“We dreamed of bringing together like-minded individuals to enjoy and celebrate multiple interests including pop culture, comics, art, cosplay, music, and much more.”
-DreamCon Team
DreamCon is an anime, gaming, and comic convention started by Black people, for Black people. It was started by YouTubers RDCWorld (Real Dreamers Change the World) in 2018. This year’s DreamCon was from July 26-28 in Austin, Texas, with a record-breaking attendance of 22,000+ people from around the United States. It was my first year attending DreamCon and I can truthfully say I’ve never been to a convention, whether it was for fun, work, or school, that was so well organized and put together from start to finish. One ticket sale each season from Autumn to Spring, discounted hotel rates, and enough workshops so you’ll always have anything to do. For example, if there was a workshop you wanted to attend and it ended up being full, there were numerous other workshops you could attend that would catch your interest. If not a workshop, you could spend your time in the exhibition hall where you could shop from many small businesses.
The array of small businesses made keychains, figures, posters, comic books, etc. All made with the creators’ specific art style. DreamCon “provides endless entertainment for you all weekend long with a traditional artist alley, engaging panels, and memorable meet and greets.” As the aforementioned quote stated, there was something for everyone! Some of DreamCon’s staple events include Dodgeball, Cosplay contest and runway, All-Star Super Smash Bros Tournament, Crew Battle, and Family Feud. Since DreamCon was started by YouTubers, it’s only natural to have some well-known YouTubers attend. YouTubers who attended were Berleezy, AMP, KEVONSTAGE, Khleo Thomas, and so many more.
The multitude of events that took place included Arcade Free Play, Husbando Wars (that was 18+), Marvel Cosplay meetup, KPOP Trivia and Variety Show Games, HBCU Meetup, Road to Voice Acting, Anime and Mental Health: Main Character Energy Saved My Life, Otaku Cabaret (that was also 18+), Bleach Cosplay Meetup, Why Black People Love Dragon Ball Z, and How Woman Changed Shonen Forever. This small list doesn’t even touch the amount of activities this convention had!
DreamCon sounds amazing, right? Everything a Black nerd dreams of, but how did it come to be? The founders of RDCWorld - Mark Phillips and Affion Harris - didn’t have the best experience trying to be guests at other anime conventions, so they decided to start their own. “Originally, we were planning on visiting anime/comic conventions as guests to meet and interact with our fans in a fun setting. However, many of these conventions (except for a small few) were either ignoring us or turning us away and saying we wouldn’t ‘fit in.’” Myself and thousands of other Black nerds across the country are extremely grateful they took matters into their own hands. DreamCon 2025 will be held in Houston, Texas from May 30th - June 1st, with Autumn ticket sales starting at the end of August.
If you want to learn more, visit their website at www.dreamconvention.com.