Geek flags fly at DC Awesome Con

Geek flags fly at DC Awesome Con
D.C. was invaded this weekend by superheroes and characters from comic books, video games and movies, thanks to Awesome Con.

More than 60,000 people attended the pop culture convention at The Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest, D.C.

Stephanie Feama brought her children and grandchildren; she was thankful for the feeling of inclusiveness at Awesome Con, she said.

“I really love the diversity here,” said Feama. “My family is very diverse and so it’s great that my kids are not the only ones that are diverse here.”

No matter if you would rather fly with Captain Kirk or Han Solo, you would feel quite protected from the dark side thanks to people like Antoine Menthonnex.

The former employee of the World Bank was dressed as Star Trek star Nichelle Nichols. Menthonnex was inspired by Nichols’ groundbreaking portrayal of Lieutenant Uhura.

“To see this beautiful woman in space and she was a scientist was really fantastic and wonderful,” said Menthonnex. “Seeing her out promoting the sciences, especially for women and women of color, was really wonderful.”

Now, if you have ‘The Force” inside you, Gregory Hillick is the guy to meet.

The network engineer from Havre De Grace, Maryland, spent eight years and over $20,000 building a replica of everyone’s favorite Star Wars droid: R2D2.

WTOP asked Hillick what his wife thought of his hobby, and he answered: “I bought most of this before my wife.”

Comic books and superheroes are a big part of any pop culture convention. Both DC and Marvel were represented, especially by Doug Aldrich and 20-year-old Kirakaiya.

While Aldrich came to Awesome Con dressed as Batman, Kirakaiya came as everyone’s favorite “Web Slinger.”

Aldrich visits hospitals dressed as the “Caped Crusader” and drives in Baltimore-area parades in his 1979 corvette that he converted into his Batmobile, he said.

When not dressed as Spiderman or Iron Man, the 20-year-old Kirakaiya earns a living working for roadside assistance, helping people in Pennsylvania.

While there were a lot of cosplayers at Awesome Con, WTOP only found one duo that was father and daughter: Fairfax County, Virginia’s Archie and Tanisha Robinson.

Anthony Phuong (left) and Drew Brammer (right) enjoy a laugh with WTOP’s Jimmy Alexander (center) in Washington, D.C. at Awesome Con in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Mar. 10, 2024. (WTOP/Jimmy Alexander)
An overhead photo of visitors to Washington, D.C. for Awesome Con at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Mar. 10, 2024. More than 60 thousand people attended Awesome Con over the event weekend. (WTOP/Jimmy Alexander)
Father-daughter cosplay duo Archie and Tanisha Robinson in Washington, D.C. for Awesome Con at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on March 10, 2024. (WTOP/Jimmy Alexander)
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Archie was decked out as Thor and jokingly said he loves coming to events like Awesome Con because he “looks so pretty.”

Tanisha and her father first bonded over comic books when she was young and started to team up at pop culture events, she said.

“The first time that we did cosplay together was because he was jealous that I did it first and he kept having to hold my bag because others wanted to take pictures with me,” said Tanisha Robinson.

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Jimmy Alexander

Jimmy Alexander has been a part of the D.C. media scene as a reporter for DC News Now and a long-standing voice on the Jack Diamond Morning Show. Now, Alexander brings those years spent interviewing newsmakers like President Bill Clinton, Paul McCartney and Sean Connery, to the WTOP Newsroom.

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