Cosplay, comics, air conditioning; Turlock Comic Con expands for Labor Day

Calling all nerds, geeks, cosplayers and comics fans: There’s a place for you to meet and greet and even beat the heat this Labor Day in Turlock.

Two air-conditioned buildings, an array of memorabilia, haunted house, Hollywood actors and more await at the second Turlock Comic Con set for Monday, Sept. 4, at the Stanislaus County Fairground.

Show up and you might even get cast in a movie by actor Ryan T. Husk, from the TV series “Renegades” and the film “Star Trek: Horizon.” Husk, according event co-founder Ziggy Star, will be scouting for an upcoming film he’s producing.

Also appearing will be actress Debbie Lee Carrington who was in “Total Recall,” “The Bride of Chucky” and other films as well as TV roles. Both actors will sign autographs during the event.

Monday’s comic con is a follow up – and expansion – to a first venture by Star and his family put on in February at the fairgrounds that he said attracted about 2,500 people.

“We were just hoping to break even,” he said of that first event. “The break-even point was right around 1,500 (attendees), so we took the extra money and did more shows.”

Those additional shows were held in Los Banos, Sonora and Sacramento and they plan Turlock Comic Cons every six months. Anyone at the first event will find an added building that should translate to shorter wait times, more to see and less crowding, Star said.

“It took about an hour to get in last time so this should be easier for people – and it’s air conditioned,” he said, referencing the forecast for a weekend of triple-digit valley temperatures.

The event promises a cosplay contest hosted by Nor-Cal Cosies as well as cosplayers appearing as Captain America, Deadpool and Harley Quinn. There will be more than 100 vendor booths and a haunt from Deathworkz.

Star, who owns Ziggy’s Video Game Exchange in Turlock, said it’s important that the comic con be a family event, so children under age 12 get in for free. It’s a family affair at its core, he said, co-produced with his wife and two adult daughters with his 15 grandchildren, ages 7-21, working at Monday’s event.

Star lauded the positive energy at comic cons, pointing to a past event he attended. “Everybody was happy and cheerful and smiling, and I thought ‘why can’t the world just be like this’ ... all ages, different genders, colors – this is what it’s all about.”