Your guide to Denver Pop Culture Con
The title is new, but the big picture stays the same: Denver Pop Culture Con, formerly the Denver Comic Con, is returning with a smorgasbord of delights for fans of comics, cosplay, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and gaming.
But with more than 600 hours of programming spread across three days and 1 million square feet of space at the Colorado Convention Center, where to start?
Here’s an overview of the eighth annual event, produced by the nonprofit Pop Culture
Classroom, which is expected to draw more than 110,000 total attendees to downtown Denver over the coming weekend.
The event runs 10 a.m.-7 p.m. May 31-June 1, and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on June 2.
Wrapping your head around it. Denver Pop Culture Con is the region’s largest cultural gathering, and simply understanding how it works — and how to navigate it — will make for a better use of your time and money. If you’re unfamiliar with downtown Denver or the con at large, denverpopculturecon.com offers downloadable PDF maps of the Colorado Convention Center and vendor/activity layouts for inside, including the show floor and street-level panels and screenings.
This con is essentially several smaller conventions wrapped into one, with panels, workshops, educational programming, celebrity appearances, vendors, performances, premieres and even a custom-brewed beer. The website features the full list of celebrities, authors and artists in attendance, split between programmed events and attractions such as Celebrity Summit and Artist Alley, but you can download the con’s official app (for IOS and Android) from the Apple Store or Google Play starting this week to keep tabs on who’s appearing where, and when.
Stargazing. While the con’s credentials are solid, with niche panels, artists, authors and educational programming galore, many show up to see the stars, and there’s a constellation on hand this year.
Some of the biggest names appearing this year, in alphabetical order, include Asher Angel (“Shazam”), Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us video game), Benedict Wong (“Dr. Strange”), Cary Elwes (“The Princess Bride”), Catherine Tate (“The Office”), Charlie Heaton (“Strange Things”), Christopher Lloyd (“Back to the Future”), Dave Bautista (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Emmy Raver-lampman (“The Umbrella Academy”), George Takei (“Star Trek”), Jewel Staite (“Firefly”), Lana Parrilla (“Once Upon a Time”), Ming Na-wen (“Mulan,” “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Summer Bishil (“The Magicians”) and Zachary Levi (“Ed,” “Shazam”).
Visit denverpopculturecon.com/guests for the full schedule, including times, dates and autograph costs. Remember that a lot of people want to see these stars, too, so plan for 30 minutes to an hour to wait in line for each.
Get ready to pony up for your fun. In addition to planning your day at the con via app or the event’s website, make sure to plan for any spending beyond the admission fees. While single- and three-day Speed Passes are already sold out, single-day and three-day tickets remain. If bought online, Friday’s are $44 (same price as last year); Saturday is $60.50, and Sunday is $49.50. Be warned: They’ll cost $10 more at the door compared with online, and the autographs and photo ops in Celebrity Summit require separate fees.
Kids aged 3-12 are still $8.25 per day, and children under 3 are free (same prices online as at the door). All prices include the 10 percent Facilities Development Admissions tax from the city of Denver, but not the fees charged by AXS, the exclusive ticket-seller the city requires Pop Culture Classroom to use for the event.
Getting there (and back again). Entry points to the convention vary by year, given that other parties often rent areas of the Colorado Convention Center during the con’s run. This year, the F lobby doors (next to the big blue bear sculpture) will be available to Denver Pop Culture attendees, as well as the B and C lobbies. The 2019 event will also feature a dedicated entrance for Speed Pass holders and attendees with disabilities, as well as a dedicated entrance for the dozens of panelists who will be participating. After security is cleared, organizers will be using the convention center’s B Hall for early queuing.
The Colorado Convention Center is located at 700 14th St. and sits just south of the A Line stop for RTD’S Light Rail. Various buses also stop near the Convention Center, which is within walking distance to downtown and the 16th Street Mall, where attendees can use the free Mall Ride bus to travel the length of the central business district (from the Capitol to Union Station). RTD also offers a tripplanning site at rtd-denver.com/app/plan that lets you customize your trip with times and interactive maps. B-cycle bike-share stations and ride-share services also surround the convention center.
To bring or not to bring? Security concerns are always high at massive events such as this, but DPCC officials hope to streamline the entry process with knowledge. Their website and social media accounts lay out the three-step admission process that includes a bag check, a prop-weapons check (if necessary; guidelines are available at denvercomiccon.com/showinfo/policies) and a flashtickets check. Still, there will be lines at peak times, organizers warned.
As noted, the Policies page online includes detailed guidelines for what’s permitted in costumes and prop weapons. Essentially: Keep it PG, don’t be creepy, and leave the realistic-looking guns and metal objects at home. It’s also the home of DPCC’S anti-harassment policy, which is crucial, given that DPCC prides itself on its diversity mission and welcoming atmosphere for fans of any ethnicity, creed, religious background, politics, gender identity, sexual orientation or fandom.
Harassment of any kind — including unauthorized videos or photos — can be reported to one of the nearly 1,000 volunteers around the con or any Convention Center staffer.
Special events and oneoffs. Opening night at the con is always a raucous, celebratory affair, and the programming this year keeps it light. Open to anyone with a three-day badge or Friday pass, the kickoff events include a stand-up comedy tournament (apcon ply online) and dueling piano show, courtesy of the Dueling Piano Road Show. Notables Hope Nicholson, D.J. Demers, Ken Reid and Ed Hill will be on hand.
The 6 p.m. Costume Celebration on June 1 collects the enthusiasm and creativity of the cosplay community with a contest, as well as a kid’s extravaganza (which does not have the competitive element, for 14 years old and younger), while the 10,000square-foot kids’ lab features education-minded interactivity for kids and teens, including performances, one-on-one chats, displays and more.
Finally, if you want to support Pop Culture Classroom’s revenue-generating goals (the con is their biggest fundraiser of the year), stop by the Art Auction to pick up some rare pieces, or check out the Page 23 Literary Conference, where “students, educators and scholars share their current pop culture projects, engage in roundtable discussions, and offer workshops to students and pros alike,” according to the website.
Most of all, remember why you’re there: to have fun.