In a corner of the bustling Colorado Convention Center, amid a sea of costumed enthusiasts and celebrities at FAN EXPO Denver, one booth stood out.
Here, clad as the heroic Captain America, Sterling Bailey embodied more than a superhero. As founder and board president of the Colorado-based nonprofit Cap for Kids, he symbolized hope, resilience and the spirit of “cosplay for a cause” — a cause that transcends mere cosplay.
His quest: to support families fighting their children’s pediatric cancer by helping cover their bills.
“Each family gets a $5,000 budget. We pay their mortgage, rent, utilities, whatever they need to alleviate some of the stress they’re under so they can focus on their child — thus, giving the child a better chance at beating cancer,” Bailey said.
“There’s nothing quite like seeing a kid smile when they’re in the worst place they can be,” said Nathan Morimitsu, board vice-president, who met Bailey at a convention 10 years ago.
Morimitsu recalled the chance encounter: “We were both in cosplay wondering, how can we do something with this hobby that we love? That’s when we found this niche and went from there.”
“I love this community,” Bailey said. “It’s helped us sponsor 84 families with $5,000 a piece, somewhere around $400,000 in bills paid for pediatric cancer-fighting families all because of this lovely, nerdy fandom.”
The FAN EXPO Denver drew thousands of attendees over its four-day run downtown last weekend. Costumed characters were running around downtown the whole holiday weekend.
They weren’t the only group of cosplayers seeking to do good, either.
In a galaxy not so far away
Opposite the Cap for Kids booth was a small piece of the Star Wars galaxy, teeming with costumed bounty hunters, stormtroopers, Jedi and other iconic characters. This dedicated space was crafted by three nonprofit cosplay clubs with a forceful passion for Star Wars: the 501st Legion Mountain Garrison, Rebel Legion Mountain Base, Mandalorian Mercs Cerar Clan.
Together, they fundraise for other nonprofits, such as Rocky Mountain Honor Flight — which supports veterans.
“We like sharing our Star Wars passion through charity,” said Rob Even, commanding officer of the Cerar Clan. “We’re here on a charity-raising standpoint, and FAN EXPO treats us really well. They give us this giant space to set up and interact with the public.”
While their elaborate costumes may get them labeled “super nerds,” Even explained they’re all just “regular folks” who “embrace the fact that our inner kid gets to play.”
“I’m a big Denver Broncos fan, even when they’re terrible. It’s no different for me putting on a Star Wars costume than wearing a Von Miller jersey,” he said. “I get to do something that I enjoy and support a community that’s important to me.”
Everywhere you looked, FAN EXPO attendees sported anything from franchise t-shirts to elaborate costumes, making it feel like characters from Star Trek, Harry Potter, DC comics and anime had sprung to life.
“FAN EXPO Denver is more than just an event — it’s an experience that brings together a diverse community of passionate fans,” said Andrew Moyes, vice-president of FAN EXPO HQ. “It’s where fandom comes alive, friendships are forged and memories are made that last a lifetime.”
Amidst the colorful crowd was Gary, an older cosplayer dressed as Hank Pym from Marvel’s “Ant-Man,” handing out plastic ants.
“It was like being a kid at Disneyland,” he said, eyes gleaming with nostalgia as he reminisced about his first convention several years ago.
Celebrities drawn to Denver
This year’s convention starred an array of celebrity guests, including Rosario Dawson (“Star Wars: Ahsoka”), Brie Larson (“Captain Marvel”), Rainn Wilson (“The Office”), Charles Martinet (“Super Mario”) and the cast of “Supernatural.”
FAN EXPO Denver featured celebrity panels, photo ops and autographs, a video game zone and a kids zone.
A booth for Mancos, Colorado-based Real Fantastic Art stood in Artist Alley — one of many independent studios selling artwork and other gift-worthy items.
Trained in “old school ways of drawing and painting,” artist and co-owner Chris Hawks said his work is “modernizing the masters” by blending classic styles with contemporary pop-culture fandoms. Conventions like this one are a boon for business.
“To be here at FAN EXPO, it’s really great meeting everybody,” said Hawks, a Colorado College graduate who runs the studio with his wife, Holly. “I come from a time when the phone was attached to the wall, and I’d go ride my bike and play. It wasn’t this constant attachment to stuff. Being able to be here in a real way, it’s just a great way to have a conversation.”
For celebrities and guests, meeting fans offers the chance to truly hear and feel the tangible impact their characters have made.
“I have met a lot of people who have said to me, this character really resonated with me,” said Andy Serkis, known for playing Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” films, during his main-stage Friday panel.
