Chelsea District Library (CDL), in collaboration with Kids Read Comics and Secret Crisis Comics, will host “Kids Read Comics Chelsea” (KRC), an all-day festival of comic book fun on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The event will feature cartooning demonstrations by comics creators, hands-on comics creation workshops, interactive games and activities, and culminate with a pizza party at Secret Crisis Comics.
Throughout the day, artists will participate in Four Panel Mystery Games where visitors can guess the story as the comics are created before their eyes.
Special prize drawings will be held, giving attendees the chance to win art supplies and comics simply by participating in events and completing a scavenger hunt.
Artists in attendance—displaying comics, books, and original art at their Artists Alley tables—will include Dropout creator Courtney Hahn; Ellie McDoodle author and illustrator Ruth McNally Barshaw. In addition, master of mini-comics Matt (Cynicalman) Feazell; action-packed cartoonist and comic writer Katie Cook; Out and About author, illustrator, and dragon enthusiast Corinne Roberts; Ellie on Planet X creator James Anderson; and local favorite SRSLY student artists.
They will be eager to talk about the comics they make, the comics kids love, and the comics kids love to make.
A special guest this year is the non-profit cosplay group League of Enchantment. These volunteer costumed crusaders visit hospitals and assist with Make a Wish to bring special experiences to kids in need.
For families who love dressing up, the League of Enchantment will have multiple sessions of crafting costume accessories, and you may see a League member or two in full costume at the event.
In addition to meeting artists at the library, kids and families will have a chance to join them at a special pizza party at Secret Crisis Comics after the day’s events. The day’s events also include chalk art workshops, crafts, and a special costume event where kids and families are invited to come dressed in their superhero or Halloween finest.
“A great thing about comics is the way kids are enlivened by them,” said Edith Donnell, CDL youth and teen librarian, Kids Read Comics co-founder, and event organizer.
“They become storytellers, they want to talk about what they’re seeing. They want to draw, write, and create after being exposed to comics,” she said in a press release.
Donnell believes that Kids Read Comics Chelsea will kickstart that creative process.
“Kids meet comic book artists and watch them at work, and also get the chance to explore some of those skills themselves. By the end of a KRC event, we hear stories about kids who are already drawing their own comics, inspired by what they’ve experienced,” she said.
This event is sponsored by the Friends of Chelsea District Library.
More information is available at www.chelseadistrictlibrary.org/krc.
