Richmond, VA – I have been a GalaxyCon Richmond volunteer since its inception back in 2019. It was a great experience and the turnout was always great! This year, I chose to take a different approach and look at it through a Digital Beat Magazine Lens. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. What an experience (and I was able to barely scratch the surface of all there was to do)!
First off, for those who do not know, a Con is considered by non-goers something like a geek convention. Most goers do not dispute that and actually take it as a badge of honor. I admit that, to date, GalaxyCon Richmond is the only Con I have taken part in. It offers a little for all and will bring out the geek in all of us. There is much to unpack here, so coverage of GalaxyCon Richmond will be done across multiple articles.
The four days were a whirlwind. From the ribbon cutting on Day 1, followed by getting to meet John Wesley Shipp and Terry Farrell (interview excerpts with Terry forthcoming) and to the final Cosplay Masquerade competition on Day 4, there was so much to do. Honestly, there was something for almost everyone.
Of course, I also had to find a music performance twist to the Con. That was a piece of cake.
I am sure most of the readers are familiar with the Korean sensation, Oscar winning “K-pop Demon Hunters“. Two of the voice actors, Alan Lee and May Hong, were at GalaxyCon. I had the privilege of doing a short interview with Alan. The conversation centered on the impact the movie had on the K-pop genre in the US. Their Q and A session was a blast as well, from what it takes to be a voice actor in a hit movie to being cut off at the Oscars when their received their award. It was such a good time!
May and Alan were also fan favorites, interacting with fans in the celeb area.
No Con’s musical relevance would be complete without talking about William Shatner. By this time, most knew of his upcoming delve into the world of metal, but sadly, from what I had seen up to this point, the media focus was on the covers he was doing. For those of us who attended his Q and A, we got to hear the personal elements of his metal venture. Be sure to stay tuned to DBM, as I will cover some of his Q&A answers about his upcoming album.
Of course there will be some more celeb info, but let’s talk a bit about the cosplay side of the con. If you have never been to a cosplay event, you have no idea what you are missing. The work some people put into their cosplays, to be someone they are not and look good doing it, is amazing!! In my years as a volunteer, interacting with the cosplayers had to be my all time favorite part. This year, from the Belle with a dress made of pages from a book, to La Muerte, some awesome Star Wars cosplays and Japanese anime, there was a bit of everything.
There were some very interesting panel discussions also, from Sean Korsgaard’s Abridged History of Military Science Fiction, to Cosplay 101 by Heartless Aquarius if you wanted to know something con related, you could likely find a panel to talk about it.
Other activities that will be discussed include gaming events, speed friending, and some tattoo artists at work. Yes, there was no shortage of things to do.
This is just a taste of what I will talk about going forward. As I said, if you are not sure about cons, this may be a good one for you to attend. A couple words of advice though. Get your passes early. If at all possible, DO NOT try to get them on Saturday as the lines are the longest and you may be waiting a while. While I cannot say it is true for all GalaxyCons, the Richmond event had early pickup. Use it! Plan ahead, see what there is to do and get the pass the fits your needs. Finally, in the words of the Heartless Aquarius (this not just about cosplay competitions)…
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Stay tuned for more pics and stories from GalaxyCon Richmond 2026
For a list of other GalaxyCon live events, go HERE.
