--- ---  # Inside the First-Ever Hello Kitty Convention by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Oct 31, 2014 10:03 PM UTC  Participants of Hello Kitty Con during its opening night on Oct. 29, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Participants of Hello Kitty Con during its opening night on Oct. 29, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.Stefanie Keenan—Getty Images by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Oct 31, 2014 10:03 PM UTC Embrace your inner child, hug the Hello Kitty plush on your bed, and check out photos from the first-ever Hello Kitty Convention at The Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles (Oct. 30 to Nov. 2). The highly anticipated event is pegged to the character’s 40th anniversary—her birthday is November 1!—and [an exhibit](http://time.com/3479276/hello-kitty-exhibit-to-open-in-l-a/) on Hello Kitty at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), on display through April 26, 2015. **MORE:** [Hello Kitty Exhibit to Open in L.A.](http://time.com/3479276/hello-kitty-exhibit-to-open-in-l-a/) **WATCH:** [Avril Lavigne Tear Up Tokyo for “Hello Kitty” Video](http://time.com/71928/avril-lavigne-hello-kitty-video/) **MORE:** [Apparently Hello Kitty is a Human Girl, Not a Cat](http://time.com/3197794/hello-kitty-not-a-cat/)  Keith Nunez, left, takes pictures of his wife, Carolina at Hello Kitty Con on Oct. 30, 2014, in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong—AP  Carolyn Molina, of Riverside, Calif., laughs while talking to a reporter at the Hello Kitty Con held at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA Thursday on Oct. 30, 2014, in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong—AP  Wearing a Hello Kitty costume, Brandee Amore, center, of Glendale, Calif., walks across the street before the start of Hello Kitty Con on Oct. 30, 2014, in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong—AP  Hello Kitty fans wait in line for Hello Kitty Con on Oct. 30, 2014, in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong—AP  A woman with a Hello Kitty tattoo waits in line to attend Hello Kitty Con on Oct. 30, 2014, in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong—AP  A fan at Hello Kitty Con on Oct. 30, 2014, in Los Angeles. Zhao Hanrong—Xinhua/Sipa USA  A man dresses as Bad Badtz-Maru, a Sanrio character, pauses for photos at Hello Kitty Con on Oct. 30, 2014, in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong—AP  Participants of Hello Kitty Con during its opening night on Oct. 29, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Stefanie Keenan—Getty Images Hello Kitty Con 2014: Photos ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3551726/hello-kitty-con-2014/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3551726/hello-kitty-con-2014/"},"headline":"Inside the First-Ever Hello Kitty Convention","datePublished":"2014-10-31T22:03:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:48:20.577Z","description":"In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Sanrio character","url":"https://time.com/3551726/hello-kitty-con-2014/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society","photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36d7fabbf4fc719f/698763c406f2c1abf1331b05/hello-kitty-con-08.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36d7fabbf4fc719f/698763c406f2c1abf1331b05/hello-kitty-con-08.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hello Kitty Con 2014 Opening Night Party Co-hosted By Target","caption":"Hello Kitty Con 2014 Opening Night Party Co-hosted By Target","creditText":"Stefanie Keenan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3551726/hello-kitty-con-2014/","name":"Inside the First-Ever Hello Kitty Convention"}}]}] ```