SIOUX FALLS, South Dakota (DakotaNewsNow) – The third annual Voices Against Cancer 605 Pop Culture Con kicks off this weekend at the Sioux Falls Convention Center and Sioux Falls Arena as stars take on the challenge of raising money for cancer research in Sioux Falls. Voices Against Cancer is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support local families by bringing in celebrity guests who, in the process, get to make special connections with local patients at a private Friday night event.
Bringing stars like Rosario Dawson, who plays Ahsoka Tano in “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett” and Disney+'s “Ahsoka,” and Antony Starr, who plays Homelander in the Amazon Prime Video original series “The Boys,” to Sioux Falls for a weekend is a big job, plus a global technology outage that accelerated the volunteer effort.
“It's been a huge challenge getting people on planes, servicing computers, updating, correcting and remaking so many reservations,” said Karin Borgmann, a volunteer with Voices Against Cancer.
Authors, artists and TV and film stars play a big role in Voices Against Cancer's mission.
“All the money raised through autograph sessions, photo ops and various forums will go back into the families of this town,” Borgman explained.
Celebrity guests enjoy these types of experiences because they get to see the impact the projects they're involved in have on fans across the country. Mark Thompson, known as the voice of several Pokémon characters including Gengar, and Roger Craig Smith, the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog, have both participated in these types of events before.
“We were joking around. The voice-over people were sometimes like, 'Who are you?' So I tried to help them out by [of the show]”But it's fun when there are kids out there who are familiar with the show and I do the voice and they see the recognition on their faces,” Thompson said with a laugh, pointing to his Gengar-themed shirt.
“I'm focused on my work, but when I get the chance to come to conventions and things like that, I realize that people who experience my characters and the games and animations are experiencing it in a completely different way than we actors do,” Smith explains. “Being able to celebrate those moments when they find out what a character like Sonic the Hedgehog means to someone is the best part of the job.”
While our celebrity guests pride themselves on using their platform to do some good, the real stars for them are the kids who will directly benefit from their appearances this weekend.
“I've been able to travel to so many amazing places and meet so many amazing people, but knowing this goes towards directly helping people in need is incredibly powerful,” Thompson said.
“This is a great event for a very important cause. I had a chance to go into the hospital today and meet the kids and the staff and I thought if we were going to have a convention, it would be really great to have it for a cause like this,” Smith said.
The bonds the stars form with the children make it even more special each year. “The Mandalorian” actress Emily Swallow has been an ambassador for 605 Pop Culture Con since the first year and has stayed in touch with some of the bonds she made, but sadly one of the kids she grew close to passed away. Upon returning to Sioux Falls, she visited the child's resting place.
“A lot of the interactions have been really personal,” Borgman said. “I know that over the past few years, the stars have all taken pride in spending a lot of personal time with their families and their kids, really meeting and getting to know them and understanding what's going on in their lives.”
Other guests include Harry Belden, the voice actors of Morty Smith, Rick Sanchez and Casey Cartwright from the animated series “Rick and Morty,” Ian Cardoni, Spencer Grammer, Karen Fukuhara who played Kimiko on “The Boys,” Lars Mikkelsen who played Viktor Petrov on “House of Cards” and Grand Admiral Thrawn in “Star Wars Rebels” and “Ahsoka.” A full list of celebrity guests can be found here. For the complete weekend schedule, click this link.
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