DC Zinefest, July 28, 2012

This past Saturday, Erica and I drove down to the Nation's Capital, but it wasn't to soak in a historic museum or try to rub elbows with a diplomat.  Instead, we were in the northern part of the city to attend the 2012 edition of the DC Zinefest.

We had wanted to go last year, but could not attend for personal reasons.  Reports from the show were quite positive, and we were excited to make it this time.  It did not disappoint at all!

The show ran from 11 to 5, and we got there about 2PM, to find that the hall was hopping and filled with people looking at a wide variety of zines.  Everything from mini-comics to lit zines to personal zines were available to anyone who took the time to examine the three dozen or so tablers at the show.

Most of the tables belonged to individual zinesters (or those who work together), but there were also a few distros from different parts of the country, giving the show a wider variety.  I was pretty impressed with how far some folks traveled to come to the zinefest, but I guess if you pair it up with a trip to DC, it makes sense.

Carolyn at her Curls Studio Table
Part of the fun of going to any show is seeing your comics/zine friends, and this was no exception.  I spent some time catching up with Carolyn from Curls Studio as well as Katie Omberg, and Erica also had a few people who she knew and spoke to, such as Dirk Keaton and Sari (of You've Got a Friend in Pennsylvania).  We also missed a few people, just by getting there in the afternoon, so sorry to anyone we missed!

Look at how busy!
I was really impressed by how busy the show was, even by the end of the day.  We stayed about two hours and the aisles were pretty much as crowded as the picture above indicates for the entire time.  Best of all, it looked like people were actually taking the time to have good conversations with others and actually picking up zines.  It's nice to see so many trades and purchases, showing that zines and minis are still a valid way of talking about life.

We had an excellent time at the show, and hope to be able to go again in 2013.  If you are in the area and are interested in zines, this show is well worth the trip!

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