Finding a common interest is a great way to build a friendship. Fountain Hills residents Jen and Matt Hinds bond over many of their various hobbies, including a passion for attending events like the recent Phoenix Comicon.

They decided to build a “small” community for likeminded individuals a few years back and quickly discovering even more new friendships because of it.

Events like Phoenix Comicon are known to draw enthusiastic crowds. Along with all of the panels, vendors and additional activities, it’s a chance for those who share a love for a show, author, movie series, etc. to unite, share stories and have a lot of fun in the process.

The Hinds’ first convention was in 2009, back when the Arizona event was hosted out of the Mesa Convention Center.

“It was very, very small and we went for one day,” Jen said. “We wandered around and went to maybe one panel and immediately decided that it was something for us, so we’ve been going ever since.”

Matt said that the grassroots feel of the Phoenix Comicon is what keeps bringing him back for more.

“It’s not just a media convention where you only go to see big-name celebrities and sit in a panel room forever,” he said. “There’s thousands of hours of programing, a lot of things for kids to do, 24/7 gaming for tabletop fans, social functions, parties…everything.”

The scene in Phoenix has grown so big that it now includes additional events like the Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest, which will be hosted out of the Phoenix Convention Center this coming October.

Outside of that, the Hinds said there are many similar conventions around Arizona throughout the year and, wanting to meet up and make new friends, they decided to start the Blue Ribbon Army, an unofficial fan group for local conventions.

“When we started going to conventions in 2009, we started making friends and realized we should all stay connected and hang out more,” Jen said. “So we started the Facebook group to stay in contact with these people we were meeting and enjoyed spending time with.”

The Blue Ribbon Army started out as about 20 people. That’s actually where the group got its name. Looking for a way to easily identify each other at conventions, members started tying a blue ribbon around their lanyards.

“We saw five or six people the first year because of the blue ribbons,” Jen continued. “Since then we’ve exploded to more than 10,500 members.”

This year’s Phoenix Comicon was hosted out of the Phoenix Convention Center in mid-June. The event takes up both buildings of the Convention Center, as well as surrounding hotel ballrooms and even spills out onto the streets. Matt and Jen agree that it was the best local convention to date.

On top of all of the usual events, the Blue Ribbon Army threw a massive party to benefit the Kids Need to Read charity, raising $20,000 in the process.

With Fan Fest happening on a much smaller scale than Comicon proper, the Hinds said that the fall event not only provides cooler temperatures and lower prices, but also a less “intimidating” event for newcomers to visit without feeling overwhelmed by the number of activities or crowd.

Either way, though, they say that anyone who is a fan of anything should pay a visit to a local convention and see the spectacle for themselves.

“You can geek out about anything, whether it be photography, art, music…anything,” Jen said. “There’s something at Phoenix Comicon for everybody and, going there, you get a sense of community in knowing that everyone is there to enjoy themselves.”

Matt said that Comicon’s tagline says it best.

“Discover your inner geek,” he said. “What have you got to lose?”

To join the Blue Ribbon Army and get connected with Arizona conventions, visit facebook.com/groups/blueribbonarmy.