Awesome Con is an annual three day convention held at the Walter E Convention Center in Washington, DC that boasts some of the largest celebrities from the present and past. This year, it brought cast members from Hot Fuzz, the original live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Goonies, Blue Clues, Lord of the Rings, Book of Boba Fett, and a ton of comic book artists, voice actors, and more.
Meeting some celebrity guests at Awesome Con can be a bit pricey depending on who one wants to meet. The celebrity sets the price and for some, such as Liv Tyler and Orlando Bloom, it’s easiest to set your time online ahead of time. Autographs and photoshoots are separate with some of the actors/actresses and prices may vary. Some offer package deals. Photos with some celebrities may reach over $300, with autographs over $100. Other celebrities may only charge $30-40 for a photo or autograph. Most celebrities are in the back of the Dealers Hall/Artist Alley and photography/videography is strictly prohibited.
Voice Actress Cristina Vee at Awesome Con
While Awesome Con may have shorter hours than Otakon, which is held in the same venue, the internal hours aren’t much different, as panels continue late. Awesome Con just closes its doors earlier. It also does not work with the attached Marriott, so photoshoots are prohibited. The atmospheres are completely different. If one expects to find the same vibes at Awesome Con as Otakon, or visa versa, they won’t. Otakon is a Japanese, anime convention, while Awesome Con is a comic, pop culture, fan convention. Many attendees dress up like the characters the celebrity guests act as, while a lot don’t cosplay at all. Last year there were a ton of Jedi and Sith because Hayden Christiansen was a panel guest. This year, there was an attendee from New York dressed up like an Easterling from Lord of the Rings who bought tickets to meet cast members a second time.
There’s a lot to miss in the Dealer’s Hall, such as the Aliens Marine section, the US Marines pull-up bar, WWE merchandise, an original Delorean, Gundam model kits, and much more.