Metro Con and How you Can Grow Beyond your Founder

Opening Ceremonies 2019

This weekend would had been Metro Con last year, but Metro Con this year would had been held on the 11th to the 14th of July but due COVID-19 the event got cancelled and even if it was a low punch, we understand the circumstances and there is always one in the future that I can always go.

Metro Con for me is my first convention ever, I went to the conventions when I was 32 years old, I went because a former friend who knew I followed certain Youtuber, so she asked me to go with her and I said OK, I was mesmerized by the convention as it was my first event ever but that's a story for another day.

Aggretsuko Cosplayers

I find the story of Metro Con fascinating because there are plenty of activities, great cosplayers, the vendor's hall is a little bit small and the merchandise is not that varied but still you can find cute things and there is not a big artist alley but the soul of the convention are the cosplayers. A lot of the people that go are super creative with their cosplays, and is just fascinating to take photos but also to see what the cosplayers will do every year.

Continuing with the convention cases, this example goes with the San Japan case I exposed not long ago in which the founder got involved in a problem because he got exposed saying racist commentaries about guests followed by an empty excuse on Facebook in which he said he only followed whatever the attendees want.

The aspect on this case is what Metro Con did to linger out of the founder's image after he got arrested for statutory rape on 2009, which several reports indicated that over the years he was in to predatory practices before being arrested and subjected to register as such.

Looking at old articles, one from Anime News Network when the problem happened, the current CEO and Owner Alex Craddock "Roy Harms is our CEO, and a very close friend of mine. I trust him with my life, my dreams, and my 4-year-old child, and so would anyone else that has ever met the man." He continues,

"An arrest does not mean a conviction to or admittance of the crime being charged. In this particular situation there is one thing required for an arrest to be made, and that is a claim."
A problem with that statement, is that people seems to had forgotten about it, but even so Alex kept part of the promise that he made in the public statement 11 years ago and made the event family friendly over the years, and there hasn't been any sights of Roy inside Metro Con but that doesn't mean he still active.

Another problem and Alex statement is that Roy was convicted but not incarcerated, a quick search on the Florida Database he is still there, he got registered and he still subject to visitations from the county, but the problem is that even with visitation Roy was still present outside of Metro Con, such as 2017 in Holiday Matsuri and Omni Expo around 2016, even his Linkdn profile marks him as active on public events as a Trade Show Consultant which is somewhat hypocritical that he has still somewhat of a controlled access to a computer but there is no way to find if he is active on social media, but even a small search around Twiiter pop results about his doings being a sexual predator.

Now, what really happened that people essentially forgot about this scandal? The answer is no, people who are familiar with the development of Metro Con and have been going through the years they still speak about this incident, and people who are newer but get well positioned within the convention scene they also know it, I learned from a friend who has been going there from 12 years and it chilled my spine because is somewhat of an open secret.

But, the operations and how the event is promoted has essentially distanced from the era of Roy Harms, which from the information I had found under the tutelage of Alex has been positive and more fan oriented events had been placed inside the convention, but also they had brought people that are meaningful and varied within the guest spectrum over the years up to the point that as time pass by, there is not too much mentioning of Roy Harms at all that he was ever the person who founded Metro Con.

RichaadEB

RichaadEB

Last July I had the chance to go to Metro-Con in Tampa Bay, it was the first time I was also going for the four days of the convention as last year I only went for Saturday and it was also the first time I was going to a con which was a fantastic experience.

This year it was amazing, not only because I had the chance to finally meet several cosplayers that I've been following but for the first time I had the opportunity to meet him thanks to Metro Con in Tampa Bay, Florida but also besides the meet and greets he was playing for the first time in a live show and it was incredible.

The first moment I saw RichaadEB it wasn't on the concert itself, it was on the first day of the convention that myself and my friend Kim who we always go together to these events.

My surprise was that he was already there also, he was walking along with Caleb Hyles and Jonathan Young, among Caleb's wife and Thundersque. All the people I admire were walking not far away from where we were sitting listening music as on the first day there aren't many forums as well many cosplayers.

They passed and say hello, I couldn't even muttered a word because I was excited to see them all, much of the reason I like Metro Con as a convention is that you as an attendee have the chance to see the guests walking among everyone and posing for photos, from all the conventions I've been you never get a more one-on-one experience as is Metro Con plus the cosplayers are just awesome.

