Rose city 2017 By: Life of Shel

Rose City Comic Con comes once a year to Portland, OR and it’s no surprise it boasts the largest attendance of any comic book convention in our state. Not only do the streets around the Oregon Convention Center fill with all manner of geekery, but the community inside the convention rivals the warmth that the LA conventions are known for. I had few expectations when I arrived for the first time this year and was very impressed. Rose City Comic Con is an annual three day convention that comprises of panels with everything ranging from costuming to celebrity, a 255000 sq foot exhibit space filled with alleys of magical nerdiness. also was the first year that they added Friday to the event schedule and it was very well attended.

Weird Al was one of the main highlights and unfortunately Felicia Day canceled at the last minute but attendees had a plethora of other guest to fill their time with. (the voice of batman) gave me a highlighted high five.

The cosplay scene, which was my main purpose in con attendance, was AMAZING. While Portland’s cosplay community is still developing and growing, Rose City had such an strong atmosphere of warmth and community, partly due to the Seattle and Canadian cosplay communities trekking down to our galaxy. I was highly impressed by the attention to detail and character impersonations by the cosplayers. There is some extreme talent out here in the north. I attended the Saturday night costume contest with my friend Chandler (who actually won a side contest for her magnificent Anastasia costume). The costume contests were well thought out, the host was hilarious, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves costume art.

Overall, we would definitely say that Rose City Comic Con is a staple of the Portland Geek community and is a must attend for any cosplayer or cosplay curious person in the Portland area. There are many opportunities to fully participate in multiple fashions, which make for a fully engrossing weekend for many demographics. My only advice or criticism that I can offer is to arrive early to get good parking or take the city’s economical Max train (that drops off right in front of the Convention Center) or else you could be paying $20 to park 5 blocks away! Hope to see you there next year!