The Dallas Fan Festival was held over the weekend to draw thousands of people to Dallas and bring together fans of comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming.
Formerly known as Dallas Fan Days, the Dallas Fan Festival has been held at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas every year since 2012.
The festival is an outgrowth of the Fan Expo Dallas, formerly known as Dallas Comic Con, which is a much larger convention that takes place annually at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. The last one was held in June.
Past guest appearances at both events have included John Barrowman, David Tennant, Anthony Daniels, Tom Felton, Bruce Campbell, and the creator of the Marvel Universe, the late Stan Lee.
The guests at this year’s Dallas Fan Festival included stars such as Tom Sturridge from The Sandman, Jenna Coleman from The Sandman and Doctor Who, and Matt Smith from HBO’s House of The Dragon, along with more.
People that attended the festival were able to take a picture and get autographs with their favorite star, comic writer, or cosplayer, for a price of course.
Fans were able to meet the people who voice their favorite anime characters or draw some of their favorite comic books, as well as watch celebrity panel discussions.
The festival brought out many creators and fans of cosplay with costumes from anime such as Attack on Titan, Hunter Hunter, and Demon Slayer.
“The big thing about these events is just really witnessing the creativity of people,” explained Dana Cobb, president, chief hype-driver at the Vokol Group, speaking with The Dallas Express.
“They spend so much time and energy not only on costumes but also researching, finding how they’re going to be able to express themselves here. I really think that it’s just people want to have fun, and everybody is accepted,” she continued.
The Dallas Fan Festival not only brought out cosplayers, comic enthusiasts, or celebrities from fans’ favorite movies or television shows, but also organizations such as the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. These girls were able to shadow the work of agents, comic book artists, and voiceover actors, according to Cobb.
A big trend at the festival is cosplay and this year there was no shortage of creativity, originality, and imitating the classics of animated heroes and villainous corporations from the movies.
“I am corporal Andrew D. Meyer from G.I. Joe,” Jesse Jauregar, a cosplayer told The Dallas Express. “I’ve been coming to these events for a good while, ever since the lockdown happened. I had all sorts of gear and nowhere to go but once things opened up, I started coming again.”
The Dallas Fan Festival ran through October 14-16. Tickets to the next Dallas Fan Festival on October 20-22, 2023, will be available soon here.
Tickets to the next Fan Expo Dallas on June 9-11, 2023, will also be available soon here.