Flame Con is an annual two-day multi-genre entertainment and comic convention, focused on fans and creators of

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

who are

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, gay,

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, transgender, and

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

(LGBTQ). Launched in 2015, it is the first LGBTQ comic convention in New York City, and the largest LGBTQ comic convention in the world.

Programming

Flame Con is organized by

Geeks OUT Geeks OUT is a New York City-based, non-profit organization, founded in 2010, whose mission is to rally, empower, and promote the queer geek community. The content on its website often focuses on gaming, video gaming culture, comics, superheroes, ...

, a non-profit organization aimed at organizing LGBTQ events at comic conventions. The convention is a multi-genre event, showcasing LGBTQ-inclusive pop culture across

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

, graphic novels, anime,

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

, video games, movies, and television. Flame Con features panel discussions, workshops, and an exhibitors floor. The convention is launched with an annual kick-off party, which features a dance party and

drag performances A drag show is a form of entertainment performed by drag artists impersonating men or women. Typically, a drag show involves performers singing or lip-synching to songs while performing a pre-planned pantomime or dancing. There might also be s ...

. In partnership with the

Ali Forney Center The Ali Forney Center (AFC), based in New York City, is the largest LGBT community center helping LGBTQ homeless youth in the United States. The AFC both manages and develops transitional housing for its clients. AFC helps approximately 2,000 y ...

, the Sunday of each Flame Con is designated as "Youth Day", in which attendees under the age of 20 are granted free admission.

History

Flame Con launched as a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign in November 2014, with a fundraising goal of $15,000. The campaign would ultimately raise over $19,000, and was inaugurated as a one-day convention in June 2015. The following year, Flame Con moved from

Grand Prospect Hall Grand Prospect Hall, also known as Prospect Hall, was a large Victorian-style banquet hall at 263 Prospect Avenue in the South Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It was primarily an event space, hosting weddings, bar and bat ...

to the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott, and expanded to two days of programming. After the 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub, Flame Con instituted a ban on all prop weapons at the convention, including those used in

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

. In 2018, Flame Con relocated from Brooklyn to Manhattan to be held at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. The convention switched to a lottery system to assign exhibitor space in 2019, and launched a mentorship program with artist Jen Bartel that same year. In 2020, Flame Con was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An online-online version of the event was held in 2021, and the convention returned to a in-person event in 2022.

Event history

Notes

References

External links