MegaMania offers cosplay, workshops for all ages

Pima County Public Library will bring together a plethora of its programs for MegaMania, a 10-year-old all-ages, free summer festival of cosplay, gaming, crafts, local authors and artists.

The event comes to the Pima Community College Downtown Campus from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 15.

“It’s a comic-con-style event,” said Kendra Davey, Pima County Public Library’s literacy initiatives program manager.

“We’re trying to recreate the fun and excitement of sharing the fandom of whatever you’re interested in — comics, anime, video games, books, really anything.”

Davey stressed this is an all-ages event with kids’ crafts, games, video games, Dungeons & Dragons games, a variety of board games and two escape rooms.

Artist and comic book authors will host workshops, and the writer-in-residence, Gene Twaronite, will lead a poetry open mic from 2 to 3 p.m.

Cosplay workshops will teach guests how to make a simple costume. Groups in attendance include the Arizona Ghostbusters, a nonprofit whose members volunteer around the state — all with a Ghostbusters theme.

“We encourage people to come dressed up,” Davey said. “We have a cosplay showcase. It’s not a costume competition. You get to show off your cosplay. They really get into it and spend a lot of time on their cosplay.”

MegaMania was founded in 2010 as a teen program for manga and anime fans. The festival, which took a break during the pandemic, had such a rabid response it expanded.

“We had a lot of adults asking if they could go,” she said. “So, we opened it to all ages.

“It quickly outgrew any of our library branches, so we moved the event to Pima Community College, and they’ve been really great partners on the event. It’s pretty exciting. It’s a fun event. People have tons of fun.”

Most of the events are drop-in, except for the escape room, for which admittance is on a first-come, first-served basis.

“A lot of the things we’re doing at MegaMania are programs at the libraries throughout the year,” Davey said.

“If you miss the escape room, keep an eye on the library calendar. These are things that we do periodically.”

MegaMania
WHEN: 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 15
WHERE: Pima Community College Downtown Campus, 1255 N. Stone Avenue, Tucson COST: Free INFO: bit.ly/TucsonMegaMania

This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2023.