Serkis reflected on fans who got through difficult times because of his characters — sentiments echoed by Jim Cummings, the legendary voice actor known for voicing animated characters including Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Darkwing Duck, and hundreds more.
“Today I had at least two people come up to me and say, ‘You know, when I was down,’ and told me these heart-wrenching stories,” Cummings said in a panel. “Then I’ll ‘put on’ Winnie the Pooh, and it’ll cheer them up… That makes me feel not-so-bad about getting kicked out of class for making weird noises.”
Cummings recounted a memorable phone call to a Make-A-Wish kid 25 years ago. For 45 minutes, the boy kept asking him to voice different characters. Afterwards, his parents got on the phone.
“You don’t understand,” his mom said. “Tommy doesn’t speak.”
Cummings was stunned.
They showed Tommy’s psychologist and doctors the videotape of Tommy talking on the phone, reassuring him.
“Yes, Tommy, you do speak — because you talked to your friend Jim,” Cummings said. “He’s a buddy of mine, 25 years later.”
Dee Bradley Baker, another voice actor who grew up in Greeley, is best known for voicing various clone troopers in the Star Wars animated shows “The Clone Wars” and “The Bad Batch.”
“Our experience with you outranks everything,” Baker told fans in the voice of clone trooper Rex.
Johnny Yong Bosch, the second Black Ranger on the 1990s’ “Power Rangers” and a prolific anime voice actor, emphasized the critical nature of in-person fan feedback.
“I now have an instant connection to you because you watched and you had this experience, which is different for me because I’m on this side creating it. I get to experience your experience — from your voice,” he said. “That’s what I really enjoy. Ultimately, it’s the connection to people.”
“Seeing people in-person is probably the most rewarding part of it,” said Star Wars Theory, Canadian host of YouTube’s largest Star Wars channel, with 3.3 million subscribers. “I didn’t expect as big of a turnout (in Colorado).”
Although not an official part of FAN EXPO Denver, Theory’s appearance at the booth for Rippaverse — a thriving independent comic book company working to “bring back the golden age of comics” — attracted nearly 200 fans lined up over three days.
Theory took photographs, signed autographs and handed out thousands of dollars’ worth of free “Theory Sabers,” his own brand of lightsaber-based custom swords.
A live fan experience like no other
For fan Ben Wolendowski, Star Wars is about family.
“I always think about my dad. We’d go back and forth quoting Star Wars all the time,” he said. “It’s really just about connection.”
“When you come to these conventions, and people line up to meet you, they’re so emotional because they want to tell their story about Star Wars…I think that’s probably, for me, the most fulfilling part of it,” Theory said. “We can all revolve around that and love it together. That makes me emotional.”
Rippaverse appreciates the face-to-face interaction with comic book fans — offering a prime opportunity for a “temperature check.”
“We actually talk to our fanbase,” said Carrow Brown, executive assistant to Rippaverse founder and president, Eric July. “When people get into their escapism, the character and the universe become like a really intimate, almost family-like member.”
“It’s one of the best things of all time — putting a face to the name you’ve seen online,” added community manager Ali Abdullah. “You can have conversations directly with them and see how hyped they are for what’s going on… The energy alone is just intoxicating and makes me enjoy it so much.”
Among Rippaverse’s comic book writers is Fort Collins resident Mike Baron. A veteran writer of numerous comic book series — including DC Comics’ first line of The Punisher and second line of The Flash, as well as Star Wars adaptations — Baron currently writes the Goodyng comic books, about a hero in the Rippaverse universe.
“It’s quite a surprise for me, at my age, to find my career taking flight,” said Baron, returning to a Denver fan convention for the first time in a decade. “I love to meet my fans and talk about my work. I love to talk about anybody’s work if I’m familiar with it because we’re all consumers of pop culture.”
At its core, FAN EXPO Denver is about unity among “fandoms” — groups of fans united in their profound and passionate love for a film, television or comic book franchise.
“As a kid growing up, I didn’t have a lot in common with kids in my class, but on these weekends, I’d come to conventions and be with thousands of people who loved the same things that I loved,” said Jacqueline Thomas, a panel moderator for FAN EXPOs across the country.
“There are guests at FAN EXPO who are the voice of people’s childhoods, or the face they saw on the screen every Saturday. It just means the world to people.”
Jimmy Sengenberger is a weekly op-ed columnist for The Denver Gazette, host of the “Blues Business” podcast, and leader of the Jimmy Junior Blues Band, where he plays harmonica under the moniker Jimmy Junior.
