Cosenza Comics and Games, the largest event dedicated to pop culture in Calabria, is getting closer and preparations for the celebration of its tenth anniversary are proceeding at a rapid pace. The event, now a point of reference for fans of the genre throughout the region, will be sponsored by the Municipality of Rende and Rai Calabria. Fundamental media partner of the event will be Rai Radio Kids.
This year too, the event will be divided into two large parts, located in two locations now dear to fans of the event: the Santa Chiara Water Park and the Museum of the Present.
This year it will be the six exhibitions chosen by the organizers that will open the exhibition. The inauguration is scheduled for Friday 10 May at 5.30 pm at the Museum, where during a special event the program of the festival – which will be held on 25 and 26 May at the Santa Chiara Water Park – will be revealed, together with other important surprises.
Among others, the museum will host “Fumetto Film Fest”, an exhibition created in collaboration with the Franco Fossati Foundation and which tells of the close relationship between comics, cinema and television, a bond born more than a hundred years ago and becoming ever stronger thanks to the enormous success of the film sagas based on superhero comics.
Also on display is “Animated cats Made in Japan”, an exhibition dedicated to the cats protagonists of the catiest anime and manga in history: from Doraemon, Giuliano’s space cat, the fat cat from Kiss Me Licia to Luna from Sailor Moon.
Precisely as part of these two exhibitions and on the occasion of the inauguration, a live painting session will take place by the artists of Gulìa Urbana, who will create blow-ups inspired by two iconic animation characters and which will become the symbols of these exhibitions .
An exhibition dedicated to The Calabreser, the imaginary magazine created by Giuseppe Talarico and which recounts places and habits of the Calabria region through the splendid covers created by as many local illustrators, will also be set up at the Museum.
The exhibition of Testadilatta, pseudonym of Rocco Del Franco and Simona Gregoraci, two Calabrian artists who create incredible installations starting from milk and other materials otherwise destined for destruction, will also be open to the public.
Numerous guests and events are expected within the festival, the highlight of the event, which will take place from 25 to 26 May at the Santa Chiara Water Park in Rende.
For the occasion, the rich program includes many exhibition areas dedicated to comics, games and action figures, and in particular two areas dedicated to videogames of all kinds and to the world of board games, which is in turmoil today more than ever.
Among the guests who will speak in the Auditorium of the Water Park, Jacopo Calatroni deserves to be mentioned as the voice not only of Spider-Man in the latest Marvel video game, but also of numerous characters from the world of anime. Also present is the group of creators InnTale who, together with the streamer Kurolily, will hold a conference dedicated to the world of role-playing games and the great success they are experiencing in recent years.
Numerous outdoor events with cosplayers are also planned in the setting of the park, i.e. all those people who dedicate their passion and creativity to the creation of faithful reproductions of the clothes of characters from cinema, comics and television series and who in the two days of festival will liven up the location.
There are also several concerts scheduled in the stage area, scheduled every day from late afternoon onwards. On Saturday 25 May at 8.30pm Joanna will perform, a punk rock band that will present a musical show dedicated to the main songs of the Disney classics – from The Lion King to The Little Mermaid – reinterpreted in a rock key.
On Sunday at 6.00 pm there is also a live musical with the musicians Edoardo Brugnoli and Gax Win, who will celebrate the world of Japanese cartoons and in particular the imagination of Akira Toriyama, the late author of Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, who passed away last March.
Furthermore, to close the day on May 26th, a spectacular concert by The Spleen Orchestra, a group of musicians and figures who will pay homage to Tim Burton’s cinema, singing and dancing to the most iconic songs from his films, from The Nightmare Before Christmas at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
