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BlerDCon, celebrating Black nerd culture, kicks off today in Crystal City

Published July 7, 2023 at 10:30AM

Cosplayers at BlerDCon in Crystal City (via BlerDCon/YouTube)

A cosplayer at the 2019 BlerDCon, which takes place in Crystal City (via BlerDCon/YouTube)

BlerDCon 2023 promo screen (via BlerDCon)

BlerDCon, an annual convention with cosplay, gaming, anime and sci-fi events, is returning to Arlington this weekend.

The summer tradition for nerds, and particularly the event’s namesake Black nerds, or “blerds,” kicks off in Crystal City today (Friday). It will run from noon today until 3 p.m. on Sunday. Expect to see costumed crowds around the neighborhood throughout the weekend.

Tickets can be purchased online for the event, held at the Hyatt Regency at 2799 Richmond Hwy.

Actress Rachel True, who has appeared in “Beverly Hills 90210” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” will return to BlerDCon, after her last appearance at the convention in 2019. Voice actor and actress Cree Summer, who has spent a majority of her career working in animation, will also appear at this year’s BlerDCon, along with several other notable guests and cosplayers.

The event this year will honor art, literature, cosplay and media genres with its “Fae’d to Black” theme, the event’s website says.

The schedule includes everything from 2000s Disney Channel trivia to mental health discussions, highlighting common struggles shared among people of color.

While open to all, the convention aims to highlight sci-fi and fantasy fans in the LGBTQ and disability communities, as well as women, people of color and immigrants.

Last year’s convention drew a local headline after police were called for a man with a weapon, which turned out to be a cosplayer with a prop. Organizers have published policies regarding faux weaponry and cosplay that attendees are expected to follow for safety purposes.

Ticket reservations for a full weekend badge cost $70. There is also an option to purchase a badge valid for Saturday and Sunday for $55 as well as a badge available for Sunday only listed at $30. Children ages 10 and under can attend the event for free, accompanied by an adult.

Badges to get selfies, autographs, voice and video recordings from featured guests are available to purchase as well. Ticket reservations range from $10, for selfies or autographs, to $200 for a VIP ticket that includes giveaways, early access to BlerDCon 2024 events, free show entries and front row seats at qualifying events throughout the weekend.

Furry convention returns to Crystal City next week

By Vernon Miles

Published March 3, 2023 at 11:45AM

Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The annual furry convention Fur the ‘More is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a time travel-themed extravaganza in Crystal City.

Fur the ‘More is scheduled to run from Friday, March 10 to Sunday, March 12, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City at 2799 Richmond Hwy.

The convention features a vendor marketplace, a gaming room, dance competition, an art show, a parade and more — all based around the subculture of anthropomorphic animal characters. Each year, the convention has a theme, and the time travel theme celebrates the convention’s 10-year anniversary.

Like many conventions, Fur the ‘More often prominently features elaborate, full-body animal costumes, though many attendees in past years opt for more low-key animal themes like kigurumis or cat ears.

The convention also features an auction every year that raises money for a charity. This year it is raising money for The Frederick Center, an LGBTQ+ support and advocacy organization.

The basic tickets are $70, though those are prorated at $50 for Saturday and $35 for just Sunday.

For those staying at the hotel, it’s offering both a standard room block and a “noisy hotel block” for “you late night room partiers.”

Furry Fandom Finds New Home This Weekend in Crystal City

By Vernon Miles

Published March 6, 2020 at 3:10PM | Updated March 6, 2020 at 5:25PM

A convention of furries — a subculture interested of anthropomorphic animal characters — has taken over the lower levels of the Hyatt Regency Crystal City (2799 Richmond Highway) this weekend.

The 8th annual Fur the More convention is happening today through Sunday, March 8. Attendance at the convention starts at $55.

Starting today (Friday), the lower three levels of the building are filled with art, costumes and panel discussions of various fandoms. There are a few dozen full-body character suits called a fursuit that has become the iconic image of the fandom, but most of the couple hundred of attendees at the convention’s opening range from Pokémon kigurumi to subtle tails or cat ears sported by hotel staff.

The theme of the convention this year was science fiction, so several costumes blended anthropomorphic animals with sci-fi convention staples like Firefly and Star Trek.

“I like these smaller cons,” said KiwiNiwi, one of several attendees at the convention who goes by a nom de guerre. “The bigger ones are usually rushed. These are chiller. You can talk to friends.”

Many people descending the escalator waved to friends waiting in the ticket line and greeted each other by the respective character names. KiwiNiwi said several people travel across the country to see friends at these conventions. It was KiwiNiwi’s fourth year at Fur the More, which was previously been held in Tysons and Baltimore.