RichaadEB is just the epitome of smooth but also extremely cool, his style on stage is just smooth as the chords on his guitar but also his stage presence is just unique, I am trying to think someone who Richaad reminds me of but there is no one.

His demeanor is just smooth and calm much as the audiovisual content he create, his stage persona translates perfectly on the stage as well on the interaction with his fans but listening to him play live is just a unique experience because his hammers, his pinch harmonics is just flawless, I can go on and on on his technique because honestly it really impressed me.

The first time I heard about RichaadEB it was when YouTube was on is first years, I was trying to find covers of Final Fantasy but also find music that I never found in Colombia, at first I found the channel of ToxicxEternity and from there some of the channels that YouTube suggested was eRock and RichaadEB back when Richaad was going by his non artist name and I got stuck.

Over the years Rich has dangled between nerdcore, hard rock and metal; his fusion of styles is just so cool, he can make you rock to the Tetris A Theme or Kirby's Gourmet Race and add humor to his videos which the production values are extremely good but also catchy. Probably one of the aspects that made me a life long fan of RichaadEB is his humor, is just subtle but also that nerds can relate.

The meet and greets were quite nice also, great way to speak with the guests and take photos. Probably could be because of the intense schedule, but I noticed that Rich is a man of few words but also extremely eloquent and really pleasant with his manners; it was also fun to see a musician that I been following for almost a decade for the first time.

Besides all of that, one aspect I love about RichaadEB it is his involvement within the Undertale music, not only on the official soundtrack but also the covers, his cover of Death by Glamour with Family Jules is just even better than the one in the game, is full of energy and the two personalities contrast in an release of energy which make the final audiovisual product incredibly dynamic.

Caleb Hyles is Kawaii

Property of Gus Calvo (Metro Con 2018)

I've probably been following Caleb's career for a long time, I can honestly even remember the first time I heard him while I was looking for Full Metal Alchemist covers and I ended up becoming a full fledged fan with his rendition of Defying Gravity.

Albeit his biggest assets besides his incredible voice are his charisma and that his authentic, what you see on-screen within his music videos or his streaming's at his Twitch account is him, an incredible genuine guy who can make anyone feel welcome.

Last year on 2017 I had the chance to see him for the first time along with Jonathan Young at Metro Con, I missed the concert but I made it on time to check their Disney Sing-A-Long, it was fun, and it was also my first time going to a con, I couldn't honestly believe they were there.

They sounded as they were in the music videos, people in the sing-a-long room where going euphoric, they were excited to interact with their idols and be in the same stage as them but they were happy to see them live; a year later, I had the chance not only to be back on Metro Con  but to see the concert of 2017 and it was awesome, the fans were happy singing along and repertoire was incredible.

Myself and my friend Kim who was the one who introduced me to the world of the cons we sat down outside the auditorium, I was happy just to have a chance to see them in person, when my friend saw they were leaving the auditorium surrounded by fans she was excited too as it was myself who passed their music to them, she knowing I am a fan of Caleb Hyles said to me you should go before you lose your chance, I only replied "there is always a next year, but I am happy just by the chance to see him and Jon live"

After the fans were asking for photos and autographs, an improvised session happened just in front of us and they were there near room 23, they ask if it was OK for me and my friend if they could the session there, they even ask the Metro staff and they didn't objected. My friend again ask if if I was going to say hello but the nerves collided and I was there watching but being happy.

A year later, or summer 2018 I went back to Metro Con, after seeing that he and Jon were invited I bought the ticket as soon as possible and as always when it reached July me and my friend we went again, we even made a tradition to go as many cons even for one day but Metro Con has become the it event for events, cosplayers and music.

The first day I was excited, we saw each other and we spend a good chunk of the day listening to music and going to a few panels. Yes, on the comic cons you have people outside any events playing music on the hallways of the con, again at a certain time around 3PM on Thursday we saw them, Caleb's wife was there too and RichaadEB who got invited was along with Thunderesque, I panic one more time and it was something that never happened to me before as I am usually not a nervous person but there was a group of people I deeply admire in real life.

On Saturday after shopping some items and I didn't wanted to hang out on them I took them to the car, on the way I inbox Caleb as I wanted to say hello before the concert started, in the mean time I was also getting messages from a friend who was also going and they were going to the concert and they were waiting for Caleb also, he was going to let them in, when I was heading to the second floor in between the communication, I got another message from Caleb that he was heading to Kelsan but he was also on the second floor.

