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Lawn-Con and Autumn Market set for Sunday
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Chris Yambar knew that Lawn-Con, his annual comics and pop-culture convention, had been getting too big for his front yard.
But what was the last straw?
“Somebody stepped on a rose bush,” he said with a deadpan laugh.
Yambar, a pop artist, comic-book creator and entrepreneur, had been having Lawn-Con in his front yard on the West Side since starting the show four years ago.
This year, the event is moving to bigger digs — the park area at B&O Station on Mahoning Avenue, across the bridge from downtown.
Lawn-Con 5 will be from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, which represents another change: Past Lawn-Cons were always on Saturdays.
Lawn-Con will run concurrently with Artists of the Rust Belt’s Autumn Market, which will be inside the B&O Station building.
The Autumn Market will feature 35 regional artists selling their original and handmade pottery, photography, prints, paintings, jewelry, clothing and sculpture. The event also will include fine baked goods. Admission is $1.
Yambar said Autumn Market and Lawn-Con will be a great marriage.
Lawn-Con will surround the building with tents and displays housing national, indie and small-press comic creators, trading-card artists and professionals in the industry. There also will be thousands of comic books for sale.
It also will include a lineup of entertainment, including the bands Shi Sho, Punk Willie, Acoustic Harvest and Particle17, plus stand-up comedians.
Dr. Ray’s Amazing Side Show of Science will be on the site, and there also will be a cosplay-character fashion contest with cash prizes. Michael “Knightmage” Wilson of Youngstown will be one of the judges. Wilson is well-known in cosplay, which is dressing and performing as a superhero or other fantastic character.
Real Action Wrestling will present a wrestling show in a ring that will be set up at the B&O.
Other highlights will include a celebration of the 20th anniversary of “Mr. Beat,” the comic created by Yambar, as well as a first-day book signing of Yambar’s debut children’s book, “Midnight Nursery.”
Cartoonist Kurt Kolka will be on hand to sign copies of his book “Bullying is No Laughing Matter.” The book, which educates readers about bullying, features a variety of characters from newspaper comic strips, including Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Luann, Dennis the Menace and Funky Winkerbean. The 100-plus page, full-color book is $15.
Limited-edition comics and prints will be sold at Lawn-Con to benefit the SMARTS (Students Motivated by the Arts) community arts school for young people.
As in years past, Lawn-Con 5 will have hundreds of new books to give away to any child who asks for one.
Moving Lawn-Con to a Sunday afternoon puts it in direct competition with the Browns and Steelers games, but Yambar isn’t concerned.
“Who cares about the game?” he said. “Come on down and have some fun with your family. It will be like a comic-book Idora Park without the rides.”