Brentwood’s first fandom, cosplay and pop culture convention called NovaCon X is coming soon, and an Oakley family, the Tosuners, has everything to do with it.
“The idea of NovaCon was a family-generated concept,” said Charitie Tosuner. “We’ve always been into theater, arts, costumes, special effects, makeup — and in recent years we became more involved with the cosplay community. With our event-planning experience from large-scale family and friend events, we finally asked ourselves, ‘Why don’t we try to have our own convention?’ ”
Cosplay gatherings are performance-art events at which attendees dress up as characters from various works of fiction, such as anime, manga, other comics, video games television shows and movies. The city of Brentwood is one of the Tosuners’ event sponsors and has given also NovaCon X a grant. Sacramento-based nonprofit group SacGeeks is also an event sponsor and supporter.
“They’ll (SacGeeks will) be helping out on the day of the event as announcers — assisting with stage programming and backstage logistics such as contests and activities,” said Tosuner.
Slated for 3 to 9 p.m. Aug. 2 at the Brentwood City Park, NovaCon X has been created as a family-friendly convention with inclusiion in mind.
“It is designed to be a welcoming, creative space for fans of all backgrounds to connect, express themselves and celebrate their passions — and to be able to do it in a safe, creative and welcoming space, free from judgment,” said Tosuner, who co-founded the youth-driven, nonprofit Lovely Nova Arts this year with her daughter, Layla Tosuner.
“Our nonprofit allows us to design and deliver affordable community events, art workshops and fan-based educational programs (in local libraries, community centers and pop-ups) that many families might not otherwise be able to access,” added Tosuner, who has taught arts-based programs for more than 20 years with Layla working beside her since she was 7 years old.
The day’s events will feature celebrity voice actors and special guests.
“We landed this amazing lineup — we have guests from blockbuster films like ‘Con Air,’ ‘Strange Days,’ ‘Spider-Man,’ ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ ‘Black Panther’ and Marvel’s ‘Winter Soldier’ as well as from beloved franchises like ‘Transformers: Rescue Bots,’ ” said Tosuner.
On the anime side, she said they’re honored to welcome talent from “Hunter x Hunter” and “My Hero Academia” — voices that have inspired young and older fans.
Fanning out themselves, Tosuner added, “Some of them even met with us over Zoom ahead of time, and those calls felt more like conversations with friends than business meetings. They laughed with us, listened, shared stories and treated us like equals — which meant so much.”
There will be live performances by Celiane the Voice, who is a sci-fi and fantasy musician from Oakley, and Mirko Lamonte, a Bay Area guitarist and drummer. Throughout the day, activities will include children’s carnival-themed crafts, a vendor and artist marketplace, a cosplay contest and special cosplay guest showcase and interactive panels, raffles and giveaways. Oh, and don’t forget the food.
“We have a fantastic lineup of food vendors who have booked with us,” said Tosuner. “They’ll be offering boba drinks, ice cream, fresh doughnuts, snacks and fun carnival foods like cotton candy and popcorn. It’s going to be a tasty and festive part of the day — and a great way to support small local businesses.”
The close of the event will feature an after-dark event called “The Starlight Surge: Afterglow Party — The Final Orbit.”
“It’s a family-friendly glow party/rave with a live DJ, glow-in-the-dark games and a dance contest,” said Tosuner. “It’s a fun and exciting way to end the night.”
Layla Tosuner says a lot of thought went into naming the convention and that for her the meaning started back when she was a high school senior.
“I was really into astronomy and the term ‘nova’ comes from the idea of a supernova — a powerful, cosmic explosion that creates something new and bright where there was nothing before,” said Layla. “It represents a burst of creativity, energy and light. That’s what we wanted NovaCon X to be — something that brings inspiration to a place where it didn’t previously exist.”
A particular game also gave her inspiration.
“During my senior year, I found deep inspiration from a game called ‘Undertale,’ ” she said. “Even though it’s ‘just a game,’ it really helped reshape my perspective and kept me encouraged during a hard time. So when we decided to make NovaCon our first event, we chose to theme it after ‘Undertale,’ because this year marks its 10th anniversary.”
And finally, the “X” also has meaning to Layla, who turns 20 on the event day.
“It represents the 10th anniversary, but also something more. I was in a place in life where I was standing in the unknown. X is a variable — it symbolizes the crossroads, the unknown space between who I was and where I was headed,” she said. “NovaCon X represents that intersection, where fandom and people meet and where creativity and connection happen. We hope that’s what the con (convention) becomes for others too.”
Charitie says she feels Brentwood is now ready for cosplay.
“Honestly, it’s long overdue,” she said. “While some people might not be super familiar with cosplay yet and it might even be a little shocking to them, this community is filled with creatives, gamers, artists, anime fans and cosplayers who usually have to travel for events like this.”
And travel they do.
Charitie said most cosplay conventions are held in larger cities, like San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento or Stockton.
The Tosuner family is not really sure why East County has been overlooked, but said there was a con in Concord this year, one of the first, bigger ones in the region, even some smaller-scale ones in Antioch and Pittsburg.
But what makes NovaCon X different, she said, is the great outdoors.
“Most cons are indoors and require admission,” said Charitie. “We chose to do ours outside because we love nature, and we wanted to keep it free and accessible. That way, even if someone’s just curious or unfamiliar with cosplay or fandom culture, they can just wander in and take part without feeling pressured.”
With more than 150,000 impressions on their social media site, they’re conservatively expecting around 500 attendees — but on a larger scale could see between 1,500 and 2,000 throughout the day.
“The support from families, local businesses and the cosplay and fandom communities has been overwhelming in the best way,” said Charitie.
This convention is not all the Tosuners are planning.
“Our dream is to one day open a full performing arts center that includes everything from cosplay, prop-building and costume design to acting, SFX makeup and body art,” said Charitie Tosuner. “Until then, we continue bringing our passion into communities wherever we’re welcomed.”
At the end of the day, Charitie and Layla Tosuner said NovaCon X is more than just fandom.
“It’s about creating opportunities, making people feel seen and building community,” said Charitie Tosuner. “We’re a mother-daughter team leading a nonprofit with creativity at its core. This journey has strengthened our bond and shown our younger family members what’s possible. Layla had the dream … and I took the torch to make it happen. To be honest, seeing her goals come to life is even more important to me than the convention itself.”
Charitie Tosuner says she’s thankful for the Brentwood community.
“We just want to thank the community for their incredible support and excitement,” she said. “Even though this event was created by us, it was made for you — by the fans, for the fans.”
“It’s going to be an unforgettable day,” added Layla Tosuner. “And we can’t wait to see everyone there.”
While general admission is free, tickets for celebrity meet-and-greets, panels and select premium experiences are available for purchase online at novaconx.eventbrite.com. For more information, visit lovelynovaarts.com, facebook.com/NovaconX or instagram.com/NovaconX.
Reach Charleen Earley, a freelance writer and journalism professor at Diablo Valley college, at charleenbearley@gmail.com or 925-383-3072.