



What made you want to do a Convention with this theme?

Honestly, we're both just really big fans of Steven Universe - the world, the art, the music, and especially the characters. K-K started watching the show in early 2014 and convinced Tara to start watching it not much later. We kept getting into discussions about SU at Ice & Fire Con and other gatherings, and more than once brought up the fact that it would be awesome if Steven Universe had a convention of its own.





How long has this been something that you've been wanting to do?

As we mentioned, we've been talking about it for a while, but we were waiting to see what happened at other conventions and with the show in general before jumping into things. Tara attends a lot of conventions and the number of Steven Universe cosplayers and fans seems to expand with each one, so we started talking about it in earnest at Ice & Fire Con in April of this year. Of course knowing that there would be new episodes soon (specifically the In Too Deep event that aired in May) and more on the way propelled us into doing some research. Once we knew that there wasn't another convention like this out there already, we started planning. This included launching Saga Event Planning, LLC, which is now the parent company that will organize Ice & Fire Con, Beach City Con, and hopefully other events as well. http://sagaeventplanning.com





Will it be like a standard convention like SDCC, Momocon, Florida SuperCon, etc.? What I mean by this is the format. Panels and events with an Artist's Alley and vendors?

Yes and no. We are a fan-run not-for-profit convention, so very different from San Diego Comic-Con, which is an industry convention, or even Dragon Con, which is a fan-run convention but is for-profit. Nothing against any of those other conventions at all - Tara in particular attends and enjoys many of them throughout the year - but we're sticking with what we know, which means a smaller event focused around one specific fandom that features activities that larger conventions usually don't offer... such as an official Steven Universe singalong hour, perhaps. However, we will definitely have panels, and we're hoping to garner enough interest for an Artist's Alley and vendors.





How do you feel like the crowd will be at this event?

Our ultimate goal is to mirror the kind of atmosphere Steven Universe offers its viewers: inclusivity, diversity, friendship, and above all, FUN! We want our venue to be filled with laughter and music and attendees bonding over this wonderful television show and their shared appreciation of its messages. The community that has arisen out of Steven Universe is very special and transformative and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring so many fans together in one place to celebrate.





What would you estimate the turnout to be?

Thanks to our experience with Ice & Fire Con, we know what type of conventions we love and want to organize - conventions that are by fans, for fans, and foster a safe, welcoming, and intimate environment that leads to lively and friendly discussion and fast friendships between our attendees. Therefore, we are starting out small - with 400-500 tickets available - and planning on growing Beach City Con in the most organic ways possible.





The organizers of Beach City Con plan to bring the first Steven Universe Convention to its fans in October of 2017. This fan-run non-profit event will offer traditional convention programming with a Crystal Gem twist. Above all, the goal is to keep Beach City Con fun, keep Beach City Con safe, and keep Beach City Con WEIRD!



