Three days of events filled with celebrity guest appearances, the debut of Anime Yokocho, our biggest-ever Pride Alley, Book Fair, and more March 8 – 10
Kicking off the spring season on a high note, Awesome Con, Washington, D.C.’s iconic three-day pop culture convention, announces three days of programming complete with exclusive panels, workshops, meetups and celebrity appearances from Friday, March 8 through Sunday, March 10.
Awesome Con will take over the Walter E. Washington Convention Center with a robust lineup of events. Newly announced top-tier headliners include Rachael Leigh Cook and Tara Reid for a Josie and the Pussycats reunion with the previously announced Rosario Dawson; American Gods actor and MADtv original Orlando Jones; Overwatch and Apex Legends voice actress Anjali Bhimani, Marvel’s Daredevil star Charlie Cox and Marvel’s Echo star Alaqua Cox.
Awesome Con is excited to welcome a brand new feature, Anime Yokocho, a special alleyway dedicated to all things anime. Fans can expect anime-focused shopping, fan clubs, live art installations, free swag, and performances on the Remix Stage @ Anime Yokocho, along with meet and greets with popular anime voice actors nearby. Returning with a larger presence than ever on the show floor, LGBTQ+ focusedPride Alley, in partnership with Geeks OUT, Metro Weekly, and Capital Pride Alliance will spotlight LGBTQ+ artists, creators and fans as DC gears up to host WorldPride 2025. The wildly popularScience Fair is back, celebrating the best of all things sci-fi, technology, engineering, aerospace, astronomy, and more. NASA will be on hand, and the Demo Stage, presented by the National Science Foundation, will feature action packed mind-boggling experiments and demonstrations performed by real scientists from a variety of backgrounds.
Always a fan favorite, Destination Cosplay will bring the best of cosplay to the Exhibit Hall with exciting new features including a catwalk where fans can show off their best red carpet looks and an Exhibition that will display gorgeous hand-crafted cosplays. Awesome Con’s Book Fair features a variety of acclaimed authors spanning a variety of genres and fandoms like Nnedi Okorafor, Claudia Gray, Kimberly Lemming, and more. Powered by D.C.-based Loyalty Bookstores, guests can enjoy book signings, access to writers and publishers and take a stroll down Author’s Lane to discover independently published authors from a variety of genres. Family-friendly pavilion Awesome Con Jr., presented by ThinkFun and Ravensburger, is back with an abundance of events planned to educate and entertain kids of all ages and parents alike.
Attendees can start planning their Awesome Con experience and view the full schedule of programming online at https://awesome-con.com/programming
Celebrity and Comic Guests
Hear from some of the biggest leaders from the world of pop culture and comic books at panels, screenings, Q&As and more. For a full lineup of confirmed guests and panels, visit here.
The current main stage lineup includes:
Friday, March 8:
- 1:30 PM – 2:15 PM – Naruto Cast (Yuri Lowenthal, Tara Platt, Neil Kaplan, Kate Higgins, Michael Yurchak, Brian Donovan, Colleen O’Shaugnessey, Steve Blum, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn)
- 2:45 PM – 3:30 PM – Orlando Jones
- 4:00 PM – 4:45 PM – Tara Reid and Rachael Leigh Cook
- 5:15 PM – 6:15 PM – Wes Johnson’s Voice-a-palooza
- 6:45 PM – 7:30 PM – Power Rangers Cast (Walter Jones and Billy Yost)
Saturday, March 9:
- 10:30 AM – 11:15 AM – Ming Na-Wen
- 2:15 PM – 3:00 PM – Bryce Papenbrook
- 3:30 PM – 4:15 PM – Natasha Liu Bordizzo
- 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM – Awesome Con Cosplay Competition 2024
- 9:00 PM – 9:45 PM – Hayden Christensen and Rosario Dawson
Sunday, March 10:
- 11:15 AM – 12:00 PM – Breaking Bad Cast (Dean Norris, Raymond Cruz, Daniel & Luis Moncada, Steven Michael Quezada, RJ Mitte)
- 12:30 PM – 1:15 PM – Smallville Cast (Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum)
- 1:45 PM – 2:30 PM – Tony Todd
And there will be more guests and more Main Stage panels to be announced! Please note that this schedule is subject to change.
