OC Zine Fest Kicks Off Tomorrow at Anaheim Public Library

For many, zines are a means of escape from the mundanity of everyday life. For others, they’re used to amplify real life and talk about the issues dearest to them. For others it’s a chance to make handmade art that defies both normal logic and the status quo. No matter how zines hold significance to you, it will be represented at the 4th annual OC Zine Fest, tomorrow August 19 at the Anaheim Public Library.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will take up two floors with pure zine-lover heaven. This is the first year it will be in Anaheim (in years’ past it was held in Downtown Santa Ana).

“People tell us we’re these big players in the Southern California zine culture, but I never really recognize this until people tell me,” said the Weekly’s Calendar editor Aimee Murillo, who also helped organize the zine fest.

Murillo and her co-organizers have been recognized at other zine fests in the area for their efforts in Orange County. They wanted to make an event that catered more specifically to OC natives.

“We wanted the zine fest to be closer to artists living here who couldn’t make it out to LA or Riverside or San Diego,” Murillo said.

After the fest’s first year, Murillo and her team were amazed by the turnout and it has proceeded to double each year.

This year’s event will feature over 100 artists showcasing their new work—everyone from amateurs to professional artists. Along with the zine eye candy will be workshops and panels, including but not limited to: inking, zen meditation, how to make a zine, how to make a self-love tool kit, panels on zines and libraries, women of color and punk, and last but definitely not least: keynote speaker Eva Wojciak, former publisher of NO MAG.

As zine fests pop up throughout Southern California, the OC Zine Fest aims to really cater to the county and talk about zine makers and artists in the OC. The zines represented range in category. Viewers can find zines on anything from feminism and self-love to photography and poetry.

“Generally, people have this desire to publish a message even if they can’t get it published anywhere else,” Murillo said. “It’s inspiring to check out the zine fest and see what kind of zine you’d publish yourself.”

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