There was no shortage of colors and characters at an annual festival held in Queens on Saturday. NY1's Shannan Ferry filed the following report.
Comic book lovers flocked to Queens on Saturday for the first day of the WinterCon Convention at Resorts World Casino.
"Everybody is just here to have a good time, to show people what they love to be, and what they love to do," said one attendee.
The third annual festival, which continues on Sunday, highlights the best in sci-fi, fantasy, and more.
From colorful characters, to collectibles, there was something for everyone to get excited about.
"I got an awesome G.I. Joe toy from when I was a little kid!" said another.
"You get to hang out with like-minded people and party it up a little bit, yeah it's pretty fun," a third said.
The event is also an opportunity for Sci-Fi fans to meet some of their favorite celebrities.
Organizer Frank Patz said they have a jam-packed line up of stars attending this year.
"We have have the Mad Max reunion, we have Nichelle Nichols from Star Trek, Peter Mayhew whose Chewbacca, and all types of things going on all weekend," said Patz.
Many people who spoke with NY1 said that putting together the perfect costume for WinterCon was no easy feat.
"Crafting all the pieces, cutting it from foam, using a heat gun, hot glue gun, burning myself, it was a lot of work," said one woman.
Patz said the the best part of the event is geting the can to really be yourself.
"You can come here and get your geek on! Let everybody see what is going on, because it's a great time to be a geek," he said.
"You can make friends and not sound like a crazy person when you're talking about things you like to do," added another participant.
Organizers said they'll host their next convention on Long Island in June.