Denver Pop Culture Con postponed
Medical use of Colorado Convention Center cited
Denver Pop Culture Con is being postponed until November as the city of Denver prepares to turn the Colorado Convention Center, where the event is held, into a temporary medical facility to treat coronavirus patients.
Pop Culture Classroom, the educational nonprofit that produces Denver Pop Culture Con, made the decision Monday to postpone the annual event, which typically draws more than 100,000 total attendees over a weekend of panels, celebrity autograph signings, cosplay and artist markets.
Originally scheduled for July 3-5, Denver Pop Culture Con will now tentatively take place Nov. 2729. However, the event may be further postponed if the city exercises its option to use the 1 millionplus square feet of space at the Colorado Convention Center for continuing treatment of COVID-19 patients, Pop Culture Classroom said in a press statement Monday night.
“After consulting with the Colorado Convention Center and city of Denver, we believe this postponement is the best option for the safety and well-being of our attendees and the citizens of Denver,” said Christina Angel, convention director for Denver Pop Culture Con.
Colorado officials are hoping to begin using the Colorado Convention Center as a temporary medical facility as soon as April 18,
The Denver Post reported today. As many as 2,000 beds could be housed in the now-empty space, according to internal city documents obtained by The Post.
The city plans to use the building through the month of June but has the option to extend that if circumstances require it.
Tickets to the previously scheduled July dates will automatically be valid for the new November dates with no action required by the purchaser, Pop Culture Classroom said. Additional details will be provided soon on denverpopdulturecon.com and the organization’s social media accounts.
People seeking immediate refunds will be given more information in the coming days, according to a spokesman for Denver Pop Culture Classroom.
Vendors, exhibitors, people who submitted panels or presentations, confirmed guests, and the dozens of volunteers who staff the event each year will be individually contacted via email.
Film and TV guests scheduled for the massive July event included cast members from NBC’s
“The Office,” voice actors who portrayed famous Disney princesses and actors such as Dean Cain (“Lois & Clark”), Ella Jay Basco (“Birds of Prey”), Anson Mount (“Star Trek: Discovery”), David Tennant (“Doctor Who”),
Miranda Otto (Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy) and dozens more.
“We know a lot of people in our community need something to look forward to right now,” Angel said. “With your help and continued support, we’re confident we can put on an amazing event this fall — Thanksgiving Day weekend — where we can all celebrate.”
There have been no layoffs or furloughs at Pop Culture Classroom as a result of the anticipated loss of the Denver nonprofit’s largest annual fundraising event, a spokesman for the convention said. The event has typically had an economic impact of about $10 million, according to Denver Business Journal.