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GalaxyCon, LLC, formerly known as Super Conventions or Supercon,[1] is a privately owned company based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that organizes comic book and anime conventions in the United States.[2][3] Events currently include GalaxyCon Raleigh (formerly Raleigh Supercon) in Raleigh, North Carolina, GalaxyCon Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, GalaxyCon Columbus in Columbus, Ohio, GalaxyCon Austin in Austin, Texas, and GalaxyCon San Jose in San Jose, California.[2][4][5][6][7][8]
As of 2019, the "Supercon" trademark only applies to Florida Supercon. All other conventions have been renamed GalaxyCon.[5][9] Florida Supercon, held in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale metro areas, was sold to ReedPop in early 2019.[10]
History
The first Supercon was organized by founder Mike Broder in late 2006 at the Ramada Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida, called Florida Supercon.[11][12] He was looking to bring a large scale convention to south Florida.[13] Another event, Anime Supercon, took place in Fort Lauderdale five months later.[14] Estimated attendances at each event averaged around 2,000 people.[11][12][14] As success grew, other conventions were added throughout the Fort Lauderdale and Miami metro areas.
An attempt was made in November 2008 to hold a longstanding Supercon outside of Florida, in Atlanta, Georgia, but it was not as prosperous as the Florida events.[15] Another try did not take place until July 2017 with Raleigh Supercon in North Carolina, replacing the promotional Wizard World Raleigh Comic Con which eventually moved to nearby Winston-Salem after the 2015 event.[16] Raleigh Supercon 2017 drew in an estimated 30,000 people for the weekend.[2][4][17] Super Conventions later acquired the former Derby City Comic Con in Louisville, Kentucky, which was re-branded as Louisville Supercon.[18] The inaugural event took place in November 2018.[19]
Two recent conventions, Animate! Florida (formerly known as Animate! Miami) and Paradise City Comic Con (formerly known as Magic City Comic Con[20]), were discontinued in 2018 so Super Conventions could concentrate on their three Supercon events.[2][3] Both of those had taken place in Miami.
Sale of Florida Supercon and convention name changes
On March 11, 2019, it was announced that Broder sold Florida Supercon and the "Supercon" trademark to ReedPop of Norwalk, Connecticut.[10] The company owns a number of conventions around the world, including New York Comic Con and MCM London Comic Con.[10] Management for the events in Raleigh and Louisville will remain the same under Broder, but are renamed as GalaxyCon.[9][21] Also added are GalaxyCon events in Richmond, Virginia, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.[9] Florida Supercon, now managed by ReedPop, will continue to have its annual event in early July.[5]
List of current GalaxyCon events
| Name | Location | Venue | Most Recent Event | Upcoming Event Dates | Year First Started |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GalaxyCon Raleigh | Raleigh, North Carolina | Raleigh Convention Center | July 25-28, 2024[22] | July 24-27, 2025[23] | 2017[24] |
| Animate! Raleigh | Raleigh, North Carolina | Raleigh Convention Center | January 5-7, 2024 | January 3-5, 2025[25] | 2024[26] |
| GalaxyCon Richmond | Richmond, Virginia | Greater Richmond Convention Center | March 15-17, 2024 | March 27-30, 2025[27] | 2019[6] |
| Nightmare Weekend Richmond | Richmond, Virginia | Greater Richmond Convention Center | October 11-13, 2024[28] | October 17-19, 2025[28] | 2023[29] |
| GalaxyCon Columbus | Columbus, Ohio | Greater Columbus Convention Center | December 6-8, 2024[30] | December 5-7, 2025 | 2022[31] |
| Animate! Columbus | Columbus, Ohio | Greater Columbus Convention Center | July 19-21, 2024[32] | June 13-15, 2025[33] | 2023[34] |
| GalaxyCon Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Oklahoma City Convention Center | May 24-26, 2024[35] | May 23–25, 2025[36] | 2024[35] |
| GalaxyCon San Jose | San Jose, California | San Jose McEnery Convention Center | August 16-18, 2024[37] | August 15-17, 2025[38] | 2024[37] |
| GalaxyCon Des Moines | Des Moines, Iowa | Iowa Events Center | September 27-29, 2024[39] | September 12-14, 2025[40] | 2023[41] |
| Nightmare Weekend Des Moines | Des Moines, Iowa | Iowa Events Center | September 27-29, 2024[42] | - | 2024[43] |
Notes: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, GalaxyCon Raleigh was rescheduled for July 29 – August 1, 2021.[44] In April 2020, the convention announced that due to economic conditions and issues with the venue, GalaxyCon would not be returning to Louisville for 2020.[45]
See also
References
External links
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