The Minnesota Comic Book Association (MNCBA) holds two big events, SpringCon and FallCon, every year. I started volunteering last October at FallCon 2024, when it returned to the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand, and I wanted to share my experience.
Photo by Joe Rider, courtesy of MNCBA
As a floater, my role at the event was to help make sure that the creators and vendors were doing well, so I definitely got my steps in for the day in an exciting setting. I could answer questions, get them things, and staff their stations if they had to leave for whatever reason. All volunteers also were given a postcard-sized print of the graphic made by Gene Ha, an award-winning comic book illustrator, that was used to promote the event. Ha was also tabling at the event and personally signed the images for us. He even took the time to draw a quick illustration of me in my cosplay, which was so incredible to watch.
During my shift, all of the vendors and creators were very friendly. There was an enormous assortment of art, toys, books, and oh so many comics—both secondhand and new. It looked like there were enough to line the perimeter of the building. I was cosplaying as Laura Kinney (X-23) from Deadpool & Wolverine, and I was delighted to find some fanart of her at the event and even have some people ask to take pictures with me. There were also plenty of other cosplayers at the event.
Photo by Joe Rider, courtesy of MNCBA
I found the volunteering process pretty simple: I filled out the application on the MNCBA website and heard that I was accepted quickly. After this, I attended a meeting where members of the organization met and those looking to volunteer for the upcoming convention got to learn more about the group’s history, the event, and what we were going to be doing there. I found this extremely helpful, and learning about the history of the MNCBA was also fun and interesting.
If you like comic books, are looking to help out a geeky Minnesota group, or just want to get into a convention for free, I would definitely recommend checking the MNCBA out. If you can’t donate your time, stay tuned for the next convention they hold.
To learn more about the MNCBA, SpringCon, and FallCon, check out “Introducing the Minnesota Comic Book Association (MNCBA)” and “MNCBA Brings SpringCon into 2024 with Plans to Return to the Fairgrounds.” And for more on the importance of volunteering at conventions, check out “It Takes a CONvillage of Volunteers to Run CONvergence.”
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