'We're all family': OMG!con celebrates 10 years in Owensboro

At first glance, large decals of game characters Spyro the Dragon, Jak and Daxter and Sly Cooper were front-and-center on the windows near the main entrance of Owensboro Convention Center throughout the weekend in honor of OMG!con — the annual anime, cosplay and gaming convention — making a return downtown.

The three-day event, which kicked off Friday, was filled with a number of exhibitors, fan panels, meet-and-greet opportunities, arcade and video games, tabletop tournaments and more as the convention celebrated its 10th year in Daviess County.

The 501(c)(3) nonprofit started out on a smaller scale in Paducah in 2006 before moving the event to the city in 2014 in order to “better serve attendees and provide the fun, accepting atmosphere to more people by moving out of Paducah and to Owensboro,” according to the convention’s website, while also aiming to create more activities to entice fans from the area and beyond the commonwealth.

The convention, which is typically held in June, was canceled altogether in 2020. The 2021 event was rescheduled to that October and cut down to two days because of health and safety concerns in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2021 event was scaled back compared to the usual fare with about 500 people in attendance versus the average of about 4,000.

John Bowen, the organization’s vice president, said despite the small hiccups throughout the past decade, the event has continued to see growth.

“Pre-COVID numbers, we were steadily growing anywhere from 4-8% year after year,” he said. “Post-COVID, we still haven’t quite gotten that return of individuals, and part of that is due to inflation and not having the disposable income that they used to have …; (but) we have started to hit our groove again.”

Bowen said the 2024 convention “(was) right at the 2,000-attendee mark” as of Sunday, and was hoping for “a little more bump” in visitors before the event held its closing ceremony.

While those coming to the event tend to be from Owensboro area and surrounding cities and counties, Bowen said it’s common to see people from farther away looking to attend the annual festivities.

“We get people as far as New York and Pennsylvania sometimes,” he said. “We had one guy drive eight hours just to get the signature of the Sly Cooper voice actor this year because this is the Sly Cooper voice actor’s second convention ever, and (the attendee) was so excited to meet Sly Cooper ….”

Though Owensboro residents Morgan Hamlet and Madison Johnson didn’t have to drive too far to attend the event, both find the convention is worth coming out to each year.

“... This (convention) has a more homey feel, I guess; and it’s not just because it’s where I live,” said Hamlet, who was dressed up as Shinobu Kochō from the Japanese manga series “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.” “You see people you know, and you recognize people from previous years and it just kind of blossoms from there.”

Johnson, who was in character as Xie Lian from the Chinese novel series “Heaven’s Official Blessing,” said the choice of dressing up as the Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Xianle was in regards to some personal connections.

“When you read the novels and watch the show, you kind of adapt to the character,” Johnson said. “Xie Lian is a character that ascended from heaven three times … and he’s had a rough life like (myself).

The world of cosplay, where people wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent specific characters, has been a big part of Hamlet and Johnson’s lives.

“I’ve done it since I was 11 and you make so many friends (through it),” Hamlet, now 20, said. “I’ve met so many new people and I have lifelong friends now. … It’s amazing, the whole community is great and I love it.”

It’s also what helped Hamlet and Johnson become friends.

“We’ve actually known each other since high school (at Owensboro High School) and then we started becoming friends at work,” Hamlet said. “I realized that she cosplayed … and then we started going (to events) together.”

For this year, OMG!con introduced the Chibi Room — a specific area for attendees 12 years old and under complete with a multicolored dance floor, balloons, play tent, coloring books, crawl tunnels and more — in an effort to appeal to a younger demographic.

“That’s been the biggest success story of the year,” Bowen said. “I’ve had tons of parents come up to me and be like, ‘No other convention has done this before and (has had) a dedicated space for young children just to run around and be a kid (under parental supervision).

“We pride ourselves on being an all-inclusive convention for all ages.”

Frankfort resident Paula Mulvihill, who was playing in the room with her 6-month-old daughter, Sophia Mulvihill, said she likes having the opportunity to share the convention experience together.

“I love it because now she can grow up and kind of see what I’ve been doing for the past, (almost), 20 years,” Mulvihill said. “... (Sophia’s) enjoyed it and she’s actually (gotten) to cosplay a little bit. We’ve done ‘Naruto,’ … Loo Loo Land characters (from ‘Helluva Boss’), we’ve done some fan stuff, and of course some little animal stuff too like puppy dogs ….”

Mulvihill said OMG!con, in particular, holds a special place in her heart for a number of reasons.

“I’ve been here since it started,” Mulvihill said, who worked at the convention from its beginnings in Paducah in 2006 before departing after close to 10 years. “... I actually got engaged (at the convention) in 2010 … at the cosplay contest in front of 500 people.

“We come every year because it’s one of our favorites. We love seeing everybody, we’re all family ….”