Finding the PNW’s Pop Culture Events: 2021

I have, since 2013, written an annual blog post about the pop culture events that take place in my home state of Florida. You can read the most recent (2021) entry here. One of the reasons I’ve done this is to keep myself knowledgable about the industry I work in locally to gain a better understanding of regional trends. Additionally, it also helps me seek out potential promotional opportunities for WasabiCon in Jacksonville, Florida.

Back in 2018, my company purchased a convention in Portland, Oregon and this year it’s been rebranded as the sister show to our Jacksonville event and now goes by WasabiCon PDX. (New website coming soon.)

Thus, I’ve started learning more about that Pacific northwest (PNW) region by focusing on events in the area: Oregon and Washington. Here is the list of notable events I’ve found around that part of the country. If you are reading this and know of one(s) I’ve missed or have an update for the ones listed “TBD/POSTPONED” – let me know! As the world transitions to finding ways to run conventions in a post-COVID era, I (and many others) are paying attention to how owners, promotors and staff are planning their future productions. Thanks for reading and checking out my list.

CONFIRMED

• FEB 12-14, RadCon (Pasco, WA) *virtual event*
• MAR 25-28, Gamestorm (Portland, OR) 
• APR 1-4, Norwescon (SeaTac, WA) *virtual event*
• APR 2-4, Sakura-Con (Seattle, WA) *canceled*
• APR 30-MAY 1, Crypticon (Seattle, WA)
• MAY 29-30, WasabiCon PDX (Portland, OR)
• JUN 18-20, Washington State Summer Con (Puyallup, WA)
• AUG 6-8, KuroNekoCon (Spokane, WA)
• AUG 13-15, Dragonflight Gamecon (Bellevue, WA)
• AUG 13-15, Everfree Northwest (Bellevue, WA)
• AUG 14, Meadowlark Comic Con (Medford, OR)
• AUG 15, Ani-Medford (Medford, OR)
• SEP 3-5, PAX West (Seattle, WA)
• SEP 10-12, Furvana (Ocean Shores, WA)
• SEP 10-12, Rose City Comic Con (Portland, OR)
• SEP 24-26, RustyCon (Bellevue, WA)
• OCT 2-3, Lilac City Comicon (Spokane, WA)
• OCT 9, Grit City Comic Show (Tacoma, WA)
• NOV 5-7, Kumoricon (Portland, OR)
• NOV 12-14, OryCon (Portland, OR)
• NOV 18-21, Anthro Northwest (Seattle, WA)
• DEC 2-5, Emerald City Comic Con (Seattle, WA)

TBD/POSTPONED

• 2022 JAN 7-9, OrcaCon (Bellevue, WA)
• Aki-Con (Seattle, WA) – defunct?
• Brass Screw Confederacy (Port Townsend, WA)
• Chibi Chibi Con (Olympia, WA)
• Furlandia (Portland, OR)
• GeekGirlCon (Seattle, WA)
• Japanese Anime and Manga Arts Festival (Everett, WA)
• Jet City Comic Show (Tacoma, WA)
• Kobe-Kon (Everett, WA) – defunct?
• Medford Comic Con (Medford, OR)
• MiyakoCon (Keizer, OR)
• Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show (Tacoma, WA)
• Portland Retro Gaming Expo (Portland, OR)
• RenCon (Renton, WA)
• SpokAnthro (Spokane, WA)
• Uwajicon (Beaverton, OR)
• Wizard World Portland (Portland, OR)