Blerdcon | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Genre | Multi-genre [1] [2] |
Venue | Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport |
Location(s) | Arlington, Virginia |
Country | United States |
Inaugurated | 2017 |
Website | https://blerdcon.com/ |
Blerdcon is an annual three-day multi-genre convention held during July at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. The convention's name comes from the word "blerds", a term for black nerds. [1] [3] [4] It was co-founded by Hassan Parrish and Hilton George. [5] [6] Blerdcon aims to be diverse and inclusive. [3] [4]
Blerdcon typically features cosplay contests, concerts, gaming tournaments, maid café, panels, vendors, and workshops. [1] [7] [8] [9] The gaming room is open 24-hours during the event. [3] [8] [10]
Blerdcon's idea came out of the experience of attending another convention, MomoCon. [1] First year attendance was higher than expected, with 1,800 people. [3] Blerdcon 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [9] [11] [12] Blerdcon 2021 required attendees to wear masks and provide their COVID-19 vaccination card. [9] The cosplay contest caused controversy in 2021 due to it being won by a Caucasian female. [13] [14] Blerdcon in 2022 continued to have mask and vaccination requirements. [15] The convention had programming on Thursday in 2023. [16]
Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
---|---|---|---|
June 30 - July 2, 2017 | Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport Arlington, Virginia | 1,800 (est.) [3] | Bec's Cosplay Wonderland and Eric "The Smoke" Moran. [17] |
July 27–29, 2018 | Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport Arlington, Virginia | Karan Ashley, Mega Ran, Michael "Knightmage" Wilson, [18] Douriean Fletcher, Kevin Grevioux, and Keisha Tucker. [19] | |
July 12–14, 2019 | Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport Arlington, Virginia | Beau Billingslea, Estelle, [20] Shaina “Samuraider” West, and Rachel True. [21] | |
July 16-18, 2021 | Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport Arlington, Virginia | Karan Ashley, [22] Dax ExclamationPoint, Barr Foxx, Roxxy Haze, Wreck it Ronnie, Scotty Swan, Violette Verse, and Yeliz. [23] | |
July 8-10, 2022 | Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport Arlington, Virginia | J'adore Cosplay [24] and Orlando Jones. [6] | |
July 7-9, 2023 [16] | Hyatt Regency Crystal City at Reagan National Airport Arlington, Virginia | Karan Ashley, Ade M'Cormack, Cree Summer, and Rachel True. [25] [26] |
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