a charity fashion show in the Southern Tier of New York. Members of the organization worked the ticket sales booth at the entryway of Hallows and Heroes as well.
The rest of the funds will help with planning for future pop culture events in the area that organizers are already working on.
Organizers encourage fellow pop culture lovers to be on the lookout for those events. More information on upcoming events can be found on their Facebook pages (Girl Friday Creative Events, Heroes Comic Shop in Elmira Heights, and The Game Shoppe).