We just woke up, what’d we miss?? Wait, it’s already been over a week since Retro Con ended?! Guess that means it’s time for a long overdue wrap-up post…

Retro Con has made a successful move to Hall A! There were hiccups and complications along the way, but overall we’re hearing mostly positive feedback from the new hall and layout. We may not have all the bells and whistles of the bigtime comic cons, but we like to think we deliver a decent bang for your buck, and foster an atmosphere that draws in genuine fans, and not so much your “influencer” and “too cool for school” types. We always try to be the change that we want to see in the convention world.

We’re also happy to report we totally shattered our attendance record for 2023! This was something we were highly relieved and pleased with considering there was substantially more competition for us this year, with no less than three major shows in the region happening the same weekend. We’re grateful to everyone that chose to spend the weekend or part of the weekend with us.

We’re aware of what needs improving in the new hall, and if we decide to keep the show going, we already have ideas on how we can fine tune things further.

We want to thank all of our attendees, vendors, guests, agents, everyone that came in costume, our panel room A/V person Tom Dalton, Oaks Expo Center, Arnold’s at the Factory, the Game is Afoot Arcade, Cool 98.5 for airing our guest shout-outs and spinning tunes at the show (and only ticking off one or two vendors), our panel room mods, Tommy & the Order of Cosmic Champions for sponsoring Stan Bush’s appearance, the Cybertronic Spree, the tv/movie car owners, the costume groups, anyone that helped us promote throughout the year, the Press outlets and photographers, and a special thanks to our friends at TooManyGames for jumping into action and supplying us with a speaker system when we realized the Hall A’s PA system was on the fritz!

And of course our biggest thanks go out to our staff and volunteers, who are truly the ones that keep the show rolling. We’re not sure where you find your boundless energy, but your spirit and enthusiasm is what keeps us going when we’d rather be taking a nap in a quiet corner somewhere. You guys are the best!

Our esteemed staff and volunteers for the year included Nick Govosdian, Denise Albright, Mike Breaux, Kevin Jones, Nagi Oki, Nate Kiphorn, Jack Doud, TJ Becker, Anthony Kyzer, Trick Treat, Dean Plakus, Tim Plakus, Kyle Williamson, Greg Hammaker, Jim Cannon, Matt March, Courtney March, Brandon Wassmer, Joe Fiore, Wayne Kline, Candice Santora, Logan Moran, Mike Townsend, Zach Townsend, Stephen Wang, Renee Devlin, Connie Smeriglio, Linda Marquis, Peter Tulay, Amanda Parker, Rachel Coppersmith, Stephen Williams, Bonnie Murphy, Shalisa Murphy, Lynn Brown, and Chris Scheetz.

Thank you to everyone that helped make Retro Con 2023 a truly memorable one!!