I never imagined meeting someone I admire as much under those exact circumstances, chasing each other and chasing another person. I saw him by mere casualty before taking the electric stairs for the first floor, out of nowhere I let my voice create the most loudest but bass tone I could generate and in between the noise he heard me, there was this big smile in both of our faces and there was an honest hug as if we knew each other in real life as long as memories could take us.

After we met with the other person, Caleb took us inside before the concert started and we sat the sound check and met with RichaadEB and Jonathan Young, neither myself or Kelsan we couldn't believe it, we were there before everything started and it was an unforgettable experience, the sound it was incredible and the show was extremely entertaining and funny

The last day I had the chance to get a few merchandise items getting signed, in between those items those items there is one of the CD's with covers, the cover itself is extremely kawaii and it follows that style of Japanese form of animation that the characters are bishonen in which the characteristics are made to be as cute as possible.

The album is a series of covers to Anohana, Naruto, Yuri on Ice and One Punch Man, which make the album have a great feel good vibes, in which you can enjoy on a quiet afternoon.

Much of the songs can be found also on Caleb's channel for free, the only exception but I am not even sure is the Unravel - piano version as I never heard that one before on his channel.

The essence of the album is just pure and wonderful, it's enjoyable as it has happy tunes around, it really uplift the spirits of anyone; but, also it's a reflection on how music that is aimed for nerds can reach to anyone; in 20 years I wouldn't imagined people singing along to anime intro's and lesser gathering to celebrate nerd culture. Kawaii is a testament on how one person can gather so many people through music, make them feel they are friends for a long time but also to let anyone find friends within his community of #peaceloveandmetal.

Kawaii is one big celebration to the conventions where people can gather and be their authentic selves; Kawaii is a celebration to friendship.

A Year in Cosplay Part 3

At this moment, it has been a year for me going to the comic book conventions; each one of them is a complete different world from one another and every year even the experience is completely different. One goal that I have for my second year is to create a full line-up for the conventions that I am going, so far my I have a few choices such as Sans from Undertale, Morty, Evil Morty and to do something steampunk along with Deadpool, I still have until May to decide what I want to do and how much I want to invest.

My yearly cycle ended with Mega Con Tampa which was the first one I went for the full duration mostly because I wanted to see Stan Lee and also to learn more of the experience. It has been an interesting year going through the different ones as I saw that each con has their own set of rules but also it attracts different set of people.

You can find different cosplayers going to i.e. Tampa Bay Comic Con from what you see in Metro Con and Mega Con Orlando, so if you are going to take photos you have one chance only to request them as cosplayers go on a limited time and much of the time they only have their cosplays for a certain time of the day before they change to another.

Depending on the area, vendors will usually go to the same cons, some vendors are only found on convention grounds and they do not offer their services outside the events, which is good to keep their business cards as they can always become handy if you are looking to update items on your cosplay or to purchase something in particular.

There are plenty of Cons in Florida all year long, I think the last big one is on December 14th and that is Holiday Matsuri in Orlando which it will be the first year I am going and I honestly don't know what to expect, but after going to 10 in the last 12 months I learned which one is my favorite, which one I can take better photos, which ones I am going for the full duration or other ones I am going exclusively for the panels.

Metro-Con so far has been my favorite ever in Central Florida, is just perfect on terms of fan approaching, you have amazing cosplayers everywhere, the hosts walk among everyone, you can take photos with them in the hallways; the panels incredible and the shows the cosplayers put on every corner are worthy for the photos but also entertainment.

Price wise Metro Con is probably the best one in terms of being budget friendly, since autographs do not cost (I don't know if rules will change next year) guests usually sign the merchandise you buy from them, they don't charge for photos either, the vendor's hall is small but has a good selection and is not limited only to the vendor's room as you can find some other vendors around the convention center.

Metro also is the only one that has a Maid's Cafe in all the Tampa scene, which adds an extra value and from what I heard the food in the cafe is really tasty and affordable, I am definitively buying it for next year as I missed this year because of doubts as if I was going to like it but after talking with the maids and reading the reviews I realized I made a mistake so I postpone it as I also never been to a maid's cafe before.

