The local Lvl Up Expo happened February 21-23, 2020. The weekend was a time for comic book readers, cosplayers, and small businesses to share their love for similar things.

“I had literally so much fun there, it blew my expectations out of the water honestly,” exclaimed sophomore Jade Hollman, who attended the expo.

Lvl Up Expo is held once a year, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. People of all ages can come and enjoy what the expo has to offer. Many of the people who do come are cosplayers, people who dress up as characters from books, TV shows, video games, or movies. Anyone was able to participate in the many competitions and events offered. Events included were cosplay contests, Smash Brother tournaments, wrestling, and tabletop game competitions.

“It was definitely better than what I expected. I was thinking something average or less, but what we got was definitely better,” added in sophomore Julian Martin, who went with his friends to the expo.

The expo is also a time where artists can share their work. Booths are lined up in rows, where artists put their work on display to attract patrons. The work showed ranges from paper and pencil art, to handmade key chains and stuffed animals. At the expo this year, patrons were able to buy leather work, custom Legos and retro gaming sets. Merchandise was available anywhere from small time artists, to big name brand companies. Attendees could buy something for Dungeons and Dragons, props for future costumes, or figurines right from Japan.

“I really just enjoyed the atmosphere. It was really carefree, and just somewhere we could go and vibe,” said sophomore Jade Hollman.

Aside from the cosplay and the merchandise, anyone who went could also meet a famous voice actor. Maile Flanagan, voice actor for the English dub of Naruto, or Christopher Sabat, English voice actor for All Might from My Hero Academia and Vegeta and Piccolo from the Dragon Ball series were some of the actors in attendance. These famous actors met up with any fan waiting in their queue, where said fan could take photos, get a signature or just have a conversation with whatever actor they were with. Attendants didn’t have to wait in lines just to take pictures, however, they could go up to a cosplayer and ask for a photo themselves. Cosplayers, whether doing it for fun or for money, have elaborate costumes, so most are used to being asked to have a photo taken.