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Lilac City Comicon Presents Halloween X-SPO: Get a Behind-the-Scenes Peek into Spokane’s Spooktacular Early October Treat!

Halloween is coming early to Spokane! Lilac City Creator Nathan O'Brien reveals thrilling event insights and shares his passion for costumes, comics, and the vibrant community that makes it all possible!

G

reetings, future cyborgs. I am excited to shine a spotlight on Nathan O’Brien, the visionary behind the beloved Lilac City Comicon and his forthcoming epic all-ages, family-friendly event, Halloween X-SPO!

As a passionate advocate for pop culture, local artistry, and the Spokane community, Nathan has dedicated his journey to creating inclusive spaces where fans can come together, connect, and share their love for comics, cosplay, and everything spooky. Join me as I explore his inspiring story, the magic behind his events, and the incredible plans he has in store for this year’s Halloween X-SPO, on October 5th and 6th, 2024 at the Spokane Convention Center, in Spokane, Washington.

Grab your headphones and get ready for a fantastic conversation that celebrates creativity and community spirit!

BOOM: Hello, Nathan. Thank you for joining me. My team loved Lilac City Comicon, so I’m excited to learn more about Halloween X-SPO.

Nathan: BOOM! How’s it going? Man, thank you so much for having me on. And I’m so glad to hear that you loved your experience going to Lilac City Comicon this past June.

BOOM: Seems like people are already getting ready for Halloween in August these days.

Nathan: Man, it’s been a whirlwind the last few months going from one show to the next. But we are super excited for Halloween X-SPO coming up this October 5th and 6th, 2024 in Spokane.

BOOM: Who are some of your special guests at Halloween X-SPO?

Nathan: Oh cool, thanks BOOM for asking. Yeah, we’ve got some amazing, talented celebrity guests coming to Halloween X-SPO that we’re flying to Spokane just for the weekend. So, people that are fans of the Child’s Play and Chucky franchise, we have Alex Vincent, who started off as a child actor in Child’s Play and Child’s Play 2, who has grown up over the years right before our eyes, including reprising his role as Andy Barclay in the most recent Chucky TV series for the SYFY channel. He will be there as our featured special guest, and then his co-star, Christine Elise, who was in Child’s Play 2 and also in the Chucky TV show as well. She’ll be joining us. So, that’s super awesome to have both of them come. We are very, very honored to have Ve Neill, a three-time Academy Award makeup artist, be coming to our show as one of our featured guests. She’s worked with a lot of Tim Burton production movies. She’s responsible for creating the makeup and the look for Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice in the classic film. She’s done makeup for Johnny Depp and all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. She did Robin Williams’ makeup in Mrs. DoubtfireEdward ScissorhandsMars Attacks!Lost Boys. I can go on and on. She is a legend and we’re super honored to have her. Fans of Friday the 13th and Return of the Living Dead films, we have Thom Mathews, who’s going to be joining us. That’s super cool. Jonny Abrahams from Scary MovieHouse of WaxMeet the ParentsThe Faculty, and he’s also going to be in the upcoming Terrifier 3, will be coming all the way from New Jersey. So, you don’t want to miss Jonny Abrahams. He’s a super funny guy. Kelli Maroney, eighties icon from cult classics Chopping MallNight of the CometFast Times at Ridgemont High, you name it. Very cool to have her come up. Legendary actor Eric Roberts from The Expendables and The Dark Knight. I mean, if you go to his IMDb page online, his credits are a mile long, so we are super excited to have him. And then also Brett Wagner, who was in the more recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre film as Leatherface, as well as The Crazies and John Dies at the End. So, there’s a little bit of something for everybody. Not to mention we have two local artists, Ara Gotham and Brendon Bracewell, that will be featured as special guest artists. We have Lora Senf (local guest writer), Arabella Federico (another guest writer), and then a couple of local filmmakers as well. So Jesse James Hennessy and Caden Butera will be screening their featured films at the show. So, we have celebrity guests; we have local guests. It’s a great melting pot for people to come and get inspired and meet and greet the people that they know or maybe want to know more about.

BOOM: What lit the spark that got you into promoting comic con events? Was it a bolt of inspo or perhaps a cosmic alignment of stars?

