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Crabcakes, we’re looking at you. The Baltimore Comicon — twitter hash tag #bcc! — runs tomorrow and Sunday (with the Diamond Retailer Summit pulling in on Monday and Tuesday) and it looks to be the same kind of fun, cozy show that we’ve come to expect from Marc Nathan and company. The guest of honor is George Perez and other guests include Bendis, Kirkman, Sakai, Fraction and lots more. Full list here. It’s a stellar line-up and you won’t find a friendlier environment to meet the top creators of today than Baltimore.

Programming is here, and once again, it’s a wide ranging slate, with panels from Image, Dark Horse, Marvel, DC, Top Cow and ACT-I-VATE and spotlights on Ian Sattler, Stan Sakai, Jo Chen, and Chris Claremont.

The Harvey Awards are held Saturday night, and we can safely say that the winners will be closely watched, given all the questions over the nomination process. Tickets can be purchased here.

The Beat and Future Mr. Beat are motoring down tomorrow AM with Captain Action himself, Ed Catto, so there may be delays while we fight bears or thwart Latverian dictators — or just try to find a Cinnabon on the Turnpike–but we’ll be there! After the excitement of Cinnabon, The Beat will be covering all the action, at the con AND the Retailers Summit, which promises to be quite fascinating.

Please, if you see us, don’t be shy about saying hi. It’s always an honor to meet Beat readers.

While it sounds like a great time for all, travelers should be aware that the Baltimore Marathon is taking place Saturday morning, and there’s a Ravens game on Sunday. The con sent out the following traveling advisory, which continues in the jump. With ample mass transit opportunities, it doesn’t sound impossible, however.

The 10th annual Baltimore Comic-Con falls on October 10-11, 2009, and this year, the Baltimore Marathon will occur on our opening day, October 10th.  This will be different than the standard Orioles or Ravens game, so we want to pass on what information we can to make your commute into Baltimore as easy as possible.
 
Getting to the Show on Saturday, October 10th. 

Due to the Baltimore Marathon, traffic might be a little strange due road closures on nearby streets.  Here are our suggestions for avoiding traffic problems on your way to the show Saturday morning.
 
Even more than in past years, the Baltimore Comic-Con recommends taking the light rail when attending the show this year.  We’re excited to be sharing the stage with the Baltimore Running Festival on Saturday, October 10th, but as you can imagine, the races will affect traffic off and on during the day.  There are no road closures going directly to the Convention Center, but there will be periodic road closures in the downtown area into the afternoon, potentially causing delays. 



Light Rail: The Light Rail makes it an easy trip to the Baltimore Comic-Con, costing $1.60 for a one-way pass or $3.50 for a full-day pass and dropping you within 1.5 blocks of the Sharp Street entrance of the Convention Center, our location this year.  Please click on the link below for the Light Rail stops:
 
http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/lightrail/schedule/June_14th_2009_schedule_changes_index.cfm
Please click on the link below to find the most convenient Light Rail schedule for you:
 
http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/bus/schedule/LRMAP209.pdf

 
Parking: If you do intend to drive into the city for the show, we recommend leaving extra time in your schedule on Saturday to account for the extra people the Baltimore Marathon will be bringing downtown as well that morning.  Please follow the link to the Baltimore Convention Center Recommended parking:

http://www.bccenter.org/downloads/userfiles/Parking_Web_Map.pdf

As a reminder, we are in the Baltimore Convention Center and our halls can be accessed from the Sharp Street entrance.

1 COMMENT

  1. Light rail, lol….Be prepared to be packed in a like a sardine in a sauna. Source: Native DC resident.

  2. Heading out to Balmer, Merlin, after work.

    (And the trade show starts Sunday, with some overlap with the Con.)

    There’s a Cinnabon in the Chesapeake House I-95 rest stop 12 miles inside the Maryland border, with a Starbucks, a Burger King, and a regular convenience store. If you stop there, there’s one of those souvenir penny manglers which will stamp a picture of the Patron Saint of Alt Music, Frank Zappa (born in Baltimore), which should guarantee you safe passage in Baltimore.

    http://chesapeakehousetravelplaza.com/

    Also:
    Vince Lombardi, NJ
    Clara Barton, NJ
    Walt Whitman, NJ
    Delaware House, near Newark, DE.

    While in Balmer, check out Lexington Market, six blocks NNW of the convention center.

  3. If you want safe passage in Baltimore, just say “hun” a lot and people will think you are a local.

    I have a friend that works at that Starbucks.

    BTW, I encourage all people traveling south on 95 to get off in Newark and get back on a mile or two away in Elkton MD to avoid the insane toll at the MD/DE border.