Chiavari is preparing to welcome the second edition of ChiavarInCosplay, the Pop Culture festival of the CFC Comics Festival Community circuit, organized by the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Chiavari in collaboration with STEP of the LEG Group.
“Leggerezza – Lightness” is this year’s claimchosen by the artistic directors Alberto Grezzani and Andrea Lucchi, a lightness that is not an absence of content, or depth, but a way to live with lightheartedness a moment of aggregation and integration between generations and very different interests. The English word “Lightness” also indicates the brightness, that on the faces of the public, from time to time amazed, amused, or involved by what was happening in the different areas.
The symbol of the event is always present, that is the long Red Carpet set up in the main street of the city, which will transform Chiavari into a real party for three days. “Hollywood of Cosplay” and will host, in addition to parades and shows, also meetings and exhibitions, entertainment and themed games, involving local realities. Spotlight on the Great Cosplay Parade and the Contestwhich will take place on the long red carpet, winking at the “Night of the Oscars”, with an exceptional jury and specific nominations, as well as highly sought-after prizes for those who will conquer the final. Ligurian musical bands, associations and schools of the area will also perform with many activities created by young students from Chiavari. The festival, in its renewed guise, expands with new thematic areas scattered throughout the three main squares: Piazza Mazzini, Piazza Matteotti and Piazza Roma, connected by the red carpet. Among the new features, the Main Stage in Piazza Mazzini will host many concerts and meetings, including the eagerly awaited performances of Banana Split with Douglas Meakin, Miwa with their “Swing City”, the vocal group ANIMEniacs Corp., Arte Muse and the duo Potara, fresh from their access to the X-Factor Bootcamp, to arrive at the appointment with Cristina D’Avena who will close the event with the magic of the timeless TV theme songs loved by everyone.
“What we are about to tell you is not the result of an individual but of a fantastic team – they declared the artistic directors of the festival Alberto Grezzani and Andrea Lucchi – What struck us last year was the spirit that could be felt along the streets, the lightness perceived in the participants of the event. Lightness in English is a term that has many meanings: not only lightness but also brightness, which we saw on the faces of the public”.
These feelings were transmitted to the poster’s author Alessio Spataro, who interpreted the claim from his point of view, placing in the foreground a family under the arches of the caruggio, intent on finishing their costume and ready to dive into the river of cosplayers on the red carpet behind them. Whoever guesses all the cartoon and comic book characters in the poster will receive a personalized drawing from the artist.
ChiavarInCosplay is getting bigger and everything will be connected by the Red Carpet where you can take the most beautiful selfies in the world. Three squares will be involved: Piazza Mazzini, Piazza Matteotti and Piazza Roma. The Main Stage lands in Piazza Mazzini, where numerous concerts and meetings are planned over the three days, while Piazza Roma will host the Artist Alley, entrusted to Zeth Castle, a true point of reference for the dissemination of comics, with many designers from all over Italy and with the Chiavarese Comics School. In addition, there will be an area dedicated to cinema and another to narrative. The acclaimed phenomenon of K-pop will also be present. In Piazza Matteotti, many exhibitors: gadgets, comics, accessories dedicated to the nerd and pop world. In the same square, other strong points of this edition: laser tag, virtual reality, the area dedicated to dinosaurs, board games and a brand new E-sport section with games to try inside the San Francesco auditorium, curated by QLASH, a leading brand in the sector. The world of LEGO bricks is also the protagonist with an exhibition and many surprises.
Lots of content related to the world of comics and illustrationthis year however with a common thread that will connect all the various guests, to give an important experience to the public: “Comics and unconventional Art”. The area, coordinated by the well-known popularizer of Pop Culture Zeth Castle, will be led by the teachers of the Nuova Scuola del Fumetto Chiavarese Andrea Cuneo, Raffaella Vernazza, Silvia Marino and Davide Marescotti, together with a selection of students, former students and many other artists and colleagues. On stage, topics related to the world of comics and beyond will be discussed: manga and their evolution will be discussed, how the poster was born and how the world of pop culture is evolving will be discussed. The artists will also perform improvisational performances. Among the names present will be Gianfranco Florio, Disney cartoonist and illustrator, Marga Blackbanshee Biazzi, illustrator and cartoonist specialized in children art, folk art and graphic novels, Giulio Mosca known as “Il Baffo”, cartoonist and authentic phenomenon with a following on Instagram of half a million followers and the artist Enrico Macchiavello, author of the advertisement for a famous beer from the 90s, who will also be the protagonist of a personal exhibition with original works at Palazzo Rocca.
