Helena pop culture convention organizers aim to build community

Nolan Lister

Helena is poised to host the fifth Ookii Sora Pop Culture Convention Friday, and its organizers said they hope to provide a community-building atmosphere.

“When I was younger, anime and video games were not cool,” Ookii Sora Convention Co-chair BJ Allen-Prudden said in an interview Monday. “When I went to my first convention, I found that place where I felt like I finally fit into a community, and being able to provide that for younger generations is important.”

She said while hobbies such as table-top role playing games and cosplaying have certainly become more mainstream than ever before, “it’s still so important to have that safe space where people can come, be themselves, dress up however they want, and meet new people too.”

In addition to typical “con” fare, anime trivia contests, fighting video game tournaments and cosplayers, Ookii Sora Con will feature a quiet room for attendees sensitive to overstimulation, an LGTBQ+ question-and-answer session and a panel discussion on best practices when taking service dogs to conventions, all in an effort to be as inclusive as possible.

People are also reading…

“There is a very heavy overlap between

View Source