SAN ANTONIO — Pop culture and nerd culture collided in New Braunfels this weekend for the 8-Bit Block Party.
"We were originally going to have it in 2020, but with COVID and everything, it got shut down. So, we backed us up a little bit." said Jannette DiPiazza, one of the organizers of the 8-bit block party, which runs through Sunday July 16th.
But don't let the name confuse you. The 8-Bit Block Party is about more than just video games in fact it has something for everyone from Anime fans, Science fiction and Fantasy enthusiasts and comic book fans.
"This is an everything convention," said cosplayer Preslie Belladonna.”
"It's Gundams, it's anime, video games. Is Pokémon, it's Halo," she said. "Everything is here."
Fellow cosplayer The Crimson Victoria sat dressed as Super Mario next to Belladonna, who was dressed as Luigi. Each of them have turned dressing as their favorite characters into a way to pay the bills. Partly, because of conventions like 8-Bit Block Party.
"Depending on the event. You make up you can make it from like 100 bucks a gig to maybe like a thousand depending on the size of the gig and what you have on your table."
"Cosplay is a huge part of the convention culture because conventions are like a celebration of everything you love."
DiPiazza said the convention also partnered with Heroes N More, a group of cosplayers, which she is a member of, that raises money to grant wishes for children with debilitating illnesses.
"We usually dress up in their favorite characters they've been going through horrible, you know, they're sick, They're or they're feeling terrible. And, you know, here comes their favorite character, a gift for them,” she said. “And it really brightens their day. And that's what we try to do."