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Fans Flock To Downtown L.A. For Hello Kitty Con 2014

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Starting Thursday, the first-ever Hello Kitty convention will be held in Los Angeles in celebration of the global icon's 40th birthday.

But Wednesday night, hundreds of VIPs, young and old, couldn't get enough.

They were given a chance to get inside the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Los Angeles for a sneak peek.

"It's just so cute and so fun. It really takes me back to my childhood," Cynthia Duarte, a Hello Kitty fan, told KCAL9's Andrea Fujii.

The sold-out event featuring merchandise for sale and even a tattoo parlor ends Sunday and is expected to draw 25,000 fans.

"For the first-time ever, there's going to be so much eye-candy and so much to see and do and take pictures of. If you love Hello Kitty, you're going to be very, very happy," David Marchi of Sanrio, Inc. said.

But organizers say Hello Kitty Con 2014 is simply a preview of Hello Kitty's World Tour next year.

"She makes us all happy and she just spreads positivity," said Jaycee Castillo, another Hello Kitty fan.

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