Lumacon, a land of creativty and literacy

Youth comic-con where Sonoma County children’s fantasies are celebrated|

On Saturday, the doors of the Petaluma Community Center opened to a different land, a different planet, a different universe. A place where kids have magic powers, can fly and see things other people can’t, and go on adventures only dreamers can imagine.

Welcome to the third annual Lumacon.

A large crowd of children and teens and moms and dads, swarmed the community center, weaving in and out like bees in a hive, their eyes a lit by the wonderfully colorful scene. But these were no bees.

These were Storm Troopers talking through their suit’s intercom, Spiderman hugging his little sister Pikachu, while a Captain America and his elf-like friends from elvish country checked out artist alley.

Artist alley, where teen and professional comic book and graphic novel artists each had a table displaying their work.

One artist had her head down, working hard on her next creation.

“Are these elves?” a bystander asked.

“They are fantasy creatures,” answered the artist, 11-year-old Santia Depaolo.

Drawings of elf-life characters, fairies and all things fantasy adorned the little girls table with vibrant colors, pictures that caught the eye of many other kids.

“With fantasy there is so much you can do,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be reality, you can go outside the box.”

This is Santia’s second Lumacon and for her, being an artist, since she was born she said, is a place where she can inspire others like her.

“I want to inspire people,” she said coloring in the left wing of her fairy drawing. “I want to do something the whole world can see and show kids everything doesn’t have to be how you see it, it can be fantasy.”

Heading down artist alley, people make their way through the tables, picking up comics, talking with friends, and waiting for the costume contest, Cosplay, to begin shortly. Just outside artist alley, live-action role play is in full swing, with Jedis fighting Star Trekkies and princesses, with foam swords of course.

A Petaluma mother, Blythe Osher, chats with parents in the sun on the sidelines and watches as her 10 and 14-year-old sons are in the midst of their epic battle.

“They’ve come every single year,” said Osher, who is a teacher in San Rafael. “It brings together everything they love.”

Reading is now one of those loves for Osher’s oldest son Isiah.

“Comics were a life changer for him,” she said explaining that comic books were an entry point into reading for her son as they are for many children.

“I didn’t like to read until I found comics,” Isiah said. “Then I started to read other things.”

For his little brother, Elan, it’s all about taking his mind off the everyday and transporting to another place.

“I love how it puts you in a different world and shows you characters who go on adventures,” he said, his face pink from his live-action role play battle.

Heading back inside to artist alley, sits a more experienced artist, professional graphic novelist and cartoonist Paige Braddock.

Braddock is clearly enjoying herself talking with kids, signing her newest graphic novel, “Stinky Cecil,” and reminiscing about her childhood in rural Mississippi.

Braddock talked about not having anything like Lumacon when she was growing up and the importance of celebrating kids’ talents and passions at a young age. Braddock, is the author of, “Jane’s World” one of the first graphic novels featuring a gay character to be distributed by a national online syndicate.

“Kids are celebrated here,” she said. “The art they are creating is celebrated.”

The day continued until 4 p.m. with panels of artists encouraging children to pursue their dreams in comic books and the artists’ journey to their big break.

Lumacon is a community of itself, and the local librarians are the ones to thank. Lumacon is a collaborative effort by the Petaluma Sonoma County Library and the Petaluma and Casa Grande high school libraries. For Diana Spaulding, teen librarian for the Petaluma Regional Library, Lumacon accomplished just what it set out to create, a place where teens feel at home and are celebrated for what they love.

“Teens are always looking for belonging,” she said. “Being a part of a fandom, especially when you can spend time with those people gives them a real sense of belonging.”

(Contact Alex Madison at alex.madison@arguscourier.com.)

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.