I recently attended Fan Expo in New Orleans and had a wonderful time connecting with creators of every kind. I was in awe of the highly skilled vendors selling hand-crafted items. It was a delight to walk the show floor and admire the creative costumes. The highlight of the day for me was the panel with the Hobbits from the Lord of the Rings movies (Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan).

This was my first time attending Fan Expo, and my first time cosplaying. I dressed as Flamme from the manga/anime Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. It felt like an appropriate costume given Season 2 of the anime is releasing on January 17. Read my review of Frieren here (mild spoilers for Season 1).

I cannot adequately describe the energy at the show. It was magical (pun intended). You could feel the passion and excitement of attendees and vendors alike.

The coolest moment of the day was when a fellow cosplayer dressed as Frieren asked for a photo with me!

I got some cool Frieren merch, and my husband picked up an epic engraved wooden Thror’s Map (from The Hobbit – yes, we are huge LOTR fans in this house!).

I’m looking forward to attending another convention soon, whether that turns out to be a Fan Expo or writing conference. There’s just nothing like a live event to energize me. This was the perfect start to 2026!