ConnectiCon 2025: An Experience for the Ages
I had the fortune of participating in the 2025 edition of ConnectiCon, an event that gathered hundreds of fans of comics, Anime, video games, board games, fantasy and science fiction. Cosplayers from all Connecticut and beyond gathered for four days through a common interest, making new friends and reconnecting with old ones.
From July 17 to July 20, the outside of the Marriott Hotel and the Convention Center in Hartford was flooded with a colorful crowd that did their best to impress with their costumes, their poses and how well they represented their chosen characters.
Although I missed Day 3 and most of Day 4, I came up with some very interesting and compelling images of the cosplayers, many of whom I ended up befriending.
Different panel sessions took place throughout the convention, and people not only dressed up as characters, but also enjoyed different card and board games, and shared their art and their passion for pop culture. The event brought fans closer together and showed support for a culture that is very much alive.
To some people, something like this may look and sound boring or childish. However, it is an anthropological exercise to get to know people from different age groups and backgrounds, and to get to understand that branding your lifestyle around a hobby is a healthy way to live.
I was particularly amazed at the creativity of some of the costumes, how people went lengths to even be dressed up in leather or rubber under the cruelty of the weather. I was also very pleased due to the kindness many of them showed while posing for me.
Perhaps the most important thing I took of this experience—apart from the friends I made and the portraits I took—was knowing how something I have loved and liked all my life, something that makes outsiders think of us as “nerds”, had such a big turnout and was so exciting and welcoming.
I can’t wait for next year’s edition.