There is nothing much I can say, but next year I am going to write a series of entries towards each convention and each entry will be based on the days I am going. Thank you for reading me and I hope you have a nice day also.

A Year in Cosplay and Comic Cons Part Two

The Salvatorian Way

Etiquette is everything at the conventions or in other words "Cosplay is not Consent" that describes the major set of rules whenever you are participant in any con, but there are other implicit rules that you can learn with the experience.

As I mentioned in the last entry there is a lot to learn whenever you go to the cons, the first day can be extremely overwhelming as there is a sensory overload on everything, there is music as many guests like to play on the hallways if they don't interrupt certain panels, there are dance gatherings, cosplayers posing for photos (which this will be discussed later) hosts looking to attract people to their panels, etc... there is a lot to do all day long.

Planning ahead is the key, but also there has to be a moment of your day that you can dedicate to take photos of the cosplayers, is fun to see how much detail they invested but also how much they bring the essence of the character to life. Not long ago I overheard a friend of mine saying Sometimes studios should hire cosplayers, because they can recreate costumes better and they bring the characters to life better. In essence that became part of my motto when taking photos.

There is one social component that you have to know "conventions attract a lot of people, they are a safe heaven for many introverts (including myself), people within the spectrum, LGBT+, people with social anxiety and other psychological issues, I do not know how to say it properly but the most eloquent way I can express is "Conventions are places that have a demographic that pay to go to socialize, because they know they will feel safe, is a zone with no judgments and even if you see cosplayers that project certain aura with their costumes, please respect their personal spaces".

Whenever you are taking photos remember to say please and ask politely, if the cosplayer refuses keep walking because they deserve time for their privacy, it's easy to understand. Also remember there will be younger cosplayers that are accompanied by their parents or guardians, and always ask permission, because they as human beings also deserve their privacy to be respected as they want to enjoy the experience too.

Jada.

I can't seriously offer any trick of getting a good casual, candid photography I used to master that skill a long time ago when I had to act as my crew when I was working in the media, but for every good photo there are at least a 100 bad ones. Whenever you are walking on the aisles of the convention as we mention before be polite to the cosplayers, say hello, ask how the initiate into cosplay, how they create or from what vendors they find their supplies? There are plenty of way to start a conversations and make friends with similar interests.

Vendor hall can be interesting, because usually at least on the Florida circuit it will contain the artist section and the autograph lane, it will be all together, sometimes it can get too crowded but you can find the best cosplayers roaming there, but be patient and let them do their business as they are there like you, to have fun.

Now that we are talking about photos and etiquette, I do follow a series of rules to navigate to any public event but I modified them whenever I am in the conventions, whenever I am looking for a photo I always try to look for any person who gets my attention (I do not go for people with no little to no clothing, is just one of my rules) but what gets my attention? A cosplayer who is having fun but also that captures the essence of the character.

On the last time I went to Metro Con there was an event of Boku No Hero, several cosplayers went as the characters but I only found one almost at a last moment on Saturday that got my attention, a young woman dressed as Inko Midoriya, between all the Deku's and the League of Villains, there was someone who got my attention because she captured the essence of the character. We have to think, conventions on a larger or medium scale they bring around 10 k people and that's on the busiest day that is Saturday, so trying to find Inko became an almost impossible feat.

After trying to find her for a few hours, I gave up and I decided to go to the autograph lane to try to get one or two before going to another panel, to my surprise Inko was walking near the line of the autographs and I knew I had to take the chance, I approached her and ask her as I ask everyone in the most polite way if I could get a photo, because I never saw anyone dressed as Inko less with the props she had which was a board saying Proud of My Son which also displayed several photos of Deku.

Going forward in time, a couple of days later thanks to the Facebook group and good social media skills between the participants, the photos of Inko where published and they were one of the most heartwarming photos I ever saw; she brought the character to life, she looked proud of the Deku's that where in the photo ops, I do not know how to describe it but it was one of those moments framed in time on why gatherings as comic cons are important, because they are spaces of self expression.

Another cosplayer who goes by The Salvatorian Way made a cosplay related to the Sponge Bob episode where he and Patrick sell chocolate to Mary and her mother; it was one of those cosplays as he said made with a tight budget but checking on social media it was a hit, nobody around the area has done something like that and it was extremely and creepy when he was asking for chocolate with Mary's Mother voice around the convention center.

