Cosplay and anime fans invited to 2023 Fan Expo Cleveland

After a two-year pandemic pause, Fan Expo Cleveland roared back last year with cosplay audiences flocking back to Northeast Ohio's popular comic con event. "Across the board, we were delighted to see the fans come back out in force," said Fan Expo HQ Vice President Andrew Moyes, calling from Toronto. "Our partners reported great success. "They were delighted to have a full floor of shopping back again. This year we're looking at ways that this year we can integrate with the community even more." The pop culture-centric affair appears March 24-26 at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. The upcoming Rock Hall City affair is actually Fan Expo HQ's fifth event of the 2023 calendar. When we're talking about a pop culture celebration, a comic-con event is sharklike — always moving ahead riding trends, discovering interests and finding nuances to avoid stagnation. "We're lucky because we do a number of these events across North America so we do have our finger on the pulse of what's hot and new and exciting," Moyes said. "We do have a chance to be a little ahead of the curve. "We listen to the fans. In the age of social media, we're very active to hear feedback because we need to be delivering experiences they want. We have so many different melting pots we can draw on in terms of what's resonating within fandom." An example of this comic con staying on the cutting edge is its new Maid Café Mikkusu. Fan Expo Cleveland attendees can expect to experience an actual Akihabara-style maid café presentation. The ticketed affair includes a kawaii meet-and-greet with the maids, a short stage performance, games and a small gift from their maid before departing the café. "We're really delighted to have a Maid Café this year," Moyes said. "It's an exciting activation within the anime space — a bit more of an experience within the show. Anime as a genre has had a huge resurgence. So many people are watching. "The other place we're seeing that resurgence of anime is, of course, in cosplay. So much of cosplay is anime characters, which is another example of how engaged people are with this huge genre." The driving force behind the Fan Expo Cleveland is the highly anticipated guest appearances of celebrities, voice-over actors and comic creators. Actors appearing this year include Emily Swallow ("The Mandalorian"), Zachary Levi (Shazam!, "Chuck"), Sean Gunn ("Guardians of the Galaxy," "Avengers: Endgame"), Christopher Lloyd ("Back to the Future," "Taxi"), Carl Weathers ("The Mandalorian," "Rocky"), Peter Weller ("RoboCop") and "The Office" trio Kate Flannery, Oscar Nuñez and Leslie David Baker. "Everyone is unique," Moyes said. "The biggest challenge is the schedule. We're dealing with a lot of actors who are working currently on some of the biggest pop culture titles out there. "At the end of the day, it's one of the most electric opportunities to meet fans face to face. It's a great opportunity for the actor to see the impact that the roles they created had on audiences. It's special for us to see those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities come to fruition over the weekend in Cleveland." Contact John Benson at ndiffrence@att.net. IF YOU GOWHAT: Fan Expo Cleveland WHEN: 3-8 p.m. March 24, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 25 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 26WHERE: Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland, 300 West Lakeside Ave., ClevelandTICKETS: $27 daily (multi-day packages and autograph sessions available) INFO: fanexpocleveland.com