Heroes, villains and everyone in between will share the same halls when fandoms collide Saturday at the Cass District Library.

The library will host its first ever Fandom Fest event from noon to 5 p.m. that day at its main building in Cassopolis, located at 319 M-62 North. The free event is aimed at adults and youth belong to all types of pop culture fandoms, such as Marvel and DC comics, “Lord of the Rings,” “Star Wars” and “Doctor Who,” and will offer different speakers, vendors, games, activities and more.

The event is like a micro version of the mega popular San Diego Comic-Con, an annual gathering of fans of genre comic books, TV shows and movies.

Fandom Fest is organized by leaders with the four area libraries, including the Cass District Library, Dowagiac District Library, Eau Claire District Library and Berrien Springs Community Library. The organizers were inspired by the growing crop of events centered around “geeky, nerdy stuff” in area communities such as Portage or Benton Harbor, said Tim Wiggins, public services coordinator with the Cass District Library.

“The event is not specific to fans of super heroes,” Wiggins said. “All kinds of fandoms are welcome, such as sci fi or horror. We are keeping things
family friendly, as well.”

While several other southwest Michigan libraries organized a Fandom Fest at Lake Michigan College earlier this month, the planners for Saturday’s event wanted to host a gathering closer to home, Wiggins said.

“This is our first time doing something like this,” Wiggins said. “We are hoping it will become an annual thing.”

Among the activities planned for Saturday include a cosplay contest, which will take place at 2:30 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to dress up as their favorite characters, with a panel of judges awarding prizes to the best overall costumes, Wiggins said.

Nicholas Brittin, with Lake Michigan College, and Scott Topping, with Southwestern Michigan College, will deliver talks on subjects related to comics and geek culture at 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. The cast of the online “Star Wars Redemption” podcast will also record a live episode of its show at 2 p.m.

Dowagiac’s Radiant Rogue Games will also host game sessions from noon to 2:15 p.m. and 2:45 to 5 p.m. Attendees will be able to play different board games from the shop, including Attack on Titan, Castles of Burgundy, and Ticket to Ride: Rails and Sails, with winners taking home a copy of the game.

For younger attendees, there will be a craft area where children can make wands based off the “Harry Potter” book series and draw their own comic books.

Several door prizes will be given away as well, including copies of video games, anime DVDs and tickets to Chicago’s C2E2 comic book convention.

Attendees may also visit booths from area artists, comic vendors and other companies.

People may find additional information on the Fandom Fest Facebook page, facebook.com/swmfandomfest.