Kurosaki as Deku

One of my biggest inspirations in the cosplayer circuit has been for over a year a woman named Kurosaki Cosplays, she and her troupe represent the kindness on how veterans receive newcomers as myself, besides my friend Kimmy who was the one who introduced me to the conventions, Kuro is one of those friends that through her account shows a detail on tutorials, convention life and photo ops.

Probably the first memory I have of Kurosaki is on how she made everyone feel welcome, and this is one of the photos I have that reflect the happiness.

Probably my main goal by going to the conventions became to celebrate the cosplayers, the freedom of every day life they represent but also the ability they have to unite people with their creations. In a year I had gathered for my personal use around 8,000 photos of the conventions I been, probably by next year that number will double.

A Year in Cosplay and Comic Cons Part One

I haven't wrote too much lately; I been in the process of finding my own voice at a late age in life, for a long time I was having issues writing, creating content and drawing, I felt as if my voice was shut down after a long time but part of my soul and physical being were still active towards creating and interacting with other people.

My friend Kim, last year ask me probably for a fourth time if I wanted to go to Metro Con and as many times I replied "I'll think about it" after checking that two of my favorite musicians which are Caleb Hyles and Jonathan Young where invited I feel some regret that I didn't requested on time the days to go; but certain cosmic event the one who was my assistant manager which later became my manager ask me if I could switch with someone else my schedule, which let me had Saturday off.

Without hesitation, I said "yes!" I will take Saturday off and work the next day without any problem. As soon the schedule change happened I called Kim and explained that I was heading for the convention, it was going to be my first time officially and I was excited because I finally could see two of my favorite musicians but also to sit down and spend time with my friend.

On the way to Metro, I realized I forgot to ask her about parking space as I had no clue about that bare necessity that within Tampa is a privilege because it rains way too much and I ended up parking on a spot that cost me US$40 which I could had avoided if I knew I could park behind the hotels or in the convention center and the overall of the experience for the four days would had been US$40 and it would be under roof.

A year later, I finally took the time to explore the options through the website as every con offers information about parking spaces and they aren't expensive, but as a newbie I made the mistake on my first day towards finding parking; second, it wasn't difficult to navigate through the tickets and security check points, in fact it's quite straight forward but every single convention is different and if you buy the tickets in advance it can be annoying as well if there is a carryover promotion from one year to the other, because people who volunteer aren't properly trained to know what to do with certain sales.

One aspect, one important aspect you need to know is to bring money because if you want autographs, celebrities won't take credit card and a similar situation applies to the artists in the artist hall, where not all of them will take plastic; but the vendors they usually 99% have PayPal or any other similar form of payments such as Apple Pay. also some vendors they can hold your purchase before the vendor hall closes and you can retrieve it before you go home which is really convenient.

Food wise not all the convention centers offer the same variety, the Orlando Convention Center offers an amazing variety of food that is tasty and varied but opposite to the convention center in Tampa Bay, that the food options are extremely limited the people who are assisting should note what restaurants are near and if they will fulfill their dietary needs on site our outside.

A good thing about the two convention centers I mentioned is that they are located near different food establishments, as food on site can become a problem due the high prices they place to create a profit. Walking distance in Tampa is better because there are a lot of stuff around, while in Orlando walking near International Drive it will take a lot of your day and not even thinking about using Uber Eats or any other delivery service because that is an extra amount to your budget.

Set a budget if you go to the vendor's hall and artist alley, same with autographs, set a budget that is friendly to you, that you know you will have money to eat and pay for parking and won't screw you over until your next paycheck, which is important that you can enjoy your experience to the fullest.

Organizing your time is essential to enjoy the panels, as much of the panels are only an event for the day and that's it and they usually aren't repeated by the subsequent year, sometimes newer hosts go and panels that aren't that full tend to be the best ones on some cases as it leads the interactions better and you can learn about the culture and social norms that are within the conventions, but also to meet other nerds and make friends on the panels.

Lines can become ridiculously long, is also one reason I had avoided so badly doing photo ops as I feel I can lose some valuable time exploring other faces of the cons, albeit from friends that I made on the cons they mentioned that the photo ops are actually quite fast and whenever they are group photos they are even faster. Some of the things that bothered me but is understandable is the fees that are payed for the photo ops and selfies, they are negotiated by the celebrities and the agents.