The Narrative & Fantasy Area offers three meetings with authors from the world of music, journalism and comics: Guido De Angelis, singer-songwriter, composer and arranger who together with his brother Maurizio created the legendary duo author of unforgettable soundtracks and TV theme songs, will present the book “Il sognatore. Io, gli Oliver Onions e tutta una vita” published by Mondadori; Cristina Penco, a journalist from Genoa specialized in royals and celebrities, will take us on a journey “From fairy tales to reality”, in which fairy tale princesses will be compared with those of the real world; finally Elena Guasco alias Hikari Homura will make an incursion into the fantasy world with her new intriguing book “Pantheon il Desistente”.
Comics & Science is the CNR’s project for scientific communication through comics which promotes the relationship between Science and Entertainment, both important formative moments for the growth of the individual and the citizen: a series of meetings moderated by Jacopo Peretti are planned, which will see artists such as Davide La Rosa, a highly unconventional artist, and Alessio Spataro, author of the official poster.
Rich program also for theArea Movie, coordinated and moderated by Andrea Bedeschi: the 50th anniversary of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, one of the most important horror films in the history of cinema, will be discussed in a talk that will have as speakers two true institutions in the sector: Gabriella Giliberti, television film critic, writer and content creator, and Gabriele Ferrari, journalist for Esquire, Oggi and Focus. Unmissable appointments with the voice actor Lorenzo Scattorin, who among the most famous characters on TV gave voice to Pedro Pascal, interpreter of Joel in “The Last of Us”, both in the TV series and in the two chapters of the homonymous video game, and with the voice actress Rossa Caputo, voice of Charlie in “Hazbin Hotel”, a recent animated phenomenon. Confirmed presence of the voice actor Natale Ciravolo, legendary voice of Captain Kirk from Star Trek and Magnum PI; on stage also Antonella Murolo, from the historic weekly magazine Cioè.
As announced, there will be great protagonists on the Main Stage in Piazza Mazzini: we start with Banana Split and their twentieth anniversary tour, in the company of Douglas Meakin, singer of Superobots/Rocking Horse, voice of legendary theme songs of the 80s such as Candy Candy, Sampei and Il Grande Mazinga. An important anniversary also for the Miwa group, who are celebrating their 25 years of activity and will propose the show “Swing City” at the festival. Dive into the world of Disney with ANIMEniacs, the vocal group directed by maestro Sandro Macelloni fresh from the success of Italia’s Got Talent, who with his “Neverland”, promises to make both adults and children dream. Staying on the theme, Arte Muse will also sing about Disney heroes and heroines with its unmistakable style. Explosive sounds and catchy melodies with the duo Potara, emerging icons of the bubble pop music scene, fresh from accessing the X-Factor Bootcamp. Still lots of color and fun with Cartoonize, Lavalend, Bertaldo, Danny Schipani, Daniele Calise, Alle Tatoo. The always beloved K-Pop phenomenon and the awaited K-Pop Contest cannot be missed on stage. Many meetings: with Kenta Suzuki, considered the greatest Japanese influencer in Italy, with Gisella Cozzo, the queen of TV commercial theme songs, and with the young and talented Japanese-Brescia stand up comedian Yoko Yamada. To the delight of the fans, the queen of TV theme songs Cristina D’Avena will close the festival in style, with an unforgettable concert.
Cosplay will be a major protagonist in Chiavari again this year with many initiatives, interactive games with the public, parades, gatherings, the Miwa group in “street band” version, the fantastic robots of Wasama Creative Factory, the Harry Potter and Vampires themed Escape Rooms of Creativa Eventi, the Tea Party of Steampunk Italia. The Italian Turtles group will be in full force for the first time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Ninja Turtles in Italy. The Cat School Stagefighters, a stunt team that creates performances inspired by the world of video games and cinema, will bring to the festival a flash mob dedicated to Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, the battle between Ezio Auditore and Cesare Borgia. The Jedi Generation group will perform choreographic combat shows with lightsabers. It should be noted that, thanks to the collaboration with Marco Tramonte of Obiettivo Cosplay, the rooms of the splendid Villa Rocca will be transformed into exclusive photographic locations to create particularly suggestive shots.
Lots of space dedicated to gaming: the E-Sport Area curated by QLASH, a leading reality in gaming, with the organization of tournaments of the most famous video games for all levels; Giochi Uniti, a true institution of board games with titles such as Carcassonne and Catan; Asmodee with the latest releases including Star Wars Unlimited, the latest TCG dedicated to the universe of George Lucas; the LEGO exhibition in the hall of Palazzo Rocca curated by the Liguria Bricks Association; for the second year it returns Play: Festival del Gioco, the largest Italian event entirely dedicated to gaming in all its formswith thirty tables set up with innovative and fun board and role-playing games suitable for both enthusiasts and those who want to get closer to this world. Ravensburger will also be present with Lorcana, the new expansion “The Return of Ursula”. Another surprise for card game lovers: ChiavarInCosplay will be an official stop on the OP Cruise, with a fantastic cruise up for grabs.
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