Flame Con

Flame Con is an annual two-day multi-genre entertainment and comic convention, focused on fans and creators of pop culture who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ). Launched in 2015, it is the first LGBTQ comic convention in New York City,[2] and the largest LGBTQ comic convention in the world.[3][4]

Flame Con
StatusActive
GenreLGBTQ-focused comic convention
VenueSheraton New York Times Square Hotel
Location(s)New York City
CountryUnited States
InauguratedJune 13, 2015 (2015-06-13)
Most recentAugust 17–18, 2019
Next eventAugust 21–22, 2021
Attendance8,000[1]
Organized byGeeks OUT
Filing statusNon-profit
Websitehttp://www.flamecon.org
A cosplayer dressed as Jubilee at the inaugural Flame Con on June 13, 2015 at Grand Prospect Hall

Programming

Flame Con is organized by Geeks OUT, a non-profit organization aimed at organizing LGBTQ events at comic conventions.[5] The convention is a multi-genre event, showcasing LGBTQ-inclusive pop culture across comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, movies, and television. Flame Con features panel discussions, workshops, and an exhibitors floor.[5] The convention is launched with an annual kick-off party, which features a dance party and drag performances.[6]

In partnership with the Ali Forney Center, the Sunday of each Flame Con is designated as "Youth Day", in which attendees under the age of 20 are granted free admission.[7]

History

Flame Con launched as a Kickstarter campaign in November 2014, with a fundraising goal of $15,000.[8] The campaign would ultimately raise over $19,000,[9] and was inaugurated as a one-day convention in June 2015. The following year, Flame Con moved from Grand Prospect Hall to the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott, and expanded to two days of programming.

After the 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub, Flame Con instituted a ban on all prop weapons at the convention, including those used in cosplay.[10][11] In 2018, Flame Con relocated from Brooklyn to Manhattan to be held at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel.[12] The convention switched to a lottery system to assign exhibitor space in 2019,[13] and launched a mentorship program with artist Jen Bartel that same year.[14] In 2020, Flame Con was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]

Event history
No. Date(s) Location Atten. Special guests
1 June 13, 2015 Grand Prospect Hall 2,200[16] Cecil Baldwin, Morgan Boecher, Sarah Donner, Lewd Alfred Douglas, C. Edwards, Aimee Fleck, Tommy Heleringer, Phil Jimenez, Daniel Ketchum, David Levithan, Krutika Mallikarjuna, Dylan Marron, Steve Orlando, Jill Pantozzi, Mark Patton, Tony Ray, Cristy Road, Chad Sell, Kate Tracy, James Tynion IV, Kevin Wada, Max Wittert, Jennie Wood[17][18][19]
2 August 20–21, 2016 New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge 4,000[20] Kris Anka, Cecil Baldwin, Tea Berry-Blue, Terry Blas, Brandon The Shapeshifter, Sophie Campbell, Jennifer Camper, Amy Chu, Chris Claremont, Sarah Donner, Lewd Alfred Douglas, Dax ExclamationPoint, Aimee Fleck, Tana Ford, Heather Hogan, Phil Jimenez, Jay Justice, Daniel Ketchum, Jeff Krell, Kate Leth, Laurent Linn, Alex London, Terra Elan McVoy, Steve Orlando, Greg Pak, Jill Pantozzi, Fyodor Pavlov, K. Perkins, Amy Reeder, Cristy Road, James Romberger, Marcy Schwerin, James Tynion IV, Marguerite Van Cook, Magdalene Visaggio, Chelsea Von Chastity, Kevin Wada, Matthew Waterhouse, Max Wittert, Jennie Wood[21]
3 August 19–20, 2017 New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge 6,000[5] Sana Amanat, Marc Andreyko, Kris Anka, Vita Ayala, Cecil Baldwin, Tea Berry-Blue, Soman Chainani, Amy Chu, Valerie Complex, Jay Edidin, Grace Ellis, Dax ExclamationPoint, Katy Farina, Ulises Fariñas, Aimee Fleck, Tana Ford, Tee Franklin, Nicole J. Georges, Sina Grace, Heather Hogan, Phil Jimenez, Robert Jones, Jr., Jay Justice, Daniel Ketchum, Mackenzi Lee, Kate Leth, David Levithan, Laurent Linn, Alex London, Terra Elan McVoy, Steve Orlando, Dan Parent, Mark Patton, Amy Reeder, Vincent Rodriguez III, Kristin Russo, Marcy Schwerin, Adam Silvera, Nicky Soh, Bishakh Som, Rian Sygh, Robin Lord Taylor, James Tynion IV, Magdalene Visaggio, Kevin Wada, Max Wittert, Jennie Wood, Jenny Owen Youngs[22]
4 August 18–19, 2018 Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel 7,000[23] Kaitlyn Alexander, Kris Anka, Iasmin Omar Ata, Vita Ayala, Jen Bartel, Terry Blas, Tee Franklin, Joamette Gil, Sina Grace, Atla Hrafney, Phil Jimenez, Julia Kaye, Irene Koh, MariNaomi, Annie Mok, Erin Nations, Steve Orlando, Molly Ostertag, Dan Parent, Shadi Petosky, Amy Reeder, Hamish Steele, Noelle Stevenson, Lilah Sturges, Mariko Tamaki, Josh Trujillo, James Tynion IV, Magdalene Visaggio, Kevin Wada, Brittney Williams[24]
5 August 17–18, 2019 Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel 8,000[1] Vita Ayala, Jen Bartel, Tamra Bonvillain, Terry Blas, Jay Edidin, Food 4 Thot, Crystal Frasier, Tana Ford, Melanie Gillman, D.J. Kirkland, Kate Leth, Ed Luce, Steve Orlando, Dana Simpson, Christina 'Steenz' Stewart, Miles Stokes, Taneka Stotts, Mariko Tamaki, Josh Trujillo, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Luciano Vecchio, Magdalene Visaggio, Wendy Xu[25][26]
6 Cancelled[lower-alpha 1] N/A N/A Tanya DePass, Chuck Tingle (scheduled)[27]
7 August 21–22, 2021[15]