Not all the guests charge for photos and autographs and also that depends on the convention, my experience with Metro Con and Mega Con was split, to explain better I will divide this with each con. Mega Con brings A-List to Central as well it has a section dedicated to content creators and cosplayers, regards is Mega Con Tampa or Orlando, in Mega Con the celebrities charge each for the autograph, now the tricky part comes to understand the rules some of the cosplayers who are invited charge for the photo as it part of their personal branding and it can go between US$10 to US$25 but they don't charge for the autographs, albeit more famous cosplayers i.e. Jessica Nigri or Yaya Han will also have package included within the photo ops.

Metro Con is far more interesting as is less celebrity oriented but more fan oriented, which it can be unique towards the experience. They also bring cosplayers, but they don't have a specific space as they are outside interacting with fans and they blend in, which you can be sitting anywhere and suddenly expect one of the cosplayers that are guests and throw a small show in the middle of the hallway. Also with Metro since it's more fan oriented you can get more merchandise related to the guest and even get autographs for free if you bring anything to sing, but I will continue talking about my experience in my first year as a con goer in an upcoming entry.

LGBTQA+ Importance and Visibility in Steven Universe

Ruby and Sapphire Cosplayers @Metrocon 

I been thinking for over a month what approach I can take writing this entry, and today I found the inspiration at Metro Con Tampa, which is an anime and video game convention but it also bring some really good cosplayers to town, as well fans of the seminal show of Rebecca Sugar "Steven Universe"

Today I finally saw with more clear eyes after last weekend at Metro Con in Tampa, Florida; the fans (at least the segment who aren't toxic) found a way to express themselves not only through what happens on the cartoon but socially.

The convention was the first place I could finally see it on my many LGBTQA+ enjoyed the show so much (including myself) and the importance of the themes it offer. Let's start that the show itself is set on a fantastical enviroment with aliens but also it follows topics as acceptance, happiness and finding your true authentic self.

The show itself can be compared to the pop culture status that Avatar: The Last Air Bender had 18 years ago, it's one of those rare shows that can reach to people easy because of the message it offers but also that it aims to the community which most of the time is ignored in the prime time television. At the convention I realized how critical how Rebecca's creation has been, especially in the last two years were the most vulnerable point of the LGBT being the Transgender, gender non conform, non binary parts of the community have their rights attacked over and over, and having a show that is inclusive gives a voice of reaffirmation to their identities but also having a space of self-expression without fear.

If we analyze the characters, much of the main characters that are the gems have no gender as their bodies are just a mere construction of light, like hard-holograms, they can modify their own bodies but they always go by their personal pronouns which are always she and live in a matriarch oriented society; each gem also have a peculiar ability to fuse and create a new form of life while the new form of life can act independent, the gems that compose the new creation need to be under constant harmony to keep the new one stable.

Gems such as Garnet (and by default Ruby and Sapphire) act on the spectrum that an emotional stable partnership can originate wonderful results into tow individuals, but also it shows that gender itself can be fluid, that we aren't bounded to our own preset notions about who we are an individuals.

We can see main characters are gender fluid, not only the main Gems but Steven himself, as he doesn't comfort with his boy attires but on ocassions he dress with women clothes (sure it can serve for comedic purposes depending on the view) but also when he and Connie fuse they become a different persona, a persona that is not referred by male or female pronouns but rather by neutral such as they or them, which I can't think of a television show on mainstream and less in a children's show.

Not only the show focus on the dynamics of who we are, but with who we relate to and who we love. Maybe the best example is with Pearl and Pink Diamond, is an unrequited love in which also mixes the different social status people have depending on where they were born and money. Pearl fall in love with Pink but Pink never reciprocate it, even if they were close enough to do a fusion, Rose never loved Pearl.as a potential partner but rather as a close friend.

The structure of the episodes is quite simple that a child can understand that the gems are complex beings, that use female pronouns but are agender, they can be aromantic or even express feelings; and the same episode structure can be enjoyed by adults because they are seeing the drama and epic elements that maybe a child can dismiss, albeit to a generation of children that are more vocal and there are parents who can be supportive of identity expression and sexuality, Steven Universe offers what other shows don't which is the ability to connect with their audience on a one on one and give them ideas on how to express their creativity in public spaces but in private, but overall the show gives a message of unity that we as a community we need.