The Press Release:
Flame Con, created by the LGBTQ non-profit Geeks OUT, is announcing its fifth annual comic con on Saturday and Sunday, August 17-18. After another record year of over 7,000 attendees in 2018, Flame Con will be returning to the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. Featuring hundreds of creators exhibiting queer-positive comics, arts, crafts, clothes and entertainment, Flame Con is open to all ages and will be free for all youths 21 years of age and under on Sunday, August 18.

“We are excited to be returning to Times Square for our fifth anniversary year. The amount of support we received after our move to Manhattan was overwhelming and we can’t wait to debut even more surprises with our anniversary,” said Steve Gianaca, Vice President of Geeks OUT and Flame Con Chair. “Flame Con means so much to us and to our community, we are constantly growing and excited to be bringing this back for another year.”

Every year, Flame Con has debuted a new Flamie created by Terry Blas (Dead Weight). This year, Flame Con and Geeks OUT are excited for its Flamie family expansion, debuting Butch Flamie and a Neuro-Diverse Flamie with their service dog, Sparkie.

“The Flamies are so much fun to draw and every chance I get to create a new one is exciting”, said Blas. “Bringing a group of intersectional, queer, racially ambiguous superheroes to life isn’t something that happens every day and when I look at them, they feel like a strong, close-knit family.”

Last year, Flame Con was home to over 200 queer-oriented vendors alongside creators such as Noelle Stevenson (She-Ra), Steve Orlando (Supergirl) and more. This year, Flame Con is excited to welcome back one of last year’s highly anticipated guests, Jen Bartel (Blackbird).

“Flame Con is the most welcoming and inclusive convention I have ever had the privilege of attending,” said Bartel. “It’s a truly special two-day event that features a stunningly impressive lineup of creators from all backgrounds in a safe and comfortable environment. The energy is absolutely electric, and the staff goes above and beyond to take care of the exhibitors and attendees alike. I can’t wait to return in 2019!”

Tickets for Flame Con Five will go on sale Tuesday, January 8, 2019 via Eventbrite. Also new this year, will be a lottery process for exhibitors, which will also go live on the 8th and will be open for 30 days after. For more information on Flame Con, please visit www.flamecon.org and for more information on Geeks OUT, please visit the link below. .

About Geeks OUT: Geeks OUT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to rallying, empowering and promoting the queer geek community. Founded in 2010 with the goal of bringing a positive queer presence to local comic conventions, Geeks OUT now hosts events in five major cities, attends conventions across the nation and produces the world’s largest LGBTQ comic convention – Flame Con. Geeks OUT is also the publisher behind Power and the forthcoming Serving Pride: The Queer History Dinner Party Handbook. For more information please visit the link below.

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Piercing Ken Thoughts: At the time of this announcement, I can say that I’ve attended two Flame Con’s with the first being in Brooklyn and the second at this same location where the upcoming event will take place. The whole GeeksOut staff and their volunteers do a terrific job of making everyone feel welcome and I can say that they are super helpful to those of us who are coming in as media representatives for the sake of reporting in terms of general access, and getting materials needed to build a solid story. For those interested in attending, please know that in addition to hundreds of vendors and awesome items for sale there are numerous panels and programs that are aimed at the LGBTQ community. Time to start working on your finest cosplay and getting it ready for August if you’d like to attend. I’ll do a reminder about the tickets going on sale so do stay tuned if the event is on your radar. Until next time.

Official Website:
Geeks Out: http://www.geeksout.org
Flame Con: https://www.flamecon.org/