See also
  • GaymerX, an LGBTQ-focused video game convention
  • ClexaCon, an entertainment convention focused on LGBTQ women

Notes
  1. Scheduled for August 15–16, 2020; cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]

References
  1. Hay, Carla (August 20, 2019). ""Sabrina" Cosplay and Gay Mutant Love: 5 Takeaways From Flame Con 2019". NewNowNext. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  2. Cracker, Miz (June 2, 2015). "Queers and Comics Meet at Flame Con". Slate. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  3. Oh, Ashley (August 8, 2018). "The Polygon Show's upcoming live events". Polygon. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  4. Rude, Mey (August 20, 2018). "7 Reasons Why We Want to Live at the World's Queerest Comic Con". them. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  5. "World's Largest Queer Comic Con Announces Fourth Annual Flame Con". Flame Con. January 23, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  6. "Flame Con: Firestarter". Time Out New York. August 16, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  7. Granshaw, Lisa (June 22, 2017). "Geeks OUT empowers LGBTQ+ geeks at Flame Con and beyond". SyFy Wire. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  8. Avery, Dan (November 9, 2014). "Help Queer Geeks Ignite "Flame Con," The First LGBT Comic Con in New York". NewNowNext. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  9. Geeks OUT (November 4, 2014). "Flame Con – NYC's First LGBTQ Comic Con!". Kickstarter. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  10. McNally, Victoria (August 22, 2016). "New York's biggest LGBT geek convention banned prop guns to honor Orlando". Revelist. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  11. Robertson, Adi (June 22, 2016). "An LGBTQ fan convention is banning toy guns after the Orlando shooting". The Verge. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  12. Nugent, Edie (January 25, 2018). "FLAME CON moves to Times Square for 2018". Comics Beat. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  13. Nugent, Edie (January 4, 2019). "FLAME CON returns to Times Square in 2019: here's your ticket and exhibitor info". Comics Beat. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  14. Puc, Samantha (March 4, 2019). "Jen Bartel Announces FlameCon 2019 Mentorship Program for 2 Selected Artists". Comics Beat. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  15. @FlameCon (May 28, 2020). "To our Flame Con family, this likely does not come as a surprise but due to concerns around COVID-19, this year's Flame Con will be postponed until next year at the Times Square Sheraton on August 21-22, 2021. For more information, please visit bit.ly/2M8kUeI" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. Chan, Edwin (June 6, 2015). "Holy Flame Con, Batman!". Out. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  17. Avery, Dan (June 15, 2015). "Thousands of Gay Geeks Unite at Flame Con, New York's First LGBT Comic Con". NewNowNext. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  18. Sweatman, Kathryn (June 22, 2015). "Out of the Closet and into Comics: Flame Con and Why it Matters". Washington Blade. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  19. "Flame Con 2015 official website (via archive)". June 11, 2015. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  20. Geeks OUT (June 20, 2017). "Geeks OUT Announces Third Annual Flame Con in New York". Geeks OUT. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  21. "Flame Con 2016 official website (via archive)". August 21, 2016. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  22. "Flame Con 2017 official website (via archive)". August 16, 2017. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  23. MacDonald, Heidi (August 22, 2018). "Flame Con Was Lit with New Record Attendance and Overflowing Joy". Comics Beat. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  24. "Flame Con 2018 Guests (via archive)". May 12, 2018. Archived from the original on September 24, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  25. "Flame Con 2019 guests". Flame Con. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  26. Silliman, Brian (December 13, 2018). "Exclusive: Flame Con 2019 dates and location revealed, plus a look at some new Flamies". Syfy. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  27. Busch, Caitlyn (January 24, 2020). "Flame Con reveals dates and special guests for 2020 convention, showcasing commitment to diversity". SyFy. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
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