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LumaCON! A Comic Convention for Youth

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LumaCON! A Comic Convention for Youth

Sonoma County Library, Calif.

Advocacy & Awareness | 2019

Innovation Synopsis

Co-sponsored by the high school libraries and Petaluma Regional Library, and with a local focus on youth empowerment, LumaCON! invites kids ages one through 18 to join in as crafters, artists, junior artists, cos-players and authors to display their works and spend the day engaged in lively adventures of all kinds from LARPing to Legos, to space and beyond.

Challenge/Opportunity

Our goal is to create an event where teens and kids can celebrate comics, art and culture in an engaging and safe space. Because of LumaCON! we now have a thriving teen room in the library and have increased teen participation in programs with over 80 teen volunteers. Our challenge to stay "fresh" and engaging is met by the leadership of our Teen Advisory Council, our drivers of innovative approaches. They run the logo and fan fiction contests, take charge of fandoms and plan the events for our younger attendees.


Key Elements of Innovation

  • Collaboration. High school librarians, public library librarians, teacher partners and teen leaders work together to create a citywide event that supports a common goal.
  • Shared goals. We are all here to support literacy, creativity and teen leadership.
  • Community support. We have widespread support from our artists, businesses, educators, parents and, most importantly, our young people.
  • Reflection. Each year, we reflect on the course of the event to create a working list of concerns, ideas and plans for next year.

Achieved Outcomes

Hoping to garner maybe 250 visitors in our first LumaCON!, we were shocked as crowds totaled over 1,500. Five years later, still going strong, we produce the annual event to growing crowds of over 3,000. LumaCON! is successful because of teen leadership and energy, our adult leadership team, staff and community support, as well as the partnership with comic book authors and exhibitors who mentor these young people enthusiastically. We have many success stories to share and expect to have even more in the coming years.