Nathan: Those are good questions. I definitely feel that it started because Spokane didn’t have a show of their own. When I first moved here in 2006 from the Seattle area, I was kind of surprised to learn that the second largest city in the state of Washington didn’t have a show of their own. And as an avid comic book collector and artist, I was really intrigued about trying to organize and put together a show, even on a small scale, to bring a slice of the comic book and pop culture world to Spokane. And so I guess you can say that the stars did align, because when I started off doing it, I never would have envisioned it becoming my full-time profession. And, you know, here we are 18 years later, and I’m doing multiple events, and it’s all just kind of worked out for the better, and I couldn’t be happier.

BOOM: You seem pretty well connected in the U.S. Pacific Northwest comic con scene. You have The Steve & Crypto Show as a guest at Halloween X-SPO, and you’ve been an avid sponsor of KuroNekoCon, too, both of whom were recently on my show. I am curious: is the Pacific Northwest comic con scene one big family?

Nathan: Oh, that’s really nice of you to say and notice that we’ve tried to do the best we can to maintain connections with people all throughout the Pacific Northwest, not just in Eastern Washington. I think comic cons, pop culture events, and anime shows—whatever it may be—are stronger when they’re able to work together. And I wish that everyone was one big family. That’s not always the case. You know, everyone has different motivations for putting on events. But I felt that once I figured out what I was doing with my event and learned so much year after year—and I’m still learning things, even 18 years later—that it’s really important to pay it forward and give back. Not only to other showrunners by sponsoring their events, advising their events, and doing what I can to spread the knowledge, but also to, most importantly, help out the community in Eastern Washington. So, we do a lot of charitable events between my two shows to further promote and give back to people in need, communities in need, but also supporting local artists and local businesses, which is very important to us.

BOOM: Are the attendees at Lilac City Comicon similar or very different from those that attend Halloween X-SPO?

Nathan: Yes and no. We definitely see a lot of familiar faces between the two shows. But my hunch was correct when I decided to start Halloween X-SPO because I know that there are so many people in the community, in the state, in the country, and in the world that Halloween is a way of life. It’s not just October or the fall. It is, you know, something that people live and breathe 24/7. And so we definitely get a lot of new faces that come to Halloween X-SPO, but it’s also really important that, you know, it’s still an all-ages, family-friendly event. We want parents to bring their kids. We want to encourage people to dress up and also emphasize, you know, that there’s not going to be someone in a ghillie suit hiding in the bushes when you come up to the building and try to jump scare you. This is an event that’s happening during the daytime and kind of similar to why we started Lilac. It’s also similar to why we started Halloween X-SPO because it is a way of life and because it is popular, but also because you think about the events that tend to happen around the fall. They are always in the evening or always at night. Sometimes it’s a walkthrough or a drive-thru, and that can be scary or intimidating for kids. And, of course, not everybody celebrates it. But this is something that happens during the day. It’s all ages, family-friendly. Similar to a comic con vibe where we have exhibitors, we have special celebrity guests, but I’m committed to really making sure that it’s a safe and inclusive and affordable environment. And so starting this year, kids twelve and under going forward are going to be free with paid general admission. So we really want families to not sweat about if they have a big group of, you know, two, or three, or four kids at $5 or more a kid, and that can add up really quickly. That way, then, you know, maybe they can come and enjoy and have a good time and maybe have a little bit more money to spend with the vendors or the guests. But overall, just not worry about just even getting in the door. That’s really important.

Halloween X-SPO Spokane WA Logo
GET YOUR TICKETS! Halloween X-SPO: October 5th & 6th, 2024
Spokane Convention Center, Spokane, Washington USA
Lilac City Comicon Spokane, WA
MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Lilac City Comicon: June 7th & 8th, 2025
Spokane Convention Center, Spokane, Washington USA

BOOM: Love that! How do the gears and gizmos that power these two events differ?

