Making it to a third consecutive year is a good sign for any cultural movement—especially one that’s literally held together with paper, glue and a few staples. Those materials are definitely a lot stronger than the average phone-coddling Millennial might realize. Which is why it’s so good to see that OC Zine Fest returns this Sunday, reminding folks of a creatively stimulating activity that existed before the dawn of Pokemon Go. The art of designing zines— small, handmade booklets spanning just about every topic imaginable—continues to be a social outlet for many artists and activists alike. That includes our kick-ass Calendar Editor Aimee Murillo, the chief organizer of this free event, which happens on July 24 from 11am-5 p.m. at 457 N. Spurgeon St. in Downtown Santa Ana.
Whether you’re a fumbling beginner or a veteran zine machine, this is your time to learn, swap, sell and schmooze with your artistic ilk in a hassle-free environment during an afternoon of workshops, panel discussions, community and live music. According to their Facebook invite “OC Zine Fest is committed to making all its events a safe space free of racist, sexist, misogynist, ableist, transphobic, xenophobic or other hateful rhetoric.” So basically, no assholes allowed—we wish more festivals would go to such lengths to make that clear.
The workshops start at 1 p.m. in the LGBT Center on 4th adjacent to the zine fest area—305 E. 4th St. #200. Various topics for these presentations include how to get your zine into a public library, as well as sustainable DIY creative spaces. And to make this a real family affair with the Weekly, we’ve got the paper’s Mexican-in-Chief Gustavo Arellano leading a talk with Love & Rockets comic legend Jaime Hernandez on his career, storytelling through comics and bringing strong Latina characters to the mainstream, as well as other miscellaneous topics in this lively and intimate conversation. Sounds like a good one!
Also we’ve got fabulous Weekly freelancer/Alice Bag drummer Candace Hansen leading a discussion on queer and feminist activism, which she’s written plenty about in our pages.
The full schedule, including info about the after party at Diego’s presented by Top Acid, is available here. For a full list of vendors at the event, click here. Have fun, learn something new and as always, watch out for paper cuts.
