The crowning moment, though, was the convention’s costume contest, which drew about a dozen participants in each age category for kids, teens and adults.

Korene Young, one of the contestants, lives in Rainier but grew up in Kelso. When she went to LongCon in its first year, she said, there were only about 10 people in the audience. This year, about 100 onlookers filled the central floor and balcony of the library.

Now, she said, it’s becoming a real tradition.

“(It’s) getting the chance to get out of my shell,” she said. “Normally I don’t like having my photo taken, but I put on my outfit, and suddenly I’m taking pictures and talking to people with the same interests.”

Two of the judges, Lisa and Samantha Earls, were a mother-daughter team with Lisa as a G.I. Joe and Samantha as “January Chase,” a character created by the local Art-Horse Studios.

Lisa Earls said the convention is a great way to get people interested in coming to the library, as well as a fun way to spend time with her daughter. But as Samantha Earls pointed out, it can also be an opportunity to strengthen existing friendships.

“You know the person, you do schoolwork with them, but finding out you have something in common with them creates an actual connection,” she said.

“The people that would be considered outcasts can come together,” Foster-Frisly said.

Dan Foster, one of the judges for the costume contest, said he’s attended LongCon each year. A semi-regular attendee of Seattle’s Emerald City Comic Con, which drew nearly 100,000 attendees last year, Foster said there’s something special about smaller conventions like LongCon.

“You’re going to Emerald City to drop $100 on an autograph,” Foster said. But at a smaller convention, “you’re more likely to know people. You get to focus on the local art, the local creators.””

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