All cons are not created equal. Whether we call it “comic con” or “pop culture con,” it’s important to note that the “con” moniker can cover any number of types of events.

I wanted to share with you who we are, what Reno Pop Culture Con represents, and what you can expect when it premieres at the convention center in November of 2019.

We are a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization Dedicated to Literacy and Education

While most of the other cons and like events across the country, and even the world, are for-profit ventures, ours is not.

Reno Pop Culture Con (RPCC) is a program of Pop Culture Classroom (PCC). Our organization exists primarily to educate, and we do this year-round though after-school programs, workshops, teacher training, and summer camps, to name just a few.

This means we don’t have shareholders to please, and no one is making outrageous salaries; in fact, 95% of our business is conducted by dedicated volunteers, and many of the employees donate additional hours to the organization.

At RPCC, we’ll have full tracks of educational programming, our own literary conference, and the PCC Kids’ Lab, dedicated to providing kids and teens both an education and fun experience, with some surprise guests and activities. We also have a continuing education credit program for K-12 teachers; more information on this will be coming later in the year.

What IS Reno Pop Culture Con, and What Can I Expect at the Event?

RPCC is a 3-day, family-friendly event that celebrates all things nerdy and pop culture, be it comics, TV, gaming, film, cosplay, collecting, and sci-fi/fantasy authors and guests.

Not only can you meet your favorite authors and comics creators and celebrity guests, but you can be entertained by hundreds of hours of programming throughout the weekend in panels, workshops, and Q&A sessions.

All of this included in your admission badge!

RPCC is organized into zones we call “Attractions.” Our main Attractions happen throughout the convention center.

The Show Floor is what we call the exhibition space in the halls and it, too, has various zones of engagement.

• The PCC Kids’ Lab is a large interactive space on the show floor where kids and teens can engage in activities, workshops, watch presentations on the two stages, or just hang out.
• Author Alley is your go-to place to meet and greet your favorite authors, get your books signed, or find new books to obsess over.
• Celebrity Summit is where you can get autographs and photo ops with celebrity guests. Autographs and photo ops do have additional fees associated with them.
• Artist Valley is home to comics creators, where you can meet the writers and artists of some of your favorite comics, find new comics to love, purchase original art, and so much more.
• Merchant Mesa includes exhibitors of all sorts, from comics sellers, to t-shirt vendors, to purveyors of cool collectibles, to costumes, posters, mystery boxes, games and gaming supplies, and just about anything else you might need in your life.
• Reel Heroes Filmmaker Series is a unique space where you can meet and get autographs and selfies from the people who bring movies to life, from writers to stunt people, to actors and producers. 

Panel Programming is what we call the interactive, informative, and entertaining spaces that include panels, workshops, roundtable discussions, and guest Q&As. These take place in the rooms outside of the show floor, and you can find the full schedule in the printed program or app.

Make sure to check our next blog, on all the wonderful things you find in our programming!

We’re Here to Help 

We hope this has been helpful in introducing you to Reno Pop Culture Con, and showing you how it is different from other cons out there. In the following blogs, we’ll talk more in-depth about some of the details of the con.

As always, if you have more questions or would like to suggest a topic for us to cover, feel free to write them in the comments below, post them on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages, or send them to info@popcultureclassroom.org.

Allons-y!
Christina Angel
Convention Director