Grab a selfie with a storm trooper or Vogue with Vader.
High Vis Street Art Festival – known for its spectacular annual street art festivals for nearly eight years running – has announced that it’d bringing comic cons back to Birmingham, where the first UK convention took place in 1968. But with a difference. High Vis Comic Con will be a new, free, family-friendly, comic-focused convention taking place on Saturday 21st June from 10am-5pm, in three different zones: All-Saints Community Centre (10 am opening) York Road and The Station (12pm openings), the newly refurbished All-Saints Centre, Kings Heath with a further zone dedicated to an all-new mural; celebrating UK comic 2000 AD.
The day will feature special comic book guests, retro gaming with Dead Pixels, free comic book workshops, live street art, and film screenings courtesy of Birmingham Anime Festival organisers.
High Vis Comic Con gives fans, families, and the comic book curious the chance to catch some of comics’ biggest creators in person while enjoying the bars, eateries and independent shops in one of Birmingham’s most talked about and desirable suburbs. There will even be an special appearance by the Star Wars 501st UK Garrison, so why not grab a selfie with a Storm Trooper, or vogue with Vader?
There is also have a very special gig kicking off at 4pm in the Hare and Hounds with Charlie Adlard’s band, Cosmic Rays, with all proceeds from ticket sales going to the Kings Heath Food Bank. Tickets available here.
Plus, there’s two after-parties, where special one-off prizes donated by guests will be auctioned. If you want to kick back and chill, there’s the Green Room at Fletchers. For those looking for something more, then head over to The Stationm who will be blasting tunes throughout the daytime and night.
Organiser and High Vis Festival Co-Director, Olly MacNamee said: “While we are known for our successful street art festival, I am a huge comic book fan and there’s a lot of crossover between both. So, why not bring them together in one place?
“The con, however, is all part of a much more ambitious plan. With brilliant events like Joe Lycett’s PRIDE Queens Heath, the monthly Farmers Market and more. We even ran last year’s annual High Vis Street Art Festival here, gifting to the community a much-loved new community mural. Working with local artists, schools and businesses, we want to build on these successes and encourage more visual artists to visit the area, mingle and collaborate. We want Kings Heath to be a hot spot for the visual arts and a prime destination for everyone. Call this con is a statement of our intent!”
