Another Emerald City Comicon has come and gone but this one was extra-special for an important reason – it was my first! I’m foreign to Seattle just like the horse of a different color isn’t native to Oz. Living here for just over a year, I’m mostly familiar with the wacky Seattle sights and ECCC weekend is no exception. Short of going to the convention center itself, behind the counter at Raygun Lounge might be one of the best places to experience the con. I was granted a front row seat for the nerdtastic conversation and costumery that punctuates any good Comicon.

Curious newcomers and returning friends descended on the Lounge Thursday evening for a multimedia trivia contest hosted by Raygun regular Andrew & his friends. Special guests from Comics Chat with Gat, the Nerdhole, and A Podcast For All Intents and Purposes took turns hosting rounds and stumping teams with obscure knowledge. Eight teams participated during the event and prizes were raffled off between rounds. After the dust settled our first place team was Alternative FAQs, second place went to Ronald Raygun Lounge and third place was claimed by Indiegogo presents Wendigo: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go: A Tale of Vertigo.

Friday night was a more low key gathering featuring a Queer Comics Mixer hosted by Northwest Press. Sharing the space with our monthly Hearthstone tournament, everyone enjoyed another exciting raffle of prizes and plenty of good times. The easy-going vibe from Friday night was a nice lull before the main event on Saturday – NW Nerd‘s annual costume contest! The Lounge was transformed into a cosplay runway where all the best ECCC costumes strutted their stuff for the masses. Prizes were awarded for a variety of categories pitting fantasy and sci-fi characters against each other for the top spot. Check out the highlights on the .

After a super hectic weekend of comics and community building I have to say ECCC is a blast – and I haven’t even been to the Con yet! I am already looking forward to our next big weekend celebrating Sakuracon April 14th-16th. Stay tuned to our events page for info about parties dedicated to anime and 20 successful years of this unique convention.

That’s right, we’re just a short walk from the convention center and we’ve got food, drinks, swag and events all weekend long to make it worth your while when you do. We’ve even got espresso from 10am on if you want to coffee up on your way down! It’s glorious around here these days, I tell you. Just glorious.

And it all starts on Thursday, March 2nd with our annual Comicon Trivia Night hosted by all of your favorite nerdlebrities from a podcast for all intents and purposes, nerdhole & .

Then, after your amazing first day of the con on Friday, March 3rd, come out for our Queer Comics Mixer with the editors of the Northwest Press and Jetspace Magazine!

But our (if not THE) biggest party of this year’s comicon is definitely going to on Saturday, March 4, when takes over hosting duties for our massive annual cosplay contest & all night party!

On Sunday, March 4 we recover from hangovers with our Geek Girl Brunch.

And on Monday, March 5 we’ll be OPEN ALL DAY from 10am – 10pm for all of your last chance gaming, comics and pop cultural needs on your way back out of town.

To learn more about any of the events I listed here (or the bunch, like our Comicon Hearthstone, Magic the Gathering and Android Netrunner tournaments, that I didn’t!) head on over to our Events Page and see what we have for YOU this very special Emerald City Comicon weekend!

As from our frequent collaborations with Queer Geek Seattle, our hosting of , our support for GeekGirlCon and our regulars’ notoriety for genderbent cosplay,

we are a fun, safe, place for people of all genders, sexualities, ethnicities and phenotypes to get together and play dress up.

And what better time to do that than Dia de los Muertos or its lesser known American cousin “Halloween.” Both of which are days that we will be open, slingin’ the beers, playin’ the pinball,

aaaand if you show up in costume, handing out free goodies. That’s right! We’re bringing back “the goodie bowl!” Come by in costume this Friday or Saturday and we’ll give you a FREE mini, collectible or rando thing that we found from our sweet, sweet bowl.

Ah, sweet bowls.

See you soon.

-Eric

Then we’re the place for you! Conveniently located at the corner of gender and sexuality at the gateway to Seattle’s legendary Capitol Hill neighborhood,

we’re right next to the action and just off the beaten path.

With our full barcade of classic titles like Street Fighter II & Turtles in Time,

we’re the perfect pop cultural respite for you should you need a little nerdy or geeky time in the Emerald City.

We’ve even got 3 special events for you while you’re here! Starting on Thursday night with our of our weekly . Come out, meet some people, and test your geeky mettle as local fave challenges Iron Quizomancer Andrew in our unique Iron Trivia format that at least one person has taken to calling, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show of Trivia Nights.”

Then on Saturday, we’ve got Magic Drafting at Noon and our weekly Standard Tournament at 4pm, both of which are welcoming to guests and boast a healthy GLBT population.

And finally, on Sunday, you are invited to join us for our Queer Geek boardgame meet up. It’ll be a great afternoon to relax and play some games with friends new and old as you wind down from your crazy weekend and try to remember what exactly did happen last night.

You can learn more about these and all of our other events on our Special Events Page. If you have any additional questions about Seattle, the neighborhood, the scene, or anything else while you’re in town, don’t hesitate to call or come by and we’ll get you sorted.

See you soon,

-Eric