Kamila De La Fuente
Assistant Editor
The Off Market Mouse Expo, hosted by Dizcore Apparel in partnership with The Disinsider Saturday at the Ontario Convention Center, featured live entertainment, giveaways and music.
The second annual event was sponsored by Ray’s Comics, and featured about 70 vendors, enough to fulfill a super-fan’s Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel needs.
Cosplay, contests and stage appearances filled the venue.
A Pizza Planet truck also made a cameo.
Special guest Drake Bell, actor, singer, voice of Disney XD’s “Spider-Man” and star of “Drake and Josh,” was on hand at booths 69 and 70 for signings and selfies.
“I have other friends who are vendors here who got a hold of me to come as a special guest for the convention,” Bell said. “I enjoy coming to these cool, outside-of-the-box events. I’m a total DizNerd. My house is like a Disneyland Museum. All the vintage, retro Disney memorabilia and collectibles are completely in my wheelhouse.”
Skyler Shuler, founder and editor in chief of The Disinsider, a Disney-centered entertainment platform, said that this event caters to all kinds of Disney fans who come together with various likes, tastes and personalities.
“This …makes our role as an entertainment platform so much more,” Shuler said.
Since last year, Shuler said the event has grown immensely with more vendors in attendance and his platform sponsoring the event has grown the magnitude of the event tenfold. Through the promotion of the event on social media and online, they are able to bring the convention to a new level.
“Our team is then able to host these events, bringing in a whole new group of Disney fans,” Shuler said.
Shawn Gutierrez, a team member from Dizcore Apparel, the brand that created the convention said how the founder’s vision all started with wanting to create a place where his brand can be sold amongst his people to cater to a niche demographic of fans.
In Off Market land, there is a booth for every fan to scratch every Disney itch you may have.
Whether combing through the Disney-inspired prints, totes and stickers as you’re drawn to them on the way to the concession stand, pulling you in different directions as you explore all the art-based merchandise on display.
“Disney has always been something that reminds me of my childhood, bringing me joy especially in being able to translate that into art for other people,” Melissa Flores, vendor for MissLunaMel, said. “We’ve done other conventions before and Off The Market Mouse has been incredibly organized. The people involved are super friendly.”
In booth number two, an endless assortment of pet bandanas and accessories, scrunchies galore fanned out before your eyes.
“We do have a few Disney pet accessories as well to bring to the event, as we were invited here to sell our Peppa Pig bow ties,” Greci Cruz, Little Friends and Co. owner, said.
The next Off The Market Mouse convention will take place in 2023.
Kamila K. De La Fuente can be reached at kamila.delafuente@laverne.edu.
Kamila K. De La Fuente, a senior creative writing and journalism major with a concentration in print and online journalism, is a staff writer for the Campus Times.
