Arts & Entertainment
'Geek Culture' Fans Return To DC Facing COVID-19 Restrictions
Back-to-back fan events return to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C., last weekend's Otakon and Awesome Con this Friday.
WASHINGTON, DC — When Muriel Bowser reopened the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Aug. 3 to public events, she did it just in time for two conventions that traditionally bring thousands of pop culture fans to the District.
Last weekend, fans of Japanese animation, comics and east Asian culture gathered for Otakon and this Friday, fans of science fiction, comics and gaming will descend on the District as part of Awesome Con 2021.
In May 2020, the D.C. government closed the convention center to public events after it opened an Alternative Care Site there for an expected surge in patients with COVID-19. The facility added 437 beds to the District's treatment capacity during the pandemic.
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The convention center's closing forced organizers of both Otakon and Awesome Con to cancel their events last year.
Otakorp President Brooke Zerrlaut posted a thank you on the Otakon website this week to all the volunteers and partners that allowed them to host 25,000 people at last weekend's event.
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"But especially a HUGE thank you to all of our attendees for supporting us as the first large event 'back' in DC since the pandemic started," Zerrlaut said.
When the three-day Awesome Con opens on Friday, attendees 2 and over will be required to wear approved masks covering their nose and mouth. Organizers have laid out the event so there is more space for attendees to practice social distancing. In addition, they're setting up sanitation stations throughout the convention center. All attendees should expect to undergo a temperature check when they enter the building.
Billed as a "celebration of geek culture," Awesome Con will be open Friday, from 12-8 p.m.; Saturday, from 10 a.m.-7 a.m. and Sunday, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, N.W. Tickets are available at the door or online.
The newly reopened the convention center includes the addition of two locally-owned vendors — Ben’s Chili Bowl and Shop Made in DC.
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