What's in a Con?
We have to talk about BlerDCon...
I want to start this off by saying, I am proud to support black businesses and I firmly believe we need to have more spaces curated for black expression and enjoyment. I love eating at black-owned restaurants and I’ve gone out of my way to patronize as many black ran events as possible. I could go on but this is starting to feel a little defensive. Anyway, it is never my intention to bash any institution created by black people for black people. That being said, in our current economic situation no business or organization is above reproach. Especially organizations that display a pattern of treating their black patrons horribly despite claiming to prioritize them. As a black nerd specifically, I feel like I have a responsibility to call out an event that hurts people in my community, as a representative of that community. So, it’s about time we have a talk about BlerDCon.
BlerDCon or “Black Nerd Convention” is an anime and comic book centric multi-day convention that, according to their about page, “celebrates black nerd culture while also being inclusive of all backgrounds.” This includes a variety of panels, special guests, an Artist Alley, and a few other events. Usually held in early July, it’s located just south of the DC metropolitan area at the Crystal City Hyatt Regency, which made it a no brainer when looking for conventions to co-host for (if you want to know more, check out mochi_mob on Instagram). Therefore, my very first co-hosting panel experience was at BlerDCon 2019 and I am absolutely grateful for the experience and the memories made. However, the subsequent years of stress and frustration I and my counterparts dealt with, as well as what we saw other people experience has forever ruined my perception of the entire convention and the management that runs it.
While the first time jitters took up a lot of mental space, the red flags that appeared in 2019 were in hindsight, too glaring to ignore. The first was the lack of communication on the part of BlerDCon. We did not receive any information regarding our panel until a little over a month before the convention. This means that we were constrained as far as long-term planning before the event, transportation, and day-of logistics. Once there, we found registration time consuming and disorganized but we chalked it up to the growing pains of a small convention. Also, BlerDCon has a habit of releasing the schedule relatively late for attendees. This means that panels that are slotted early on Friday are typically under-attended. I spoke to other panelists that had early Friday time-slots as well and they experienced the same thing. Despite the shaky start to our BlerDCon experience, we made the decision to attend next year because the overall event was fun and it was nice to be able to meet so many people like us. BlerDCon 2021 is where the red flags turned into real problems.
In 2021 we were still experiencing high covid numbers so everyone was on edge going into the convention. For my part, I was freshly vaccinated yet deeply cautious of going but still wanted to support BlerDCon during such a difficult time. However, the lack of communication we experienced in 2019 persisted. BlerDCon 2021, without notifying panelists ahead of time, decided to omit badges and instead make branded BlerDCon cloth masks that would a)have to be worn at the con at all times and b) serve as the badges for this year. This immediately caused issues as by then we knew that the cloth masks were way less effective than KN95 type masks. It goes without saying that many people online claimed to get covid at BlerDCon 2021. Not to mention, the lack of badges made it harder for staff to identify panelists or even people who had actually purchased badges. If you had a blue cloth mask and moved fast enough, you could have gotten into BlerDCon 2021 for free. Which ties into probably the most glaring and serious issue at BlerDCon, the over-crowding.
BlerDCon is an extremely popular event as there are not many black nerd spaces to physically attend. I’m not surprised many people wanted to go and after an entire year of lockdown and disease, the interest in the event had spiked significantly. It makes sense then, that they sold way more badges than they had in 2019. It also makes sense then that you would move to a larger space to accommodate all of those new guests but for some reason, they are married to the Hyatt Regency. This means that even in the throws of the pandemic, every single space was crowded, providing the perfect conditions for covid to spread. This also creates a dangerous situation with the possibility of crowd crushing looming large over the weekend. Not to mention, getting from one end of the convention in the panel rooms to the main gaming floor was tedious and uncomfortable.
Throughout the event, we had to contend with late notifications of any changes, confusing messages surrounding the theme of the convention, and the result was a mixed experience that left us debating whether we would return for next year. This debate continued well into the fall as even after the convention, we made it a point to notify BlerDCon of these issues and were promptly ignored. To be fair, they were also contending with backlash from the general public for the lack of a black winner of the cosplay contest at the BLACK CONVENTION so maybe that’s why our emails went unopened. Ultimately, we said third times a charm and decided to re-apply for BlerDCon 2022. This would end up being my last BlerDCon and the single worst convention experience I have ever had.
I truly don’t know where to begin with BlerDCon 2022. Everything that went wrong, went wrong and I personally spent the entire weekend close to tears. To start, we did not receive any information at all about our panels (as we had 2 this time) until less that 2 weeks before the convention. If one month of notification is unacceptable, then less than that is unthinkable and shows a severe lack of planning or regard for your programming. In that late email, we were notified that badge pick-up for panelists would be at a different location entirely but there were no maps provided as to where exactly in that new building to get our badges. We ended up having to find and follow other panelists, hoping we were going in the right direction. Prior to the event, I had concerns about the safety at the convention and I had attempted to reach out to convention management to confirm what their procedures were. This proved difficult and it took me posting an angry comment on the Facebook page to get anyone to respond to me. Their response was lackluster but I was just happy to hear that they had given it some thought. I was surprised then to see that no additional security had been added to the convention despite the assurance I had received. People could still come and go, with checks being only at the escalators to the bottom floors i.e. the same set-up as every other year. The only difference was that conditions had deteriorated further than I could imagine.
