Cos They Can

When is a toy no longer a toy? When a middle-aged man pays a week’s wages for it and refuses to remove it from its packaging. Toys are for children; these are collectibles. And this weekend, collectors will descend upon the Broward County Convention Center for UltraCon of South Florida. You might call them nerds, but that doesn’t change the fact that they can score more than $6,000 for a mint Amazing Fantasy #15comic book. So what if they dress up like My Little Pony characters? Beginning Saturday at 10 a.m., the convention center will brim with cosplayers, Bronies, gamers, and illustrators. There will be a $5 raffle for Stan Lee-signed comics, Magic the Gathering competitions, and — why not? — meet-and-greets with UFC fighters, the Palm Beach Makos cheerleaders, and horror-ific clowns Giggles, Thug, and Boss. The top cosplayers can compete for a PlayStation 4 Saturday and a $300 cash prize Sunday. See? Nerd-dom pays. UltraCon runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Broward County Convention Center is located at 1950 Eisenhower Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Weekend passes are available online for $40; daily admission costs $25 at the door for adults and $10 for kids aged 5 and up. Children under 5 get in free. Visit ultraconofsouthflorida.com, or call 786-285-3738.
Sat., July 19, 2014