Flame Con will return to Manhattan and the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel for its fifth year in 2019. The 2018 installment saw a record attendance of over 7,000 people according to Geeks OUT, the organization that has been putting on this inclusive con since its Brooklyn debut in 2015. The two-day convention runs from Saturday to Sunday, August 17 – 18, 2019. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, January 8 at Eventbrite.
The move from Brooklyn to the Sheraton last year saw room for far more exhibitors than ever before, and the increased demand for tables created a problem for con organizers. “In 2018, after three years of incredible growth, Flame Con sold out of Exhibitor tickets in 7 hours,” wrote Geeks OUT in a statement posted on their website. To help address the demand, which outpaces the space available, Geeks OUT is introducing a lottery system for exhibitor space in 2019. “The reality is ‘first come, first served’ doesn’t serve folks who aren’t able to purchase a table in that small window of time,” wrote organizers, “a lottery gives everyone a level playing field.”
All the lottery details are here. Potential exhibitors can submit a request for table space the same day tickets for the show itself go on sale, Tuesday January 8th, but they’ll have until February 8th to do so. After that time a drawing will determine who ends up with a table.
Illustrator Jen Bartel announced she’ll be returning in 2019, but no other guests have been officially confirmed as of press time.
A leader in queer nerd programming, Flame Con organizers call themselves the “world’s largest queer comic con,” Flame Con also stands out in terms of accessibility, a real problem at most cons.
