1st GalaxyCon launches in San Jose, bringing in thousands to city

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- This weekend, thousands of people from all over are making their way to the South Bay. GalaxyCon, a popular fandom convention with stops across the country, has come to San Jose for the first time.

The ribbon cutting ceremony to kick off the events happened Friday, welcoming fans from all over the world and the celebrities who created their beloved characters. Including, Charles Martinet, the voice behind Super Mario.

Martinet was born in San Jose and was an original member of the San Jose Repertory Theater.

"For the first four years that that theater company existed, I was literally out there on the streets, saying, 'Hey! We're putting a show on. Want to come?'" he said.

Now, Martinet has people coming to him for autographs and pictures.

He's among the iconic performers, Jodi Benson, the voice of Disney's Little Mermaid is another.

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"I got her to sign, Flounder, don't be such a guppy," said an excited attendee Rachelle, who came to the convention from Sacramento.

Iconic performers and celebrities come from all different types of franchises including anime, Fantasy, Star Trek, Star Wars and more.

The convention is bringing in a huge windfall of revenue to the City of San Jose.

"Between 6 and 8 million in total," said Matthew Martinucci, vice president of Sales and Destination Services for Visit San Jose.

A boost to the local economy organizers behind GalaxyCon are thrilled to help usher in after the city lost two of its main fandom conventions.

"San Jose, is a phenomenal city with a very rich history," said Michael Broder, president of GalaxyCon, "The whole Bay Area has a rich history of fandom conventions going back decades."

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Aside from meeting lifelong heroes and picking up intergalactic merchandise, the attendees are also just excited to see each other.

"I have only like a couple days out of the year that I get to see everyone in one place and just kind of all have fun and see what everyone's been up to," said one attendee dressed from head to toe in character clothing.

The fun all started with Friday's ribbon cutting and lasts throughout the weekend

"The city will be alive this weekend because of GalaxyCon," Martinucci said, "So we're really grateful that they came."

GalaxyCon has committed to three years of conventions in San Jose.

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