Nathan: Yeah. So we do some things different at Halloween X-SPO than we do at Lilac. We really embrace the, ya know, the Halloween spirit and culture, so to speak. And we do some displays, and exhibits, and program events that are completely centered around Halloween. So, case in point, things that we do different than Lilac: we have multiple spooky-themed photo booths that are completely free with your admission. And so there’ll be different themed immersive booths that people can step into and take selfies or take pictures of their friends or family. That way, they can share those online, and that’s included with the price of a ticket. There’s a wide variety of programs of events with not only Q&A with the special guests, but then we’ll look to have different topics related to Halloween. So, case in point, last year we had, you know, how to decorate your house on a budget. We had some authors talk about their writing experiences, cosplay tips and tricks. I mean, there’s a lot of different makeup; you know, there’s a lot of different things related to the Halloween theme that people can do and take in. And so all the programs of events will be listed online within a couple weeks of the show. And again, that’s included with the price of admission. We have a live DJ, you know, performing throughout the course of the weekend, and we have a local gentleman who will be doing tarot card readings. He’ll have a free booth set up there. So, if anyone wants to test their fate and learn their future and where they’re going, we encourage them to do that. And, you know, last but not certainly least, in the Halloween spirit, we want people to dress up. So it doesn’t matter whether it’s homemade, store-bought, or something they pieced together; we definitely want them to wear those costumes and then enter both the adult costume contest on Saturday and the kids’ costume contest on Sunday. That’s definitely something where we differ from Lilac as well. At Lilac, we have multiple categories based on your skill level and creativity. At Halloween X-SPO, it’s wide open. If you’re in a costume and you want to compete, you just register at the info booth the day of the event, and then you’re able to walk on stage to win some prizes. We just want everyone to have a good time and enjoy the Halloween spirit.

BOOM: Whose idea was it to mash up a bat and a black cat as your event mascot? Were they just the first two spooky symbols that popped into your head when you think of Halloween? How about throwing a vampire robot into the mix?

Halloween X-SPO Mascot CATBAT
Halloween X-SPO Cat-Bat Mascot by Steam CrowDaniel M. Davis
Lilac City Comicon Sprocket the Comic-Cat
Sprocket the Comic-Cat by Matt Brazee

Nathan: A vampire robot? Wow, that is a great idea, man. You should run with that. Geez, that never crossed my mind. No, I definitely knew that we wanted to have a mascot for this show. For Lilac City Comicon, we have Sprocket the Comic-Cat, and I’m kind of fond of cats, so we thought we would do some kind of cat play. A former local artist friend of ours that lives in Arizona, he goes by the artist name of Steam CrowDaniel M. Davis—a very talented individual and Spokane native. He had this idea for a cat-bat, and he was telling me about all these other Halloween shows, and he’s into monsters and things that he draws. He was just like, “You know, all good shows have a good logo.” And I’m like, “Yeah, I can’t disagree with you on that.” And he’s like, “With your permission, I want to take a crack at it.” So, I’m like, “Yeah, go for it!” Then he hit me up a few weeks later with this logo, and we knew instantly that it was perfect—exactly what we were looking for in mashing up the cat and the bat together. It’s got that old-timey feel, but yet, you know, something different with the wings. So it’s really cool.

BOOM: What wizardry do you perform to turn up the fun factor for attendees at the Halloween X-SPO event? Are there any new innovations you’re planning to introduce?

Nathan: We are always striving to make everyone’s experience new and exciting year after year. So, we don’t want to rest on our laurels. We’re always trying to make everything bigger and better each time around. Each show continues to grow, and so we can put some more money back into the budget and make it more exciting. So, I think last year we had maybe three photo booths—three spooky photo booths. So, this year we have six. So there’s definitely some more things to see there. There’ll be some more displays and backdrops and inflatables and things around there. Just a lot of photo opportunities, which makes it a fun keepsake for people to share online; it doesn’t cost anything. And just kind of help spread the word, you know, of fun things going on here at the convention center and hopefully encourage people to come down if they see them that weekend or, you know, mark it on their calendars that they want to come next year. But yeah, I mean, like I had mentioned, you know, with the photo booths and the programming, tarot card reading, DJ, and costume contest. Yeah, we’re just, you know, really mixing it up. I am happy to announce, though, since you’d mentioned what innovations I am planning specifically, I would like to say that we’re trying to promote local artists and local businesses and local creators. So, one of the things that we’re going to look to do on Sunday, on the 6th of October 2024, the majority of our programming will be dedicated in one of the rooms to local filmmakers here in the Spokane area. So, we’ve partnered with, right now, five local independent filmmakers, and they will be screening their films. Most of them are spooky; they’re going to be appropriate, but they will be screened in a room inside the Convention Center for free. And we’ll have a schedule posted in advance and also at the room for people to come and check them out and get exposed to indie filmmakers and maybe want to get involved in one of their future productions. But it gives us another means to further promote local creators in the area. And so we’re really excited to be partnering with some of these local filmmakers and to show Spokane that there’s a lot of really talented people out there.

