Heroes, villains and cartoon characters come to life at SRQCon 2025

The least expected place to see superheroes and villains is a library, walking through aisles of booths filled with handmade pieces, art and novels, but that is exactly where these characters came to life.

On Saturday June 7, the Selby Library hosted its annual pop culture convention called SRQCon. Booths filled the library with types of merchandise, from artwork to novels and even handmade crochet pieces. 

Camille Feaser, vendor of Camille’s Crochet booth, had started crocheting when she was 9 years old with her grandmother, but has learned this specific style of crochet from Etsy and YouTube. She fills her booth with many characters spanning from different franchises and universes in the style of plushes.

Feaser also crochets for her local parish, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, for an organization called Prayer Shawl Ministry. 

“We will crochet shawls for people who are in nursing homes. And will do lap robes, which are a rectangular shape. So say, if they basically sit all day, they may also be, in a way, a wheelchair. And it just keeps their legs warm, because, you know, they could get chilly in the air conditioning.” explains Feaser. 

The SRQCon, which is free, has grown over the years. The Selby Library Manager, Brian Rottingen, says they have had five conventions, including a virtual convention during COVID-19.  

The SRQCon doesn’t only serve the heroes fighting crime, but also the heroes in the pages. 

Merab Favorite, Marketing Coordinator for Sarasota Libraries, adds the convention also serves as the perfect way to kick off the summer learning programs provided by the Sarasota Libraries. 

Almost every day from May 31 to Aug. 2 the library has fun activities to keep children's brains active and entertained during the summer lull. Go to SarasotaLibraries.org for more.