Galaxycon Columbus 2023 — A jam-packed weekend celebrating all things fandom

I recently had the chance to attend Galaxycon Columbus which ran from December 1st to 3rd, and I came away thoroughly impressed by the sheer scope and professionalism on display. Galaxycon Columbus, one of the many events that the Galaxycon team hosts each year, promised a whirlwind of a weekend chock full of memorable experiences and that is precisely what they provided, allowing me to walk away with a backpack overflowing with signed memorabilia and a head filled with enjoyable memories.

Galaxycon Columbus is accurately billed as a 3-day Festival of Fandom which serves as a love letter to all things pop culture. This well-crafted convention does an incredible job of celebrating your favorite shows and fandoms by allowing attendees to meet a wide range of celebrities, voice actors, cosplayers, creators, wrestlers, and notable individuals from nearly every niche you can imagine along with offering a jam-packed schedule of interesting presentations, Q&As, and special events.  The sheer scope of what is offered leads to what is frankly a rather exhausting 3-day spectacle, but one that is well worth the relatively low-ticket price.

Exhausting isn’t used in a bad sense here, rather there is so much to see and do that 3-days is not nearly enough time and you’re bound to miss a few things. But with some careful planning, which is easy to do thanks to the highly detailed schedule books available upon check in, you can make sure you cover all the bases which are most important to you.

I arrived relatively early on Friday, about a half hour before registration opened and nearly two hours before the doors to the exhibition hall opened, and the convention center was already filled with excited attendees donning immaculately designed cosplay outfits, all of which were nearly bursting with excitement to enter the exhibition hall and begin their weekend. Thankfully, registration ran smoothly, despite a line which ran nearly the entire course of the building’s interior. Multiple tables were set up around a large room, each catering to different ticket types. The lines moved with impressive efficiency, led by well-trained volunteers, and attendees had their bracelets and swag bags within minutes.

Entering the exhibition hall is akin to entering Wonka’s Chocolate Factory – you’re immediately overwhelmed by the lines of vendors and eye-catching items. Upon entry it is up to you where to go next, though I found that most people made a beeline – often in a sprint – toward the celebrity area in hopes of meeting their favorite actors. Admittedly, that is where I went first as well.

Each Galaxycon event is chock full of celebrities, and Galaxycon Columbus was no different. Not all celebrities appear all three days, but the previously mentioned schedule book is a great source of information as to where to find each celebrity and what days they are available. Normally there will be a sign at each table which mentions when a guest will arrive and details their break times, photo op times, pricing structure, etc. Most celebrities offer autographs and selfies at their table and have scheduled times in which they will participate in professional photo ops with attendees. Normally, the best bang for your buck is an autograph/selfie combo, if the celebrity offers it, but it is up to you to choose your celebrity encounter.

Celebrities tend to have a wide range of 8×10 photos and often a few mini posters to choose from when receiving your autograph. You simply select which picture you’d like signed and then present it to the celebrity. Though, if you prefer, you can bring your own items such as Funko Pops to have signed. Most celebrities are happy to customize your autograph however you request, often writing down famous lines or using whatever marker colors you prefer. Though be aware, customization and autograph options are at the sole discretion of the celebrity and depending on wait times, may sometimes be skipped over in favor of a simple autograph to keep the line flowing smoothly. That said, I cannot recall a moment during an autograph session where I ever felt rushed.

The autograph sessions are also the best time to speak with the celebrities, as they are normally more than willing to carry on a conversation with everyone who purchases an autograph, and I witnessed quite a few celebrities go above and beyond to make sure each person had a worthwhile experience. This included taking long periods to chat about various topics, hugging, and adamantly thanking their fans for their support. Of course, I can’t speak for all celebrities at the event, but each one I encountered was incredibly friendly and seemed genuinely thrilled to be at the convention and meeting their fans. The sheer number of times I watched people leave a celebrity’s table after an experience with face-wide grins or crying from happiness with honestly heartwarming. A celebrity may just be an individual, but meeting someone you highly respect or have grown up watching on TV is a magical experience for many, and I am so thankful for Galaxycon for allowing so many people to find these little moments of happiness throughout the weekend.

Photo ops are nice, but to some they may not be worth the cost. It really depends on what you expect out of a photo op. You will get a nice, professional photo with your celebrity of choice, but the lines move so fast you barely have a moment to say hi and get into position before you are ushered out of the room for the next attendee to take their photo. I get that there is a time constraint, but the few photo ops I did were incredibly rushed, with the volunteers essentially telling customers to run and get out as fast as possible. This is quite disappointing to someone that may be paying well over $100 for a photo and just wants a moment to say hi and maybe ask for a unique pose, but ultimately, you do get what you pay for, so it is hard to complain. Just be aware when purchasing a photo op that you may only get exactly what is offered – a professional photograph with a celebrity along with a printout and digital copy – but you may not get a chance to speak to the celebrity. As mentioned before, if you want to really speak with a celebrity then the autograph table is your best bet.

