In today’s societal day and age, being a geek has started to become less of a “bad” thing, and turning into more of a good thing. As someone once said “The geek shall inherit the Earth.” The number of geeks and nerds can be seen by the numbers of people who attend the Sci-Fi and Anime conventions around America. Each year there are four major conventions that are held in different parts of America, their attendance steadily growing as they continue to thrive. Listed below are the top four conventions that are held annually.- San Diego Comic Con
The San Diego Comic Con, or Comic Con for short, has been around since the 70’s and has grown into the largest comic book convention in America. Their number of attendees has now reached beyond the 100,000 mark and into the 130,000s. This convention features an exhibit hall that is over 460,000 square feet, more than 600 events total, workshops and educational programs, and not to mention games for people of all ages. Also featured are tons of vendors, selling pretty much everything you can think of from comics to plushies.
- Atlanta Dragon*Con
Dragon*Con was created in 1987 and has grown into one of the largest general geek conventions on the East Coast. This conventions attendance has grown to over 52,000 plus people over the years. It spans 5 hotels, and features over 3500 hours of interesting things to attend such as seminars, artist and actor panels, demonstrations, as well as other workshops for subjects such as art and writing. Many members of the geek fandom attend this convention dressed up in costumes, otherwise known as cosplaying. Many characters can be seen here such as Batman, Superman, Star Wars Characters, and even RoboCop.
- Los Angeles Anime Expo
The Anime Expo was created in the 90’s in Northern California and has grown from its original 1,000 plus attendees into a massive 40,000 plus number of attendees. Some of the features included in this four day fun-filled even include guest panels, a huge arcade, concerts, and even table-top gaming such as Dungeons and Dragons, as well as other games like Munchkin and Fluxx. The biggest attractions at this event aren’t the guest panels or the gaming, but instead are the Masquerade cosplay competition and the Anime Music Video competition, both of which can get extremely extravagant.
- Baltimore Otakon
Otakon was formed in 1994 and has grown exponentially from its initial attendance of 350 attendees to numbers over 18,000 attendees. This convention is named after a popular video game character from the game called Metal Gear Solid as well as a play on words using the word convention and the Japanese word for anime fan “otaku”. This convention has usually set its focus mainly on anime and related subjects. However, in 2012 Otakon has officially made the announcement that they have made a partnership with a up and coming gaming studio.
If you decide to become one of these amazing conventions attendees, make sure to bring a camera. There is nothing like the feeling of getting a picture of Batman fighting Rainbow Bright, or any other silly combinations you may happen across.
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Richard Smith, a freelance writer, recommends Epic Displays if you are in the market for a display set-up for your next convention or trade show. Be sure to check out their website for more information.