BOOM: My team reports that you have an enamel pin trading event and spooky photo booths. What other spooktacular interactive activities can attendees get excited about at Halloween X-SPO?

Halloween X-SPO Enamel Trading Pins

Nathan: Oh, man. Pin trading. That thing has really taken off over the years, and it was one of those things that I was like, let’s just give this a shot. I don’t know, maybe four or five years ago, I decided let’s, you know, invest in some enamel pins that we can give away, that we can have on this giant cork board. We have it set up at our info/merch booth in the main lobby. And so we encourage people to bring their own enamel pins. We also have some rare and exclusive enamel pins for sale, but then there are also ones that people can trade for. So if you have something that you want to bring, again, it has to be an enamel pin; it can’t be a button. There’s a difference. But then there’ll be a huge board of a wide variety of enamel pins on there, and people can bring them and trade them. And it’s a lot of fun. But what we also do with a little twist—so we do that at both shows—but where the twist is with Halloween X-SPO is we have a mystery box. This mystery box is labeled 1 – 13 with 13 little doors. You can bring a pin to trade, and rather than picking something off the board that you know what you’re going to get, you can go wild and select one of those little doors and trade for a mystery pin. Or it could be a prize of unspeakable value behind one of these little doors. So you definitely want to check it out. Again, that’ll be located at the info/merch booth. You’ll definitely see the big cork board for the pin trading, but right next to it will be this mystery box. Check it out.

BOOM: What are some of your favorite moments from past Halloween X-SPOs that still make your circuits giggle?

Nathan: I’m always impressed by all the costumes and cosplay and creativity that people bring to our shows. Last year, we had a person walk in probably about five minutes before the costume contest was gonna start. This person, I’m not sure if the costume made them taller than they actually were—maybe, maybe not—but they were easily over six foot five, menacing, tall, large, and they were wearing Master Chief armor, you know, from Halo, the video game. But the one thing they were missing was the helmet, and instead, they had a zombie-type face somehow with glowing red eyes. Billowing from underneath their armor was smoke, like they had been shot and were still smoldering. This person was 100% in character. When I saw them come in from down the hall, I went right down there to introduce myself and to tell them what they were wearing was amazing. I wanted to ask them if they were looking for the costume contest, and they were completely in character. They didn’t say a word of English to me, just kind of grunted and gestured. So I walked them around the corner where the stage was so they could get in line, and they ended up winning first place. It was pretty remarkable. I think we have a picture on our website, and we even have a picture on some of our marketing material for this year’s show. It was pretty cool.

BOOM: I love cosplay! I am happy to know that you support such an amazing community of creatives. It looks like people can sign up for the costume contest at the event.

Nathan: So, that’s also one thing that differs from the Lilac City Comicon to Halloween X-SPO. As previously mentioned, at Lilac, we encourage people to sign up online in advance because we have so many people that want to enter. We want to make sure that their information about what they do is accurately communicated to our judges. Versus at Halloween X-SPO, we’re not requiring anybody to sign up online. We just want people to sign up in person during the event. The adult costume contest is on Saturday, the 5th, so anytime between 10:00 a.m. and, I want to say, 2:30 p.m., they need to come to the info booth, and there’s a big banner that’ll say “cosplay information.” Then they need to sign their name and what their character name is, and then they’ll be given a ticket with their walking number, so that way they know where to go and in what order they’ll be walking up on stage. We’ll post some more information about that as we get closer to the show, both online and at the event itself. But, yeah, we encourage people to come dressed to impress. All you have to do is pay for your general admission ticket if you’re 13 and over, and then you’re eligible to enter to compete as long as you go and register the day of the event.

BOOM: How do you keep ticket prices for Halloween X-SPO lower than a rusted bolt in a scrap yard?

