This year’s Blerdcon theme was Thriller and participants wore a lot of horror cosplays ranging from It to Pinhead to an army of Predators. The event was held in March instead of July, which only gave organizers a few months to plan. Even with the drastic change in months, Blerdcon is still rapidly gaining in popularity and numbers. All of the same faces I’ve seen over the past three summers have continued to show up, including this March as well as new ones.
Despite the change in seasons, there were still food trucks in the neighboring parking lot, along with outside concert performances. Instead of picking up badges at the Marriott across the street, people had to walk five minutes to the nearby Hilton. There were additional events there such as the popular Pop the Balloon, and professional photoshoots.
At the main location, the Hyatt Regency, there were anime rap battles, a rave, Tekken competitions, panels, and a DJ at the center of the bottom floor surrounded by arcade games. The large room to the back of the bottom floor which Anime USA uses for the arcade was used for the Masquerade and ceremonies. The bottom floor always has celebrity guests open to those with badges. During tabling hours, they will often speak with anyone walking by, and charge a fixed amount for photos and or autographs/merchandise. This allows for a comfortable community space.
The closing ceremonies held a tribute to recently passed actor Tony Todd, famously known for his main role as Candyman. As the MC pointed out, Candyman was an interesting villain because it was always the “victims” fault. Candyman was minding his own business and had to literally be called out to perform his killings.
