Otaku Market Gathering delights anime fans at The Source OC

O.M.G. Market: Cosplayers, Fan-Made Merch and Special Performances (Christian Aguilar-Garcia/Lariat)

Numerous crowds gathered Saturday evening at The Source OC shopping center in Buena Park to show their appreciation and support for the collaborative efforts of Ronin-Expo and TitanCon. The partnership resulted in the creation of O.M.G Market; an event for fans of anime with vendors, performances and special guests throughout the day.

(Christian Aguilar-Garcia/Lariat)

“So we had planned on doing this event again since the last time we did the turnout was pretty good, so this is actually the second time that we’ve done O.M.G. Market and this is actually the first year we’ve done the event off campus,” said O.M.G. Market event organizer Earl Martin Momongan. “People are more interactive this time around, and I think having it as an outdoor market and keeping it free to the public is working out for the best.”

This mentality of keeping the event open and free to the public proves to be a wise decision as among the crowds of cosplayers and anime enthusiasts are general shoppers who find themselves in a new environment. The situation could not be more advantageous for the various vendors who arrive to the event stocked with all manner of homemade stickers, buttons and posters. As these events tend to thrive on the secondhand market as one of the main draws, each booth is carefully decorated to draw the eye and encourage the sale.

(Christian Aguilar-Garcia/Lariat)

“This is my second year at O.M.G. Market, I did my first event back in November and I’m hoping to return again next year,” said Vendor Vy Nguyen. “I kind of do this as a hobby, but this is also kind of full-time, since I have my own machines, I can make any kind of button or sticker and people tend to like those and since turnout is great, this is a good event to sell at.”

While many of the visitors arrive for the chance to purchase merchandise, some attendees arrive to display the hard work that is involved with making their personal costumes and as such, a wide variety of cosplay is abundant at the event. Everything from heroes and villains to characters from both anime and video games are on display.

(Christian Aguilar-Garcia/Lariat)

“Whenever I catch wind of any events, I usually gear up like this and come out,” said Cosplayer AJ Descalsota. “It’s pretty cool, as far as a first experience at O.M.G. Market, this is pretty epic!”

Plans for a future O.M.G Market event are currently in progress.

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