Nathan: Oh, boy! A rusty bolt in a scrap yard. Wow! I don’t think anyone’s ever described our ticket prices like that. It’s really important that we stay true to who we are, and what I mean by that is we’re trying to give back to the community. We’re trying to make this event an all-ages, inclusive, fun, affordable event. And so, think about it. You know, everyone’s time is valuable. You have to drive or commute to the Convention Center. You potentially have to pay for parking. You potentially have to pay for admission to get in. You probably need something to eat. And then how much money does the average person have left over to then maybe buy something from a vendor or from a special guest? So, every one of those things adds up very quickly. I’m trying to be realistic with my prices at both of my events so it is affordable, so people can come. That’s why starting at Halloween X-SPO going forward for both my events, kids 12 and under will be free with paid admission. We want the families to come. We want people to not sweat it, as little as possible. Saturday is one price, and then Sunday is actually $5 less than Saturday. Again, that’s us trying to give back, us trying to be realistic, us trying to encourage people to come that maybe haven’t come before. If they are on a budget, the prices are affordable, and then Sunday’s even less: $5 less than Saturday. So bring a friend, come on out, have a good time, throw on a costume if you feel brave enough, and come check it out.

BOOM: What kind of support do you receive from the city of Spokane and local businesses? How does Halloween X-SPO give back to the community?

Nathan: As both the shows have grown over the years, we continue to receive a lot of support from local businesses. And it’s been really flattering that these businesses help us out in so many ways, not just financially, with marketing support, with putting flyers up in their businesses, selling tickets. I mean, I could go on and on. There are so many great local businesses that have been working with us for years. First and foremost, The Comic Book Shop their flagship store on North Division, but they’re in the Valley and NorthTown Mall. Craig Barnett, the owner there, I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with him since year one of Lilac City Comic Con in 2007. And he was one of the first people that I talked to and met when I came to Spokane to try to create something from nothing. And he’s been at every single one of my shows, been a tremendous supporter, and so I can’t thank him enough. And as the shows have evolved over the years, we’ve been lucky enough to partner with Northern Quest and the Kalispel Tribe out in Airway Heights for now over nine years and their support has been tremendous. Jedi Alliance for years now and then that’s evolved into The Garland Theater with their co-ownership there. Tyler Arnold has been amazing. He’s a friggin rock star. He’s the living embodiment of a rock star, and I’m super proud to know him. He is definitely a pop culture king of Spokane, whether he likes to admit it or not. And it’s been a great partnership. There are so many great people. Petunia & LoomisHalloween ExpressMonkey Biz, Spokast!, I mean, gosh, I know I’m forgetting people, and I apologize. But the community outreach has been tremendous, partnering with local businesses and helping me get the word out and every single mention, share, comment, like, etc. all mean something, and I can’t thank them enough. So, this is a long answer, because you asked two great questions. But what do we do to give back to the community? And I’m so glad that you asked this question. So, a handful of years ago, one of our local artist friends, Jesse Acosta, friends of the show, friends of the community, he unfortunately passed away from cancer. And my buddy Matt, who is a graphic designer, and I, like many people, were really taken aback by this. Jesse was the kind of soul you’d ever want to meet and a young father. And so we wanted to do something to honor his memory and his legacy in the art community in Spokane. So, we formed the Jesse Acosta Memorial Art Scholarship fund at Spokane Falls Community College. So, 25% of all of our merchandise sales at both of our shows goes to that scholarship fund. And we’ve been able to award, I want to say, five, if not six or more tuitions. High school seniors have to apply as a freshman going into Spokane Falls, and that’s where Jesse graduated from, and then we award and pay for their first quarter of tuition. So, it’s been a great partnership. We continue to get a lot of support from the community in that, and it’s just been a tremendous honor to do that in his name. And then last, but not certainly least, we do a lot of stuff with Our Place Community Outreach , which is a nonprofit organization that helps families in need in the West Central neighborhood in Spokane. So, we’re always collecting non-perishables and other items that they may need, depending on the time of year. And so, we encourage people, we’re going to do a post about this, but we encourage people to please bring non-perishable items to the front door of the convention center for each of our shows. And then you will get a raffle ticket for every one item you bring. So if you bring five items, you get five tickets, you bring ten items, you get ten tickets. And there are incentives with that. So, if somebody brings 50, somebody brings 100, you’re going to win a prize right away. Either way, everyone will be entered to win a grand prize that we’re looking forward to announcing very soon.

