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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
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Sherman Oaks PopCon to Debut at Street Fair

The Sherman Oaks Street Fair this year is launching SOPopCon, a pop culture convention celebrating the Valley’s presence in television, comics and fandom. While there won’t be any tasty waves, organizers hope the event will be, like, totally rad. The San Fernando Valley was long shunned by Hollywood until the 1980s coming-of-age comedies “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Valley Girl” canonized the region’s influence on American youth culture and cemented Sherman Oaks Galleria as the place to be for anyone below the age of 21. Almost 40 years later, the Valley houses three of the country’s biggest entertainment studios and is arguably the headquarters of global mainstream pop culture. SOPopCon, then, is a product of that transformation. The convention will feature pop-up comic shops, collectible trinket booths, retro fashion and accessories, cosplay groups, and more. Comic artists Mike Kunkel (DC’s Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!, Herobear and the Kid) and Scott Koblish (Marvel Comics artist of “Deadpool,” “G.I. Joe,” “The Punisher”) will meet and greet fans at an autograph booth. Other VIP guests include animator and producer Larry Houston (“The X-Men,” “The Fantastic Four,” “Captain Planet”) and actor Dwayne Cameron (“Power Rangers Operation Overdrive”). The street fair, organized by the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce and now in its 29th year, will take place Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. along Ventura Boulevard between Van Nuys Boulevard and Kester Avenue. This will be its first PopCon. It is expected to attract more than 100,000 people with live concerts, a community stage, a carnival, food trucks and more.

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