Starla (real name Ashton Spenner) acted as furry liaison for ARLnow and said the main theme among the furry fandom is acceptance. Starla, who also works at other conventions for fandoms like anime, said the furry community stands out to her for its accommodating and accepting nature.

“There are a lot of people here with social anxiety, but fursonas give people confidence,” Starla said. “It allows people to express themselves.”

The anonymity of a mask can also be a problem at conventions. Signs around the hotel remind people to keep their hands to themselves, as the anonymity has sometimes resulted in overly frisky furries. Starla said there have been a few issues over the years, but they’re the exception rather than the norm to what is typically a G-rated environment.

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Furry Convention Coming to Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

Published February 12, 2020 at 10:00AM

Fur the More furry convention (courtesy Fur the More)

First Amazon. Now furries.

The Mid-Atlantic region’s “premier anthropomorphic convention” is moving from Tysons to Crystal City this year. Hundreds of fuzzy, costumed animal characters will touch down in the National Landing area in March for the 8th annual event.

The furry convention, dubbed Fur the More, will be held from March 6-8 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City (2799 Richmond Highway), organizers announced. Tickets range from $55 to hundreds of dollars for a VIP “Raven God” pass.

‘Cowboy Bebop’ Star Headlines ‘Blerdcon’ in Crystal City Next Month

By Vernon Miles

Published June 13, 2019 at 10:00AM

Blerdcon — a comic convention highlighting black nerd culture — is returning to Crystal City and fans of the ’90s anime Cowboy Bebop may recognize a familiar voice.

The convention is scheduled for the Hyatt Regency (2700 Richmond Highway) from Friday, July 12 through Sunday, July 14.

Guests highlighted at the convention include Estelle, a musician and who has a leading role in the Steven Universe cartoon show, and Beau Billingslea, who voiced Jet Black in the English dub for the seminal anime Cowboy Bebop.

The event celebrates both the creative talents of black nerds, a subculture emerging at the intersection of science-fiction/fantasy fandoms and the black experience in America that has historically struggled with a sense of isolation in both communities.

In addition to a focus on the black nerd cultural experience, the event description highlights the convention’s intersectionality with “LGBTQ, the disabled, POCs and the international community.”

Weekend passes to the convention are $55.

Photo via Blerdcon/Facebook

Roll for Initiative at Arlington Public Library’s Tabletop Gaming Day

By Vernon Miles

Published October 16, 2018 at 2:45PM

Break out the dice; it’s board game convention time at the Arlington Public Library.

Demand for the library’s board game collection has led the library to host Tabletop Gaming Day on Nov. 4 at the Arlington Central Library. The board game extravaganza will run from 1-5 p.m.

All ages and experience levels are welcome to Board Game Day. For those who may be new to certain games, staff and volunteers will be ready to help teach the rules. Those with their own board games are welcome to bring them.

Attendees can also join into a raffle to win board games Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 and Codenames: Disney Family Edition donated by ThinkGeek.

The event is free, without any registration required.

Photo via Arlington Public Library

‘BroCon’ Coming to Arlington Next Month

By ARLnow.com

Published September 18, 2018 at 10:45AM

A gathering called BroCon is coming to Arlington in October, but it’s probably not what you think it is.

The convention, which is taking place in the D.C. area for the first time, is being held from Oct. 10-12 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. Registration costs as much as $500 per person.

BroCon is not, as one might guess by the name and the Arlington location, a meeting of former fraternity members and fist-pumping enthusiasts. Rather, it is a convention for network security professionals and academics.

Bro is open-source software that has been used to monitor computer networks since the early days of the internet.

The three-day conclave is billed as “the most important community event for users, developers, incident responders, threat hunters and architects who rely on the open-source Bro network security monitor as a critical element in their security stack.”

“This year join your colleagues who rely on Bro for technical talks, demonstrations and discussions about the project, its many applications, and its future,” says the convention’s website. “If you’re interested in the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape and how Bro can help your organization by providing better data about network traffic, then BroCon 2018 is a critical event for you.”

Blerdcon, ‘Fully Inclusive’ Convention for Nerds, Returns to Crystal City

By Melanie Pincus

Published July 20, 2018 at 1:45PM

Blerdcon, an anime, gaming, cosplay, comics and sci-fi convention with a focus on inclusivity, will return to Crystal City next Friday (July 27).

Held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City (2799 Jefferson Davis Hwy), organizers anticipate between 3,000 and 4,000 attendees.

Blerdcon aims to celebrate “blerd,” or “black nerd,” culture in an environment that welcomes everyone, including members of the LGBTQ community, individuals with disabilities, people of color and international fans.