I’ve mentioned celebrities many times but have neglected to name any in attendance. To list all would be an article in and of itself, but performers from Star Trek, The Mandalorian, Daredevil, Boy Meets World, NSYNC, The Walking Dead, What We Do In the Shadows, Jaws, and several other pop culture favorites others were in attendance, including William Shatner, Charlie Cox, Vincent D’onofrio, Ron Perlman , Mike Tyson, Paula Abdul, Richard Dreyfuss, Stephen Amell, Harvey Guillen, Peter Cullen, Steve Downs, Yuri Lowenthal, Ross Marquand, Nadji Jeter, Michael Rooker, Jen Taylor, and Tara Strong.

That’s not to mention the cosplayers, comic artists, and wrestlers in attendance. The list of attendees was massive and impressively varied. A large portion of the exhibition hall was set up to house all the celebrities and for the most part, the area was well constructed. Though, a few of the lines which were meant to serve as guidance for larger crowds were entirely too small to fit an average person. This led to more than a few instances of people in line being confused over where to go or what position in line they may be in, though all these issues were always settled amicably by those involved.

Once you’ve had your fill of celebrities, you can venture out into the rest of the massive exhibition hall to peruse the hundreds of vendors which sell everything from t-shirts, Funkos, and posters, to unique hand-crafted memorabilia and everything in-between. Vendors were lively and helpful, with most more than willing to speak about their crafts or offer discounts, and all seemed genuinely happy to be in attendance. As a bonus, many made sure to offer items which corresponded to the guests available, helping those who may want to purchase a Funko Pop or a unique specialty item to be later signed by a celebrity.

After you go broke from inevitably purchasing far more than you could ever actually display in your home, you can wander over the tabletop or gaming areas, where you’ll be granted chances to play games with other attendees or check out new releases. A lively wrestling ring area provided a great place to catch your breath while taking in an exciting fight.

Throughout each day there are a slew of panels and Q&A sessions occurring, ranging from how to apply movie makeup or simple talks about fandom topics, to multiple cast members of popular shows such as Daredevil and Boy Meets World sitting down to answer audience questions. Nearly all additional events are free and open to any attendee, though there are a few unique events with additional price tags.

I won’t attempt to list all the panels and discussions, but here are a few pictures from the schedule book which shows you how jam-packed each day is:

I took in a showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show led by a shadowcast, which featured an introduction by none other than Brad himself, Barry Bostwick, and attended quite a few Q&As, all of which were informative and quite fun.

When the exhibition hall closes, the fun doesn’t end, as multiple nighttime events take place ranging from karaoke and dating games, to Drunk on Disney and Nerdlesque shows. The range of activities is mind-blowing and a sure guarantee that each night you’ll go home fulfilled, but thoroughly exhausted.

The entire event lasted three days, with Saturday being by far the most hectic. If you plan to attend a Galaxycon convention in the future then I highly recommend dedicating Friday to gathering autographs, provided your celebrities of choice are there on Friday, as Saturday the wait times increase from minutes to potential hours and the convention hall can become nearly gridlocked due to the amount of people in attendance. Sunday is a mixture between Friday and Saturday, with less of a crowd than Saturday but more than Friday, but I also found that many celebrities were more difficult to find at their autograph tables. That said, despite the incredible uptick in attendees on Saturday, the convention still flowed well, felt safe, and ran smoothly. Just be prepared to wait in lines often.

As this was my first time attending a Galaxycon convention as Press, I was unaware of what I could or could not do when it came to interviews, etc. so unfortunately, I do not have a lot of content to provide. Though now that I am better aware of how the convention runs, I hope to attend future Galaxycon conventions and provide a more detailed account of the festivities along with videos, pictures, and hopefully a few interviews.

If you missed 2023’s Galaxycon Columbus but would still like to see what all the fuss is about, you’re in luck as the team behind Galaxycon has no less than 9 shows planned in the next year including Animate! Raleigh, Galaxycon Richmond, Animate! Columbus, Galaxycon Raleigh, Galaxycon San Jose, Animate! Des Moines, Nightmare Weekend Des Moines, Nightmare Weekend Richmond, and finally the third stop for Galaxycon in Columbus.

Galaxycon Columbus provided exactly what it claimed it would, a jam-packed weekend celebrating fandom culture. I had a blast throughout the entire weekend meeting celebrities, purchasing unique memorabilia, checking out panels and Q&As, and taking in the sights and would not hesitate to attend a Galaxycon event in the future. I highly recommend all reading this to check out Galaxycon whenever it sets up shop in a town near you.