According to the Grio, the anticipated number of attendees for BlerDCon 2022 was 8,000 to 10,000 people. This is a massive amount of people for the Hyatt and you could feel all of them crammed uncomfortably into the 70,000 sq. ft space. As a result, capacity issues plagued the event. Most panel rooms only hold 40 to 50 people so aside from the panels I co-hosted, I couldn’t get into another panel for the remainder of the convention. At times, the main lobby was too crowded for everyone to fit into and many were left to sit outside along the walkway of the hotel. Mind you, this is in the brutal DMV heat as it is usually over 90+ degrees around the time of the convention. There was also no opportunity to play games as the consoles were occupied around the clock. The overcrowding doesn’t stop there as I found it increasingly hard to shop given the lack of space to move through the Artist Alley, which is the main attraction of any con if we’re being honest. While my experience inside was horrible, my experience outside wasn’t much better.
I haven’t touched on it previously but there is no room for indoor food sales or eating at the Hyatt Regency. Therefore, the convention utilizes food trucks in a nearby parking lot as an outdoor cafeteria. In 2019 and 2021, this wasn’t much of issue as there were umbrellas at tables to provide shade. There were also plenty of tables to accommodate people as they came and went. I also didn’t mind the cost as expensive food is a given at conventions. However, for BlerDCon 2022 the umbrellas were gone in addition to most of the tables. Each time we went to eat, there was no where to sit so we were left standing if we decided not to leave the convention altogether. The lack of umbrellas also meant that the sun was beaming down on us and heat was rising directly off of the pavement making the experience brutal. It was so bad that at one point we decided to forgo the food trucks entirely. I’m glad no one got seriously sick in that environment but the possibility of that occurring was way too high.
For the events I did attend, I couldn’t enjoy because of the lack of planning. The cosplay contest is the tentpole event of the convention as it generates the most buzz every year. This year the lack of categories became glaringly obvious as a major issue. For starters, the entire event was done in a little less than an hour, which is too short for a main event. Second, everyone is competing against each other regardless of age, genre, build, or any of the usual categories you would expect to see at a cosplay contest. Not only does this speed up the event, it means that less people who probably deserve to win something actually win. It also means that you can guarantee that many people will be unsatisfied with the winner, which has been a consistent issue for BlerDCon. By the end of the event, I was left feeling drained and it dawned on all of my party that this would be our last time not only paneling at the con but attending altogether and as of this year, we’ve stuck to that.
A few days ago, I stumbled upon a thread by opal_lines on X.com, detailing their awful experience at BlerDCon 2024 and why they would no longer be attending. Reading their thread I was absolutely appalled. What stuck out to me was the lack of basic professionalism through it all. Whether it was opening the Artist Alley without all of the Artists there, exposing them to theft and criticising their “lack of hustle” when they complained, or the chaotic registration process in which they ran out of badges two days in a row, their entire story read like a nightmare. They also included a video of the Artist Alley being so overcrowded that it discouraged people from shopping as the con not only overbooked for attendees but also the AA itself. That part shocked me because I couldn’t imagine letting the overcrowding get worse, but here we are. A con that is functionally un-enjoyable due to clustering. Not to mention they outlined hygiene and safety concerns in their thread that I had never even considered, like loose hair leftover from the barbershop and con merch stealing shoppers from the AA. All of this points to a further deterioration of con management and a clear disregard for the safety of all who attend.
It may not seem like it, but I believe that a convention like BlerDCon is a good idea that could and should be executed with safety and enjoyment in mind. So I want to help by stating the issues clearly and providing practical solutions. I doubt anyone at BlerDCon would ever see this but in the off chance they do, I hope this list proves to be helpful:
Issue 1: The con has outgrown it’s location and fosters dangerous conditions as a result
My suggestion: Move the con. There are other locations in the surrounding area that would be better for a convention of this size such as the Gaylord National at the National Harbor or The Washington Convention Center. I’m sure that if the right connections are made, a favorable deal could be reached for the convention that is both affordable and practical.
Issue 2: Lack of communication with the people that sell/entertain at the convention i.e. panelists and artists
My suggestion: Hire more staff that specializes in vendor relations and can properly meet the needs of all of the artists and panelists and prioritize scheduling so that vendors and panelists can plan ahead and so that there’s wiggle room to do adjustments
Issue 3: The food of it all
My suggestion: Make sure the food area is properly covered and there are enough seats to accommodate any rushes. This can also be achieved with a bigger venue.
Issue 4: Event Structure
My suggestion: The tentpole events needs to be restructured. This means adding categories to the cosplay competition to beef it up. The con should also look into adding a masquerade to give more people an opportunity to perform and watch performances. Also the more popular panels ran by regular panelists should be moved to the un-utilized ballroom during the day. You could even send a poll out to see what people are the most excited for which doubles as a means for building buzz for the convention ahead of time.
Issue 5: Ignoring of feedback from concerned attendees and entertainers
My suggestion: Stop deleting negative comments from the Facebook and take some accountability. People will appreciate that like you wouldn’t believe.
I am not familiar with the inner workings of a convention, but as a patron of this event for several years I think I can speak to the experience of attending. Simply put, it is just not good. It is not hard to imagine that attendees feel like commodities instead of valued parts of the community. I know that’s how I felt when I decided to never attend again which is so incredibly painful when you think about how the convention started and it’s purported goals. I want to see BlerDCon win but it’s clear that management needs to start taking their patrons and supporters seriously and truly honor black nerds by giving them a safe and worthwhile experience.
This was gutting to write, but it needed to be said. Thanks for your patience!
thank you so much for speaking up. i was a panelist this year but didn't wanna feel like i was complaining.
I have friends who regularly attend BlerCon as artists and cosplayers, but I’ve never gone myself bc of the crowds, even before the pandemic. I can only imagine what it’s like now. They definitely need to move and I wonder if they’re tied into a contract with the Hyatt.