Guests include artist and jewelry designer Douriean Fletcher, whose work was featured in Marvel’s Black Panther, actor and writer Kevin Grevioux, known for his work on the Underworld series, and actress and stuntwoman Keisha Tucker, whose credits include Black Panther and Ant-Man and the Wasp.

This year’s event will also include a panel entitled Black Heroes Matter, organized by movement founder and comic book creator URAEUS.

Full weekend passes are available for $50 each, with separate tickets required to participate in certain events. Blerdcon runs from July 27 -29.

Photo via Facebook

Arlington Nominated as a Top Meeting Location in South

By Chris Teale

Published October 9, 2017 at 4:30PM

Arlington County is up for an award honoring it as a top meeting and convention location in the southern United States.

Event planners from across the country nominated Arlington and the Arlington Convention and Visitors Service for a 2017 Reader’s Choice Award from ConventionSouth magazine.

The county and its tourism authority are one of 47 nominations in Virginia and D.C., alongside hotels, convention centers, other jurisdictions and tourism authorities. Also nominated from Arlington, but separately from the county as a whole, is The Westin Crystal City hotel (1800 Jefferson Davis Highway).

The publication focuses on places to host events in the south’s 16 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia & D.C. and West Virginia). The annual Reader’s Choice Award recognizes destinations, tourism authorities, hotels and meeting spaces.

An online vote will determine award winners by state, and is open through Sunday, October 15. Winners will be announced in ConventionSouth’s December issue.

More from an Arlington County press release:

With 44 hotels, more than 11,000 sleeping rooms, and nearly 320,000 square feet of meeting space, Arlington offers meeting and group guests monumental views of the nation’s capital, rich history and thriving neighborhoods like Ballston, Crystal City, Rosslyn, and others. Just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., and conveniently central in the capital region, Arlington has hotel rates averaging 20 percent lower than those at downtown D.C. properties. Its unique combination of national history and local flavor also means unexpected fun for meetings and groups.

Courtesy photo

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 5, 2017 at 10:00AM

Crystal City Hotel Worker Sexually Assaulted — A female employee of the Hyatt Regency hotel in Crystal City was sexually assaulted Sunday morning, according to police. A 34-year-old man from Bahrain was arrested following the assault. [WJLA, Fox 5]

Arlington Man Beaten to Death in Brooklyn — An Arlington resident was beaten to death by a 69-year-old man in his Brooklyn home, in what’s being described as a case of self-defense during a home invasion. Rodolfo Rosa, 48, of Arlington, Va., died after suffering severe head trauma during the alleged break-in and the struggle that ensued. [New York Post, New York Post]

ACFD to Hold Fire Camp for Girls — Thursday is the first day of Arlington County’s annual all-girls firefighting camp, which “introduces teens to the male-dominated career of firefighting” and encourages them to pursue a career as a firefighter or paramedic. [Washington Post]

Slow Drivers in Passing Lane to Be Fined — Starting this past Saturday, a new law went into effect in Virginia which makes it illegal to misuse the passing lane by driving slowly in the left lane longer than necessary. Those pulled over for it face a $100 fine. [WHSV]

No Flag Waving at Arlington Cemetery — It is technically illegal to wave an American flag at Arlington National Cemetery. That is an unintended side effect of — or, perhaps, collateral damage from — a 2006 federal law meant to crack down on anti-gay protests during military funerals. [Washington Post]

Photos: Costumes of BlerDCon — “The inaugural BlerDCon… brought out thousands of cosplayers of color from across the country” in Crystal City this past weekend. ESPN’s The Undefeated has photos of some of the attendees. [The Undefeated]

Photo via @kcristol

Tattoo Expo Returning to Crystal City Next Week

By Tim Regan

Published January 6, 2017 at 3:00PM

Thousands of tattoo enthusiasts are expected to flock to Crystal City for an annual expo next week.

The D.C. Tattoo Expo is scheduled to be held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott (1700 Jefferson Davis Highway) next Friday, Jan. 13 to Sunday, Jan. 15. This is the show’s seventh consecutive year running.

The event should attract more than 400 professional tattoo artists, including some of the celebrities from Spike’s “Ink Master” and “Tattoo Nightmares,” organizers said. Attendees can sign up to get new tattoos or just talk shop with the tattooers throughout the three-day festival.

“For our seventh year in a row, we have more vendors, more clothing, more tattoos, more craziness and more fun than ever before,” the expo website reads.

The D.C. Tattoo Expo is also set to include body piercing, tattoo competitions and the annual Miss D.C. Pin-up contest. “The Human Knot” and “Mini KISS” are also scheduled to perform.

Photo via Facebook / D.C. Tattoo Expo