Over 2,500 attendees attended the fifth biennial Sy-Con, a pop culture convention held by the Syosset Library on Saturday, Sept. 6. The convention was modeled similarly to New York Comic-Con and offered activities, games, competitions, and vendors for pop-culture fans.
“Everything was great…We really do want to give a big con feeling to a small library event,” said Jessikah Chautin, the community engagement specialist at the library. Chautin said she and many other Syosset Library event organizers were inspired by their own experiences at Comic Con and similar conventions.
Sy-Con debuted in 2017 and returned in 2019. The library put on a scaled-down version in 2022 following the pandemic, and Chautin said attendance dipped. However, she said this year’s festival saw similar attendance rates to the pre-Covid events.
“The energy felt really, really good,” Chautin said.
Chautin said the event was designed for all ages and that many families attended together. She said that because the program was designed for children, teens, and adults, each member of the family had something to look forward to.
“No matter if they were parents or kids, everybody was there because they wanted to be,” she said.
This year’s headliner was voice actor Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld, who voiced Bonnie, Nurse Joy, and Sophocles for the Pokémon anime. Rosenfeld hosted a Q&A session and a workshop, where she discussed the industry and how to get started.
A Taylor Swift-themed concert, “Totally Taylor: A Tribute Concert to Taylor Swift,” premiered as well, with singer Elizabeth Edquist performing some of Swift’s greatest hits.
“I do think it’s great to have an industry person, like Alyson, at a local library con,” Chautin said. She said her goal for the convention is to make the industry and convention experience accessible for people who may not want to travel or spend money on doing so.
The convention featured an “artist alley,” where artists sold their artwork, crafts, posters, and games inspired by pop culture media. Sy-Con also held its own cosplay competition, where attendees dressed up as their favorite characters from various movies, TV shows, games, and books.
The event was complete with a video game truck, which was parked in the front lot and offered different kinds of consoles. Game Master Games ran tabletop and board games as well.
“We are absolutely looking forward to doing it again,” Chautin said.
