At this weekend's FLORIDA SUPERCON, more comic and sci-fi fans than Miami's ever seen gathered to meet, greet, and costume play-- 'cosplay' for short.
The event at the Miami Airport Convention Center drew an estimated 20,000 fans and cosplayers from Thursday to Sunday. Attendance rose sharply from last year's crowd of 15,000.
Most of the crowd came from all over Florida, while some fans came from as far away as Denmark and Brazil. The event has been going strong for the past eight years.
The event featured a costume contest, a music festival and celebrity panels. Guests included actors George Takei and Adam Baldwin.
SUPERCON's renown has grown quickly over the past few years, several attendees noted.
Miami's event has developed a reputation for being very friendly, according to cosplayers Amandee Lee and Steven Haring of Port Saint Lucie, who have attended cosplay conventions all over the country.
"The people just seem a lot friendlier. They’re more apt to walk up to you and be like, ‘your costume’s amazing, can I take a picture with you?’ " Lee said of the Miami event. She and Haring entered the costume contest together.
Below are some of our favorite costumes from this year's event: