On Friday, April 17, Patten Free Library in Bath will kick off the Japanese Cultural Weekend with a mini “Manga Con” event for teen anime fans. The event is free and open to the public; the target audience is teens and ‘tweens who are interested in anime and manga.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. in the library’s second floor Community Room with a celebration of Japanese art forms and food. Participants may come dressed as their favorite manga character (not required, but there will be prizes) and participate in different activities.

Local cartoonist/illustrator Vance Bessey will staff an artist’s table and share quick tips on drawing manga. PFL reference librarian Laurel Cox will staff a library table and demonstrate how to use the new teen iPads to view our on-line anime subscriptions.

There will be a Japanese crafts table for those who want to try their hand at origami, as well as a Japanese food table with vegetable sushi, mochi, and other snacks.

At 6:45 p.m., there will be a screening of the classic film, “My Neighbor Totoro.” Admission to the movie is also free.

For questions regarding this event, please contact Roberta Jordan at the library (207-443-5141, ext. 25, or email rjordan@patten.lib.me.us). For questions about other events during the Japanese Cultural Weekend, contact Alicia LaFosse (alafosse@rsu1.org).