#awesomecon2016

awesome swag that i scored. some was free,

some i bought, all was necessary.

If you follow me on snapchat (if you are not following then take this as a hint to add me) then you already know that, two weeks ago I attended Awesome Con in Washington DC. I am sure most of you are familiar with Comic Con which is held every year in California. Awesome Con is basically the same thing except it's a three day even with shorter, star-studded guest list. This was my first time attending and while I learned tips to improve my experience for next year (oh yeah, i am definitely going!), I had a blast!


Some of this years guest list included Agents of SHEILD actor, Brett Dalton and actress Elizabeth Henstridge, Gotham Actor Robin Lord Taylor, Star Trek actor Karl Urban, Director/Producer/Actor Kevin Smith, Harry Potter Series actor Matthew Lewis (you know, Neville Longbottom. more on him later), former Boy Meets World actor Will Friedle (yep, Eric Matthews. no, he did not do a Feeny call), Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy star Ron Perlman, and Doctor Who stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman (both of whom i missed because i only attended one day).

A few things I learned from my experience:

Bring Cash. In order to have a photo op or gain an autograph with the stars, you must stand in lines that really were not long at all, and then pay the manager/publicist the pre-listed fee. I am not sure why I just assumed that everyone has square or carries around an Apple Pay device but they don't. While I was ready and willing to drop $150 to meet, get an autograph and a photo with Matthew Lewis, I could not. I was a bit bummed but hey, it's cool. I did get to see him from about 20 feet away and I was thrilled with that. Also, while I would love to show you a picture of his handsome self, I can't do that either but just trust me. I saw him.

No photos. Ok this is sort of a no brainer, but you cannot take pictures of the celebrity guests without paying their pre-listed fee. You also have to ask permission from fellow geeks and nerds to take their photos of their awesome costumes. I never got in trouble for this because again, it's pretty common sense but just letting you know.

Go big or go home. This is in regards to costumes. First, they are pretty strict about appropriate attire. Body paint does not count as clothing and the "Brute Squad" is not afraid to tell you to go and change. There were a few Princess Leia's who had to change and a Poison Ivy but for the most part, everyone adhered. Second, just wearing a Marvel licensed t-shirt will not do. You plan your costume, you dress up, and then you show up to fully embrace your nerd self and have a great time. I toned down my originally planned costume and, I dressed as a Tardis since I was worried about being "over costumed". Lesson learned. Next year, I'm going all out!

Some vendors are rude. There are tons of booths set up with comic books and licensed merchandise and generally really cool people. BUT, there are those vendors who are not so cool. Example: maneuvering through the aisles is sort of like walking through a flea market. So, while I was waiting for the line of traffic to start moving again, I ended up stopped in front of a comic book creators booth. What are you going to do right? So I began looking over his work. He asked If i was "really interested or just waiting for the line to move". (insert annoyed emoji here). I chose to simply say "no" as the line began moving. I didn't pay too much attention to it as generally, the other booths had nice people and the overall feel of the convention center was "one big nerdy family".

I posted a lot of pictures on my snapchat throughout the day (here's another hint to follow me) but I did save some for this post. #doitfortheblog