Awesome Con Gets Spooky for its Friday the 13th Show
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Comic fans, sci-fi enthusiasts and creatives across all walks of fandom gathered in the nation’s capital this past weekend for another exciting year of LeftField Media’s annual Awesome Con event. A D.C. staple for more than 13 years, Awesome Con has long hosted celebrities, artists, cosplayers, craftsmen and charitable organizations for a three-day exhibition throughout the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, giving fans and would-be enthusiasts the opportunity to meet, greet and socialize with some of their heroes. This year’s event happened to fall on Friday the 13th, making it a great year for guests from popular sci-fi and horror titles such as “Stranger Things” and the “Haunting of Hill House” series - as well as a great year for the return of “Laurel’s House of Horror”, a powerhouse in the haunted attraction industry. Those with a little less enthusiasm for the spooky and the scary, however, are never short on alternative activities at the region’s largest comic and pop culture convention.
Exhibitors
When it comes to programming at Awesome Con, the component most likely to eat up the average attendee’s day is the Exhibit Hall. The Exhibit Hall, also known as the show floor or the “main hall”, is the main draw for many attendees of this convention, bringing together a variety of vendors, artists and geek culture brands to network, sell and source. In this space, you can find everything from trading cards to apparel to accessories to comic books and fanart, as well as unique handcrafted items from local artists. The Exhibit Hall gives these small businesses a space to connect with their target demographics, answer questions and build new brand relationships to help develop local awareness of their products. Some of our favorite (and most unique) sellers from the 2026 event include, but are not limited to:
Stunspore Studios, a talented artist who makes beautiful terrarium homes for your favorite Pokémon.
The Legging Lass, selling comfy clothing in all kinds of fun nerdy patterns, perfect for a con day or a cozy day at home.
Wild Bills Craft Soda Pop, souvenir mugs that can be brought back to any participating convention for unlimited refills.
Electro 3D Prints, featuring models of beloved Pokémon, Digimon and other creatures of varying scale as well as fidget toys.
These are only a few of the vendors we saw and engaged with, out of the hundreds in attendance. Though many do take multiple forms of payment, we find that it’s a good rule of thumb to be prepared with cash for newer vendors who don’t yet have the infrastructure to support cashless transactions - or to give you a fallback option if cashless payment is unable to connect with the internet to facilitate a transaction. There are multiple ATMs on the Exhibit Hall for your convenience, and be aware that if you do choose to use a credit card, it may also incur processing fees. Of course, the Exhibit Hall isn’t exclusively a space for vendors and makers…
Cosplay
Awesome Con is a great show for cosplayers and cosplay enthusiasts, and “Destination Cosplay” - located in the Exhibit Hall - provides a dedicated photo area, complete with a red carpet and backdrop. This section of the floor is great for cosplay group meetups and eager photographers who are looking to pad their portfolios. Walking around and seeing your favorite characters from fandoms of all flavors is one of our most beloved experiences at any given convention, and the cosplayer attendees at Awesome Con never disappoint. We did our best to capture a few cosplay rockstars that crossed our paths on the way from one booth to the next, but for every one cosplayer we stopped, there were thousands more that blew past us on their way to a panel or other event programming. There is also a cosplay competition that is typically held on Saturday evening in one of the ballrooms, where the best of the best gather to show off their crafting skills. Since this event is contingent on space, auxiliary programming and participation, it’s important to check the schedule in the Awesome Con app to confirm time and location each year.
Celebrity Guests
Awesome Con often draws an impressive lineup of celebrities, and this year was no different. The guest list began strong with three core members of the cast from Mike Flanagan’s “Haunting of Hill House”, a popular Netflix drama series, under one roof - Carla Gugino, Katie Parker and Henry Thomas. Unfortunately, these guests could only attend on the Friday of the convention, but were nonetheless happy to meet with eager fans all day long. Attendees were also thrilled to get a “Firefly” cast reunion, featuring Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Summer Glau and other Serenity crew members. Stranger Things fans also rejoiced for an opportunity to meet both Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), and the formidable Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono) from the “Stranger Things” TV series.
Professional celebrity photo ops can be purchased in advance or on site, but can sell out depending on guest’s popularity. The photos are instantly printed and make great souvenirs or items to be autographed later. Keep in mind the professional photos are not a meet and greet opportunity, and run like a well-oiled machine; if you want a chance to chat with your fandom hero, consider purchasing an autograph and/or table “selfie” to get a more personal interaction. Panels are another way to hear from and interact with celebrity guests, albeit in a more formal setting. The much-anticipated Firefly reunion panel on Sunday created a lot of buzz with a special announcement that the series is returning in animated form, pending the solidification of a network home for the project - something that panel attendees were the very first to hear. If a panel interests you, celebrity-centric or not, make sure to arrive early as seating is first-come, first-served for general admission attendees.
Replicas and Interactive Experiences
The Exhibit Hall also features plenty of fan groups, props, replicas and presentations. Even with three days to do it, there’s never enough time to do it all. Some of our favorites from 2026 include:
The Chesapeake Ghostbusters - Take a photo with Slimer and learn how to operate a ghost containment unit. They may even recruit you into their ghostbusting ranks!
The Colonial Marines - Check out replica props from the Alien franchise, and if you’re (un)lucky, you might get a close encounter with a Xenomorph.
The Awesome Con Science Fair - Watch real-life scientists complete experiments and show off impressive chemical reactions.
The DeLorean - Travel back in time in this pristine automobile featuring other memorabilia from the beloved 80s franchise and learn more about this unique and rare set of wheels.
Additional Experiences
In addition to the treasures found in the Exhibit Hall and the diverse Panel Programming, we always recommend exploring the convention center and checking out some of the other experiences located in the various halls. Some of 2026’s supplemental programming and experience offerings included:
The Arcade Room, featuring classic games like Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero, pinball machines and a variety of console games. Indie game developers also have demos ready for any would-be beta testers.
The Maid Cafe, where you can watch the adorable staff put on a show and complete a fun craft.
The House of Horrors, an immersive photo experience hosted by our friends from Laurel’s House of Horror in collaboration with Juston Photography.. Attendees were made up to look like monsters and able to take professional-grade photography in a mobile studio with professional-grade, industry-standard props and special effects.
Escape Games, scaled for a quick but challenging escape experience and ready for anyone who wishes to grab some friends and try to complete the 25 minute challenge.
The Table Top Gaming Room, where you can learn a new board game or card game or even compete in tournaments.
Above: Laurel’s House of Horror and Juston Photography brought thrills, chills and professional-grade haunted house sets to this year’s Awesome Con event.
With all of the components, vendors, businesses and brands detailed here, we’ve still only covered a fraction of the total event offerings. And that’s the great thing about an event like this; Awesome Con encompasses so many genres of fandom, there really is something for everyone to enjoy. We were thrilled to be invited to cover our “home con” again this year, and we want to extend a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the staff of the 2026 show. Awesome Con will return to Washington D.C. April 23-25th, 2027, and tickets are currently on sale via the official Awesome Con website. For a firsthand look at our experience from the 2026 convention, you can check out our vlog below!
