Who’s the heroic dragon in the mask and cape, saving your favorite books from peril? It’s Hardcover, the Beals Memorial Library’s dragon mascot! Hardcover is a huge fan of comic books and all things geek. If you are, too, then he’s inviting you to Beals Con, the Winchendon library’s first mini comic and fan convention, on Saturday, June 4, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Doors open at 10:30 a.m.
Beals Con is a fun, family-friendly celebration of Winchendon and neighboring communities’ passion and love for comics and geek culture. It’s also a fundraising event to raise money for the library’s future Children’s Room. There will be guests, booths, games, costumes, crafts, food, and fun for people of all ages. Special guests and performers at the event will include:
■Charlotte Anne Dore, who will be performing “The Sea Story” Marionette Show from 11 a.m. to noon. “The Sea Story” tells a fairytale adventure under the sea, featuring pirates, mermaids and sea creatures. It’s a fun show for kids and families. Ms. Dore is a professional actor and puppeteer bringing interactive theater experiences to communities all around New England.
■Sometimes Heroes, the Beals Teen Dungeons & Dragons Club, will be presenting their D&D panel, “How to be (Kind of) a Hero!” from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The club members will be sharing stories of their adventures, offering a crash course in gameplay, and serving butterbeer as refreshments. They’ll also be giving away gaming dice to a few lucky participants.
■Calvin and Nile Hennick, father and son comic creators, will be presenting an author panel from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Calvin and Nile are the co-creators of the comic, “Jerald’s Alphabet Book,” written by Calvin and illustrated by Nile. During their panel, they’ll be sharing their comic and their experience working creatively together as a father-son duo as well as Nile’s experience as a kid making art in the comic book industry. Calvin is also a published author, known for his memoir, “Once More to the Rodeo.”
■Lastly, The Story School will be presenting a Historical Swordsmanship Demonstration from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. The Story School promotes story-based education through special events, workshops, summer camps and other outreach activities. Learn about the history of swordplay through this fun, interactive, live demonstration.
In addition to the special guests, there will also be wand decorating, superhero mask decorating, a cosplay contest where guests ages 13 and over can compete to be awarded for Best Costume and kids ages 12 and under can show theirs off in our Cosplay Showcase, and we will also be playing a game of Fandom Jeopardy, where guests can put their memory of fandom facts to the test.
During Beals Con, the library will also be holding a raffle to win some cool prizes. Some of the prize bundles up for raffle include a Dungeons & Dragons bundle, a Pirates & Mermaids-themed kids’ bundle, a Harry Potter bundle, a relaxation-themed bundle, a Pokemon bundle, a Playstation 4 game bundle, and several themed book bundles. Participation in the raffles costs $5 for a sheet of 10 tickets. All of the proceeds from the raffle will go towards the library’s future Children’s Room.
Additionally, Beals Con will be hosting booths for local organizations and vendors on the library lawn, so be sure to browse the booths to see what’s going on and what’s for sale. Further, there will be a food truck where guests can buy lunch. The Friends of the Library will also be running their Used Book and Media Sale in the library basement throughout the event and all of the raffles will be located there as well.
Beals Con is free to attend and open to people of all ages. This event is funded in part by the Friends of the Beals Memorial Library and by the Winchendon, Athol, Gardner, and Royalston Cultural Councils.
The Beals Memorial Library is located at 50 Pleasant St. in Winchendon. Contact the library at 978-297-0300 or visit their website at https://www.bealslibrary.org/bealscon for more information or to pre-register for the event.