Celebrate Hello Kitty’s 40th Anniversary at the First Hello Kitty Con

Just in time for Hello Kitty’s 40th anniversary, meet the first-ever Hello Kitty convention! Those of us in or near Los Angeles will rejoice to break the mundanity of endless sunshine and traffic jams with the Hello Kitty Con in October, while those away will shake their fists in jealousy as an overload of cuteness rains down over the great City of Angels.

So what happens at a Hello Kitty Con? Well no one could tell you from experience, but the website shows signs of a promising event. There will be speakers, panels, and lots of opportunities for HK shopping, of course. There will also be workshops teaching a variety of crafts, HK collections on display, an arcade, and, of all the things in the world, a HK tattoo shop. I’m not even kidding. There will be a whole team of honest-to-goodness tattoo artists ready to tag the real fans. I sense a regrettable decision in my future.

Hello Kitty Con 2014 will take place at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) from October 30 through November 2, 2014. While you’re in the area, you might want to also swing by Comikaze Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Whether it was happenstance, good planning, or poor planning, both of these cons will occur on the same weekend, just two and a half miles from each other—or as Google Maps puts it, “8 min without traffic.” Without traffic, ha! Good one, Google.

I have my tickets already purchased. Hope to see you there!