The Syosset Public Library’s biennial pop-culture convention, Sy-Con, will return to the library next month. It promises activities, food, competitions and art vendors, all centered on popular media.
The free convention, which is scheduled for Sept. 6 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is open to all ages, is designed to evoke the experience of attending larger conventions such as Comic-Con. Previous Sy-Cons have seen over 2,000 attendees and various sections designed to meet different aspects of the current pop culture zeitgeist.
“The thing we always say is we’re aiming to bring the feel and excitement of a big pop culture convention to a local library, where people could just come in and get a feel for that experience,” said Jessikah Chautin, an organizer of the event.
The event will feature an artist alley with various artists selling their respective work based on different media properties, ranging from art, crafts, posters and games. Attendees will also be able to play various games with a video game truck parked in the front parking lot, having different kinds of consoles set up, and Game Master Games running tabletop and board games.

This year’s headliner is going to be voice actor Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld, who provided the voice for numerous animated characters, including Bonnie, Nurse Joy, and Sophocles for the Pokémon anime.
The voice actor will also hold a Q&A session and a workshop, where they will discuss the voice acting industry, answering questions such as how to break into it. According to Chautin, they were able to get in contact with Rosenfeld via a connection made through the library’s podcast, “Turn the Page,” with voice actor Marc Thompson, who’s also done voice acting for the Pokémon anime. Rosenfeld is also local to Long Island, attending school in Lynbrook. The convention has hosted prominent voice actors in the past, such as Michele Knotz in 2019, who voiced prominent characters Misty, May, and Jessie for the Pokémon anime, which was a big success according to the organizer.
For the first time in the convention’s history, a Taylor Swift-themed event, “Totally Taylor: A Tribute Concert to Taylor Swift,” will be held at around 11 a.m. Singer Elizabeth Edquist will perform various popular songs from Taylor Swift while dressed like the famous pop star.
Similar to other conventions, Sy-Con is expecting some attendees to come in cosplay of various characters. A cosplay competition on the library’s theater stage is scheduled. Previous years have seen up to 20 participants, with the judges coming from outside Syosset to ensure no potential bias towards residents competing.
Throughout the convention, various local food trucks will be parked outside with a ramen and boba stand that was popular in the last convention returning as well. If the library’s parking lot becomes filled, extra parking spots will be available in the parking lots of the nearby South Grove Elementary School, Harry B. Thompson Middle School, and A. P. Willits Elementary School.
Sy-Con first kicked off in 2017, with the library’s staff inspired by large pop-culture conventions after speaking with other libraries that have also done conventions to brainstorm preparations. Following the initial one’s success, the convention returned in 2019 and then a scaled-down version, referred to as Sy-Con lite, in 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, the convention returned to its full extent, with this year set to be the same.
“Libraries are changing, and our spaces and what we do change; we have to,” said Chautin. “We’re constantly looking for what people watch, and pop culture is part of how people express themselves.”
The artists selling their work in the prominent artist alley section of the convention were discovered through other conventions and street fairs. People also began reaching out to the library to be featured in the section after Sy-Con got picked up by FanCons.com, an online convention directory that lists conventions across the country.
Spots for artists to join this year’s Sy-Con and more information are available on the Syosset Public Library website and by reaching out.
