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Mass. has a brand new kids comics fest, accent on the ‘kids’
Young cartoonists will be the focus for MetroWest's ALYAC Fest, coming July 13.
It’s a classic good news-bad news situation: The bad news is that the Boston Kids Comics Fest, which had grown exponentially since it launched in 2018, is taking a pause this year (sort of like Boston Calling). The good news is that there’s a viable alternative, particularly for those in MetroWest: the very first Young Artists Comics Fest, hosted by the Ashland Public Library.
The free festival, known as the ALYAC Fest, is scheduled for Sunday, July 13, and will feature fun workshops by comics professionals — top billed are Jarrett J. Krosoczka (“Lunch Lady”) and John Patrick Green (“InvestiGators”) — along with booksellers, costumed superheroes, and actual young Boston-area comic artists showcasing their work. (Not to mention food trucks, ASL interpreters, a “calmer con” space for children who need it, and much more.)
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We talked to event organizers Meena Jain, past director of the Boston Kids Comics Fest and current director of the Ashland Public Library; Tony Davis, owner of the Million Year Picnic comic book store in Harvard Square and a co-founder of the Boston Kids Comics Fest; and Katrina Ireland-Bilodeau, director of youth services/assistant director of the Ashland Public Library, about what to expect.
Boston.com: So Meena, how did this come together?
Meena Jain: A few months ago our children’s department, Katrina and her team, were talking about doing a comic book festival as part of summer reading this year, and I, of course, jumped right in. And I was like, all right, we’re going to do it, but we’re going to do it a little bit differently, because I’m a little bit of a control freak anyway, having had the experience with the Boston Kids Comics Fest. The one aspect of it that I personally, and I know a lot of people really loved was the young artist table, and we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use that aspect of the Boston Kids Comics Fest at a local event that celebrates books and libraries and children.
Tony, you’ve been involved in a lot of comics fests. So why do you think fests geared toward children are important in particular?
Tony Davis: Well, I think you do two things. You’re connecting the creative community to their core audience, young readers. But you’re also having sort of a passing of the torch, where the creative community is coming out and doing workshops and helping kids who love comics not only to consume comics and to read comics, but to create comics. And I think that was one of the things about the model of the Kids Comics Fest that I really loved, which was the abundance of workshops, [and] kids actually coming with material already prepared and tabling and learning to essentially sell and be sort of a professional cartoonist for a day.
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So you know, it’s a chance really to celebrate comics on many different levels. And judging from the growth of the Kids Comics Fest its first several years, I think that there are sort of untapped legions of children that we still need to reach. And I think doing these kinds of events not just centralized at the Kids Fest in Boston, but at places like the library in Ashland, will be a good way to reach a number of kids that have not experienced one of these festivals before.
Katrina, do you think you could talk a little bit about what people can expect when they walk in the door?
Katrina Ireland-Bilodeau: I am chagrined to say that I have never been to an event like this before. This will be my first! So I am very, very excited. Upon entering the door, as far as I’m aware, we’re going to feature our young artists. So we’re going to have kids and teens manning the tables as soon as you enter the library, who are going to be selling their wares. And you know, looking at everybody with their adorable puppy dog eyes, saying “please have my comic.” [laughs] So it’s really an opportunity for them to grow their own artistic skill and then get that sort of pat on the back of OK, what I have to say and what I have to create is really worth something — these people see the value in it and want to be a part of it.
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Further on we’ll have, of course, the booksellers that are going to be supporting the headliners, and we’re so excited to have our comic book artists.
What else do people need to know?
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Meena Jain: We have things like ASL American sign language interpreters for the first four hours, from 10:30-2:30, there for the draw-off with John Patrick Green, and for the keynote address [with Jarrett J. Krosoczka]. So we’ve been reaching out to deaf schools and hard-of-hearing schools to make sure that those children cannot only attend, but even table, if they wanted to. And we have food trucks that are going to be here because kids get hungry … Tony’s laughing because he knows that I also get hungry.
But I did want to add about the workshops — we have Debbie Dadey and Angeli Rafer, who have done “The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids.” There’s Jannie Ho who does the Fry Guys comics, and she has one coming out in the fall about vampire cats, I believe. So, you know, it’s just adorableness all over. And then Mark Parisi, who does “Marty Pants,” is always, always a draw. Cara Bean, who did all of our graphics, is just wonderful, and she does mindful doodling — which I think a lot of kids really need, to think about how they use art to be more mindful. So we have this wide range of workshops coming up.
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We also have a bunch of superheroes coming. They’re going to be doing a workshop with kids, a panel, basically answering their questions in character.
We can’t wait to hear what some of those questions are.
Meena Jain: It usually has something to do with if they wear underwear.
The ALYAC Fest is coming to Ashland Library, 66 Front St., Ashland, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday, July 13. Admission is free but registration is requested. The festival is still accepting applications from young artists who want to display their work. Free parking is available at the library and in the municipal lot across the street.
For the full conversation about ALYAC, stream or download the latest episode of “Strip Search: The Comic Strip Podcast,” below.
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