Thousands Of Hello Kitty Fans Converge On Downtown LA

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Thousands of passionate devotees from all over the world flocked to downtown Los Angeles Friday for the beginning of the first-ever Hello Kitty Convention at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.

On the first day of the convention, organizers say at least 6,000 people have come through the doors. More than 25,000 tickets for the three-day convention have been sold.

Hundreds of women donned pink wigs and drew whiskers on their cheeks to attend the event.

"I love her, I've always loved her, I don't know, ever since I was a little girl," one fan gushed.

"I've been obsessed with her ever since I was, like, a little girl," another fan said.

Other fans went a little further with their public displays of Hello Kitty devotion – by tattooing her face onto their bodies.

"This'll be my second Hello Kitty tattoo," yet another fan said.

The silent white cat with a little red bow was first introduced by Sanrio in 1974 on a coin purse that cost less than a dollar. Since then, she has become the face of a billion-dollar brand and a fashion icon.

"She's always been there with me through the hard times and the cute times and deciding whether this outfit looked good on me or not because I based it off of what she was wearing," Hello Kitty fan Chrissa Villanueva said, with a laugh.

Hello Kitty Con is sold out for the entire weekend, but the Hello Kitty fans can indulge in the exhibition at the Geffen until April.