The FandomCon Silicon Valley convention took place from Friday to Sunday, bringing together fans of pop culture as well as creators, cosplayers, indie developers and celebrities from across the country.

FandomCon is a traveling convention that appears around the country with different celebrities being in each city. 

This year the event was held inside the south hall of the San José McEnery convention center, which is right next door to the main building. 

Attendees had a chance to meet voice actors behind beloved characters from titles like “Kingdom Hearts,” “Overwatch,” “Phineas and Ferb” and “The Adventurous of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius.” 

Carolina Ravassa, a voice actor featured at FandomCon, voiced characters in “Overwatch” and “VALORANT,” according to her IMDB profile.

“Overwatch was the biggest leap from going from just doing a few voices to understanding, whoa, this could actually be a career, and then getting to meet all the community at conventions,” Ravassa said. 

Ravassa is highly known for her roles as Sombra in “Overwatch” and Raze in “Valorant.”

Ravassa said meeting fans at conventions shows how much of an influence her work has on others.

“It’s really special to get to talk to people who’ve been affected by the game in general … they feel seen as their culture, or also just they get to make new friends online while they’re playing our characters, so they have that connection that kind of lasts forever,” Ravassa said.  

Zachary Gordon, the actor of Greg Heffley in “Diary of a wimpy kid” and voice actor for titles such as “Kingdom Hearts” and “Genshin Impact,” according to his IMDB profile.

“My biggest achievement has been that I feel that I haven’t lost myself,” Gordon said. “I’ve worked really hard and try to surround myself with family, friends, people who genuinely want to see me win and succeed. I’m lucky enough to have those people.”

Gordon said he’s worked on being true to himself and to others he has met along his career. 

“I really try to focus on connecting with people and that can be about films I’ve been in or a voice over role I get to connect with them in a way that bringing other people’s work to life doesn’t allow me,” Gordon said. 

Debi Derryberry, another featured voice actor at the event, said that every character she has played in her career are like her children because she loves them all.

“Being able to pursue something that I love doing because no matter what it is, I think as long as it makes you happy,” Derryberry said.

Derryberry has voiced a plethora of characters since the late 1980’s with over 300 acting credits, most notable for Jimmy Neutron in “The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron,” according to her IMDB profile. 

Derryberry said that creative freedom doesn’t come from networks but creators, writers and directors.

“As a voice actor we go into a studio and it does not matter where that studio is, it’s a lot of fun,” Derryberry said. “Sometimes the scripts are more serious, more funny or will say, ‘Do whatever you want.’ ” 

The event had a vendor hall featuring independent voices and artists which featured displays related to “Godzilla,” “Star Wars,” Formula One racing and more.

Bay Area Bounty Hunters, a nonprofit “Star Wars” cosplay organization, offered free photo opportunities for attendees with cosplayers dressed as Ahsoka Tano, the Mandalorian, a scout trooper and other “Star Wars” characters.

Carlton Wilcox, imperial detachment leader of the Bay Area Bounty Hunters, said the group has grown from a small local team into a region-wide network spanning from Santa Rosa to Monterey.

“It brings joy to our hearts, you know, we’re nerds,” Wilcox said. “We’re here with everybody else, you know, enjoying the medium and just absolutely loving everything about Star Wars.”

Other stands featured more general interests for people such as crochet figurines, original self-portraits of celebrities, drawings of anime characters and more.

Calvin Nye, a self-published comic creator and vendor, displayed his original prints, stickers, postcards and “Illustrator Cards,” a blend between collectible trading cards and artist promotion tools.

Nye said he publishes stories about a superhero with autism called Joe Hero, and emphasized the importance of portraying different kinds of disabilities in comics, instead of casting them to the side or misrepresenting them.

“He’s trying to show the world that he can be a superhero, regardless of his disability as Joe Hero,” Nye said. “In this universe, it’s illegal for superheroes to have any form of superpowers due to the risk of collateral damage.”

Nearby, Jonathan Hallett offered a different kind of artistry, his focus being “StitchToons,” mashups of Disney’s Stitch with over 1,000 different designs and characters.

“It started for my kids, and now I draw stuff for my grandkids,” Hallett said. “Everybody just loves the cuteness factor of it.”

Hallet said he began working for Disney Channel as a storyboard artist 20 years ago and began StitchToons 10 years ago, flying from state to state to share his artworks.

The crowd at FandomCon was as diverse as its vendors, however artists and voice actors weren’t the only part of the convention as original games made a strong interactive presence.

Attendees gathered around “Tax Evaders,” a political arcade-style game created by Richie Branson. Branson’s project blends gameplay with social commentary on governmental systems and public policy.

“A lot of my core memories and a lot of things I’ve learned in life came from video games,” Branson said. “When you look at the climate of the world right now, I felt like the best way for me to speak on that message was to make a game about it.”

Branson said “Tax Evaders” is a way to give people fun gameplay while educating them on current political consequences and personal social commentary. 

He said the game reflects a broader shift in original games which involves games as educational tools and cultural dialogue.

The “Tax Evaders” catchphrase is, “America isn’t unaffordable by accident, it’s a game rigged for the top 1%.”

“Video games just come a long way, not just from a way to unwind, but also to think about the real world,” Branson said. “Sometimes, the real world gets put into video games and it helps you understand it more, so, I hope to see more of video games being used to express what’s going on in the world in the future.”

Despite the convention’s activities, vendors and attendees complained about the organizers lack luster communication and costs to vend.  

Darrell Parham the general manager and owner of Weed Technology and Fabrication was one of the vendors at FandomCon and was at a $6,000 loss the past weekend. 

The Spartan Daily reached out to one of the event organizers, Rebecca Rielly, and did not receive comment in time for publication. 

“My condolences to the fans,” Parham said. “The people work hard, they pay good money to come, have an experience to be with like many people, have fellowship, meet their favorite actors and they got left behind.”