DePaul was alive with costumes, craft goods and concerts when DIBScon — the university’s annual cosplay and pop culture convention — took over the Student Center on May 24. 

A costume contest where attendees paid homage to beloved characters, an “artist alley” where vendors displayed their crafts and live performances where students showed their talents brought together “the whole community,” said con supervisor and Cosplay Club president Haven Follmar. 

Last school year, Follmar was inspired to organize the first DIBScon at DePaul after attending cosplay conventions at other universities in Chicago. She and a team of fellow Cosplay Club members rallied to raise funds and coordinate activities for the event — a process which she said was “pretty chaotic.”

“DIBScon is probably the singularly most intense project I’ve ever done,” Follmar said. “I very much enjoy seeing it get put together because … I put in so much work, and finally I get to see it pay off.” 

Follmar was particularly satisfied with the outcome of this year’s event, noticing the crowd was “much livelier” and “staying longer.” She attributes this improvement to her team’s efforts to offer a wider range of activities to attendees. For example, a slew of panels were added to this year’s schedule, in which experts gave presentations on topics like “Special Effects Makeup” and “Furries in Fandom in Subcutlure.” 

“Panels are a big part of con culture,” Follmar said. “Any con you go to is going to have good panels. It’s a big reason why people go.” 

Though Follmar and fellow organizers worked to expand this year’s convention, they also made sure to bring back the signature aspect of DIBScon like the artist alley, where students can purchase handmade prints, posters, stuffed animals and key chains from local vendors. Follmar said that the organizers prioritize making the event free for vendors to sell their crafts, as the fees of bigger conventions make them “inaccessible” to smaller artists. 

“We really want to promote people’s art that doesn’t have a place otherwise,” Follmar said. 

Reyvin Reyes, a business partner at Moon Melon — a local shop that sold fandom art and crochet items at the event — said that he and the owner, Sarah Kim Michalik, enjoy sharing their crafts with students and locals at university conventions like DIBScon.

“The amount of fulfillment and joy we feel is just insane,” Reyes said.

Reyes said that vending at conventions allows him and his partner to make connections with other local and out-of-state artists, who they often keep in contact with even after events have ended. 

On the other side of the alley, cosplayers themselves form “tight knit” communities of their own, said Follmar, the convention supervisor and Cosplay Club president. 

“People find some of their deepest, lifelong friendships through the cosplay community,” Follmar said. 

Adrielle Dela Cruz, a freshman who attended DIBScon for the first time this year, said that she and other cosplayers are united in the fact that they’re all “creatives” looking for an outlet. 

“(Conventions are) a chance for me to sort of express myself in very strange outfits,” said Dela Cruz,dressed as Ame-Chan from the game Needy Streamer Overload.

Dela Cruz said that her lifelong love of “anime, manga, and video games” sparked her desire to participate in cosplay as a hobby. 

“When it comes to Halloween, I like to dress as those characters,” Dela Cruz said. “So I was like, ‘What if I kept doing this outside of Halloween?’ Because this is really fun.”

Follmar said that while those outside the community often believe cosplay only revolves around anime and manga, participants’ inspiration for characters actually comes “from everything.” She pointed out that the convention’s costume contest included contestants dressed as characters from “Hadestown” and “Star Wars.” 

“Anything that exists, you can make a cosplay of,” Follmar said. 

She said she plans to bring the convention back next year to continue giving students the chance to make lasting memories with their friends and fellow cosplayers — like she has. 

“Some of the most fun days I’ve ever had in my life have been at conventions,” Follmar said.

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