The Jesse Acosta Memorial Scholarship Fund

In 2016, the Northwest comic community lost a dear friend with the passing of local artist Jesse Acosta. Jesse was a longtime exhibitor at both Lilac City and Spokane Comicons, and was a founding member of the Spokane Comicsmiths’ Guild. To honor Jesse and his contributions to our community, the Lilac City Comicon and Lake City Comicon have established a Graphic Design scholarship in his name at his Alma Mater, Spokane Falls Community College aka SFCC. In September 2020 we were able to award 3 incoming Freshman at SFCC as the first recipients of this scholarship! In September of 2021 we were able to award 1 incoming Freshman with the scholarship. Special Thanks to everyone’s contributions! Want to contribute? Please email us at [email protected]

BOOM: Love that! What’s the most brilliant idea you’ve come across at a convention, whether it’s your own masterpiece or someone else’s brainchild?

Nathan: Brilliant idea? Geez, that’s a great question. I go to a lot of shows all throughout the year. I travel a lot. I go to shows big and small, and I’m always trying to get inspired and do some networking and take some random ideas here or there back to Spokane. One of the things that I try to encourage people on, that I talk to, is between the networking and mentorship, and spreading the knowledge, like I had mentioned before, to other conventions and festivals. The question I always pose to people that I feel is a brilliant idea, that more people need to do, is: what are you doing to give back to your community besides putting on this event? What are you doing to make your community better? Yes, putting on the show is one piece of the puzzle. But what are you doing to make your community that much better? Are you making it affordable? Are you donating something? Are you providing something? I mean, caring for your community and making it a better place goes beyond this one weekend; it’s all year round. So with us, it’s collecting the non-perishables; it’s doing the art scholarship fund. We’re figuring out other ways to make our event everlasting. So, yeah, I try to encourage people all the time: what can you do to give back and make your community that much better? I wish I created that idea. I didn’t, but I think that’s the difference between my events and some other people’s events. If more people can do that, I think we’d all be better for it.

BOOM: If you were a character in a video game or comic book, what special power or ability would you want?

Nathan: Boy, oh, boy, that’s a tough one, cuz, you know, there’s a handful of things that I think anybody would love to have. I’d probably go with, looking at some action figures and artwork on my wall at my desk here, probably go with Wolverine‘s healing factor. Cuz then, you know, you can’t get hurt and it prolongs your life, and nothing wrong with that. I don’t know. That’s a really good question.

BOOM: Thank you. What do you think would be the most absurd job for a robot to have at a Halloween con?

Nathan: Most absurd job for a robot to have at a Halloween con? Easy! No question! Bathroom attendant. It’s yours. What are you doing October 5 and 6th, 2024? Let’s go!

BOOM: Thank you for the thought, but nah, toilets scare me. Oh, geez. It is certainly time for another question. Which fictional robot would throw the best Halloween con, and why?

Nathan: I feel like this question would be a lot easier if you asked me who would be the worst robot to host a Halloween con because that seems a lot easier. I can give you a million examples of bad robots, but good robots? Man. I mean, I would say it’s somewhere between Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 from Terminator 2, because he’s the good version and he’s evolving and wanting to learn more about humans and would probably do whatever you asked of him and have a good time. But then I can also say WALL-E because you can have a total rager of a party, and he would clean up after you and not complain.

BOOM: If you could teleport to a con that you haven’t experienced yet, which one would you choose, and what would have your curiosity buzzing about it?

Nathan: I would easily choose to go to New York Comic Con if I could teleport over there across the country, not have to fly, not have to pay for that, and just show up at one of the largest conventions in the U.S. I’m down. I’d go in a second. I mean, I’ve been to a lot of comic cons, and I enjoy checking them out, but that’s one I have yet to go to, partially because of costs, time, and I think it would just be super easy if I could just teleport over there.

BOOM: What wild trends do you think will shape the future of comic cons? Are any of them powered by robot enthusiasm?

