Geek culture will be celebrated this weekend in the nation’s capital as Awesome Con returns to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
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Along with celebrities from iconic movies and TV shows like E.T. the extraterrestrial, Star Trek and Dr. Who, the pop culture convention features the creators, writers, and artists of comics, books, and games.
Over a period of three days, Awesome Con expects 60,000 people will come to rejoice in the fun.
On Friday, the early birds were there, dressed in costumes, picking up badges and posing for pictures.
Mikah Carpentier, who was dressed as Iuno from the Wuthering Waves video game, was putting the finishing touches on her outfit.
Carpentier, a student of the Maryland Institute College of Art, told WTOP that she is an illustration major and experimental fashion minor.
“I didn’t sew this one, but I do sew costumes,” Carpentier said, laughing.
Not far away were two other eventgoers paying homage to Marvel Universe’s Peter Parker.
Kira Kreates, who is a cosplay social media influencer, was dressed as Spider-Man, and said he will be featured on one of the LGBTQ+ panels over the weekend.
“Pretty much the next couple days, I’m gonna be hanging out with some amazing people, meeting new faces, and just getting to talk about, like, nerd stuff,” Kreates said.
Along with Kreates, is Sofia Cupit, who dressed as Mayday Parker, better known as Spider-Girl. The 23-year-old U.S. soldier told WTOP that she has been into cosplay for a very long time.
“I ran a Percy Jackson cosplay YouTube channel with a bunch of other middle schoolers from around the world,” Cupit said with a chuckle.
While the two “web-heads” posed for pictures, past the escalator were people sitting in chairs, eating food from the Ben’s Chili Bowl location inside the convention center.
One of the people relaxing in a chair was Pepper Adams. She was dressed as Princess Peach from Super Mario.
“I’m actually quite a shy person in my real life,” said Adams. “So, not even my work knows I’m here.”
Adams works for the U.S. Capitol Police.
While she says she’s quiet in her day-to-day routine, she’s a completely different person at Awesome Con. “I can just be as loud and vibrant as I want,” she said.
Awesome Con made its debut in D.C. in 2013, and first timer Kedge Nicholas, seemed to be thrilled he had finally made it for the festivities.
“It’s just been really cool to, you know, go around and see all the different vendors,” Nicholas said. “I’m dressed as Double Trouble from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.”
Nicholas said he had worked on the costume since January.
Likely one of the happiest people at the first night of Awesome Con 2026 was Michael Hock.
The Reston, Virginia, resident said he was having a great time “playing dress up.” He was dressed as Captain Pike from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
“I’ve lost 170 pounds. I’m able to fit into this now,” Hock said. “I feel like I’m walking on the bridge of a Starship right now.”
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