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Hey Oxford! Check out the upcoming Nerd-Vana Conference
By Alyssa Schnugg
Staff writer
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com
It’s almost time to unleash your inner nerdism and take a short trip back to the mid-90s during the upcoming Nerd-Vana Convention.
The one-day event will take place at 10 a.m. On Aug. 25 at The Powerhouse and will feature a visit from Lane Toran who was the original voice of “Arnold” in the 90s cartoon, “Hey Arnold!”
Lane Toran, the original voice for Arnold of the popular 90s cartoon “Hey Arnold” will be at the Nerd-Vana Conference.
“He will be watching the first episode of ‘Hey Arnold’ with the fans and answering questions after the show,” said Stacy Irby, president and co-founder of Nerd-Vana.
Nerd-Vana was thought up by Irby and a group of his five closest friends a few years ago, who live in Pontotoc and Amory.
“This is the first [type of] event like this in Oxford, but it’s our second year putting on the event,” Irby said.
Another special guest will be Paul St. Peter, an American voice actor who works on English-language productions of Japanese anime shows. Some of this voice overs include Punch in “Cowboy Bebop,” the Kurama in “Naruto,” Yammy in “Bleach” and can be heard as various Digimon. Some of his notable roles in video games include Xemnas in the “Kingdom Hearts” series and Yuan Shao in “Dynasty Warriors.”
The event will include vendors, a Kung Fu demo, Dragon Ball Super card game tournament, a comedy show and live music from Kazha.
Tickets at $15 online before the event and $20 at the door.
An Sh. Figurearts SS blue Vegeta action figure will be given to the winner of the Dragon Ball Super card game.
“We think our event could be enjoyed by everyone, but we think we mainly may catch the college crowd,” Irby said. “We think Oxford has a big ‘nerd’ community because it’s a college town and we know they have various clubs and such on campus.”
Irby said a “nerd” is someone who is passionate about what they like and aren’t afraid to show out.
“We put Nerd-Vana together for the fans and people everywhere,” he said. “If we make money, that’s great but we mostly just want the fans to be happy.”
For more information, visit Nerd-Vana on Facebook. Tickets can be purchased at https://oxfordarts.com/shop/product/797-nerd-vana.
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