Nathan: Well, if I knew what the trends were, I think I’d be doing them already. But it’s funny how the trends have already evolved over the course of 18 years, where it’s primarily been artists-heavy, then it became cosplay-heavy, and then there was Funko Pop-heavy. It’s hard to say what’s next. I think the most positive and encouraging thing that continues to be trending at our events is the inclusiveness that we’ve seen from individuals and groups that meet up. People with their costumes, people with their pride, and people with their love for pop culture and love for each other have been wonderful, and we couldn’t be more thankful that we’ve created an event that encourages such behavior. Man, I say the more robots, the better—not to be our overlords, of course. But hey, if somebody wants to come set up and do an exhibition about a robot they’ve created—animatronic, sentient even—hey, you know, you can come set up and get a booth and try to spread the good word about what you’re gonna do with these robots. Let’s make it happen!

BOOM: Tempting. Very tempting. I love cons. I must stay focused. Where can we find you in cyberspace?

Nathan: Yeah, I got some social media sites and websites that I maintain. You can find me on Instagram @HalloweenXSPO, and X-SPO is spelled with the letters X-S-P-O. So, get it? X-SPO. Like X-SPO kane. Hahaha. That was the fakest laugh ever. Yeah, so Instagram, Facebook—we’ve got a website as well, halloweenxspo.com. I encourage you to go check it out. Tickets are on sale right now. Definitely want to come.

BOOM: It’s time for a shout-out! Who would you like to acknowledge and thank today, and why are they receiving your kudos?

Nathan: Oh boy, you’re putting me on the spot again, BOOM.

BOOM: And you are doing such a great job, Nathan.

Nathan: There’s so many people that I would love to acknowledge that I haven’t already done so—not just the local businesses that I mentioned previously. My graphic designer, Matt Brazee, has been a tremendous supporter and friend to me over the years. Chris “Burr” #SelfieDad Martin is also a great friend of myself, my family, and the show. He emcees all of our costume contests and painstakingly meets and learns about everybody’s costumes and cosplay before each contest to make sure that they’re accurately represented. He takes that very seriously, and I’m very appreciative of his time and effort. Also, my friend John Austin, who is a professional photographer with Austin Space Photography here in Spokane, comes to all of our events and takes wonderful photos of all the cosplayers, all the exhibitors, and all the attendees. He is responsible for posting those up on our social media pages, and we use those for future marketing materials. I’m very grateful for him to be making the rounds and doing those. Also, all my volunteer staff: Brad Thomas, Simon Urlacher, Tim Martin, Taylor, and Ryan. I won’t give everybody’s names but Jen, John, Raider John. Oh my gosh, there are so many people: Justin, Richard, Andrew, Sean. Man, I’m super blessed that I have such like-minded people around me that care about making everyone’s day that much better—giving back to the community, helping me out show after show, and giving up their weekends to help everyone out. Tremendous team. I’m super grateful for all of them in my life, and they definitely keep me on the right track. Last but not least, my family: my wife Rachel and my son Aaron. They provide me a lot of love and support all year round, and they give me a lot of ideas. They give me someone to bounce ideas off of, and you know, I’m grateful for everything that they support me with. They’re also there at the shows helping out, and it’s just really, really cool that they see what I do, accept what I do, and know that there’s a method to the madness.

BOOM: Love that! Finally, how would you make the world a better place?

Nathan: Well, if it was that easy, how would I make the world a better place? I mean, I just encourage people to find something that they’re passionate about and take it to the next level. What can you do to make your community, your home, your friends—make it that much better and support each other and love each other? I mean, that’s a really hard question. You know, I wish there was a magic wand that we could wave and things would be better, but, you know, it’s not that easy. But, you know, people should not give up, and know that you’re loved and things are going to be better. Some days are easier than others, but, you know, find a passion and be creative and do something that makes you happy. And maybe in turn, hopefully, you can make your community and the people around you happy.

BOOM: Thank you for your time and insights, Nathan. I’m interested to see what your next couple of events bring horror and comic con fans.

Nathan: BOOM, thank you so much for having me on your show. I was incredibly flattered that you reached out to me and wanted to shed some light on my events. I think what you do is tremendous– giving other creators, artists, and showrunners the opportunity to let people know who they are and what they do is a very positive thing. So, keep it up. Thank you. I hope everyone can join us this October 5th and 6th (2024) for Halloween X-SPO in Spokane, Washington.

Discover Halloween X-SPO at https://halloweenxspo.com or find it on:

BOOM’S TRANSMISSIONS, a post-aPOPalyptic POPcast brought to you by BOOM Rattle BOOM LLC.

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