Anime Yokocho
- Anime themed cosplay meetups all weekend long at the Anime Alliance Booth #1440
- Official Crunchyroll Screenings all weekend long in Room 202
- The 2024 Anime Trivia Challenge, presented by Fatal Fanatix – Friday, 8:30 PM, Room 207B
- Catch ‘em All Pokémon Cardio Workout with Geeknasium! – Saturday, 2:30 PM, Remix Stage @ Anime Yokocho
- AniMove: An Interactive Anime & Dance Fitness Experience – Saturday, 6:15 PM, Remix Stage @ Anime Yokocho
- Unlockable Content Presents: Pictionary Airnime – Sunday, 10:15 AM, Room 207A
Pride Alley
- Presenting Female While Cosplaying – Friday, 7:00 PM, Room 209
- Finding My Queer Voice: Emerging into the Publishing Scene as a Queer Creator featuring: Tana Ford, Josh Trujillo, and Kat Fox – Saturday, 11:00 AM, Room 209
- Cosplay is a Drag (Queen) featuring Logan Stone and D’Manda Martini – Saturday, 5:00 PM, Room 209
- YAS Kids: Celebrating Queer & Diverse Middle Grade/YA Stories featuring: Jarrett Melendez, Sam Maggs, and Sarah Myer – Sunday, 10:45 AM, Room 209
Science Fair
- Cool science experiments all weekend long at the Science Fair Demo Stage presented by the NSF
- Vulcans, Mandalorians, and Time Lords, Oh My! – Friday, 4:30 PM, Room 204
- Wonder Women @ NASA – Saturday, 11:45 AM, Room 204
- Darth Vader Tech: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Sith – Saturday, 2:15 PM, Room 204
- Solar Eclipses Through the Eyes of NASA – Sunday, 11:45 AM, Room 204
Destination Cosplay
- Cosplay meetups all weekend long at the Destination Cosplay Catwalk
- Don’t Hide from the Hide – How to start using leather in cosplay – Friday, 2:00 PM, Room 209
- Getting started with Cosplay Photography – Saturday, 3:00 PM, Room 209
- Nova Labs: Intro to 3D Printing – Sunday, 12:45 PM, Room 209
Book Fair
- The Art of Worldbuilding featuring Peter V. Brett, Leslye Penelope, Andrew Joseph White, Nnedi Okorafor, Kimberly Lemming, Aparna Verma – Friday, 1:30 PM, Room 206 – followed by a signing at the Bookstore
- Spotlight On: Nnedi Okorafor – Saturday, 1:45 PM, Room 206 – followed by a signing at the Bookstore
- Writer vs Author featuring Peter V. Brett, Alix E. Harrow, Bethany C. Morrow, Andrew Joseph White, Leslye Penelope – Sunday, 10:30 AM, Room 206 – followed by a signing at the Bookstore
Awesome Con Jr.
- Animal Stack Art with Mark Mariano – Friday, 3:30 PM, Awesome Con Jr. Workshops
- Kids Cosplay Parade – Saturday and Sunday, 12:00 PM, Awesome Con Jr. Movement Zone
- Saber Guild Kids Lightsaber Training (Limited to the first 30 kids) – All weekend long, Awesome Con Jr. Movement Zone
- How Comics are Created with Greg Burnham and Marcus Williams – Saturday, 3:00 PM, Awesome Con Jr. Workshops
- Encanto Dance Party with Mirabel – Saturday, 5:30 PM, Awesome Con Jr. Movement Zone
- CreArt Jr, Paint-by-Number for Junior Artists – Sunday, 10:15 AM, Awesome Con Jr. Workshops
Additional Programming Highlights:
- Smallville Nights ft. Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum (Separately ticketed event) – Friday, 7:30 PM, Room 207A
- Multiverse Got Talent! Friday, 2:00 PM, Room 207A
- The State of SWANA Representation in Pop Culture – Saturday, 2:30 PM, Room 207B
- Super Art Fight – Saturday, 4:30 PM, Room 207A
- Jack Kirby’s Greatest Comics: An All-Star Tribute to the King featuring Matt Kindt, Jeph Loeb, Joyce Chin – Saturday, 2:45 PM, Room 206
- WMGSO Chamber Group Performances – Sunday, 11:15 AM, Room 207A
- Oh CRIT! The D&D Improv Show – Sunday, 2:15 PM, Room 207A
Make sure to check the mobile app for the most up-to-date schedule as times, dates, and locations are subject to change.
WEBSITE: www.AwesomeCon.com is updated regularly with new guests, exciting exhibitors, and special programming.