Comic Con event returning to Sunrise Mall this month

By Sara Beth Williams–
An event dubbed “Not Your Typical Comic Con” is slated to return to the Sunrise Mall on Jan. 20-21, 2024.

The Weekend Blender event will feature vendors with collectables, comic books, clothing, pop culture merchandise, anime, superhero, retro and vintage culture merchandise, toys and games, and everything in between. There will also be cosplayers who interact with attendees, special celebrity guests, and cosplay contests.

The event was last held at the Sunrise Mall in July 2023 and brought a spike in foot traffic, according to a prior story by The Sentinel.

The Weekend Blender is organized by Pete Salazar, who began hosting the semi-Comic-Con events in 2009 at the Sierra Vista Mall in Clovis, California, with a handful of vendors who sold arts and crafts, toys, and collectibles.

Salazar said last year’s event turnout at the Sunrise Mall was small but “definitely fun and had a good vibe.” He added that mall management expressed interest in continuing the weekend blender events and that participating vendors were excited for the new venue, and satisfied with the turnout, considering it was the first event held in a new city.

“It was definitely something to build off of,” Salazar said.

Currently, Salazar organizes up to six Weekend Blender events per year in three different malls, including Sunrise Mall, and is committing to two events per year, per mall.

This year’s Weekend Blender will be held Saturday, Jan. 20 from 11 a.m-8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 21 from 12-6 p.m. inside the Sunrise Mall’s main hallway. The event is free and family friendly, with no parking fee. This year’s celebrity guest is Carla Perez whose IMDB credits include Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1994-1996), and several more Power Rangers spin offs, where she played the villain, Rita Repulsa.

“I want this event to be a safe place for artistic expression and love of family,” Salazar said, adding that he hopes to build and grow the event to include more vendors and more family activities in the future.