The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) celebrates its 15th anniversary, marking a major milestone for nerds of the Midwest.

The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) is an annual convention hosted at McCormick Place Convention Center. It’s described by organizers as the largest pop culture convention in the Midwest and boasts attendance numbers in the tens of thousands across its three days. 

An attendee stands in a Luigi cosplay. Photo by Varun Khushalani.

This year, C2E2 celebrated its quindecennial anniversary; a testament to the event’s popularity and enduring legacy. In its 15-year run, attendance has grown by the thousands. Even in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19, tens of thousands still flooded the convention center and attendance has expanded ever since. 

C2E2 began Friday, April 26, with an energetic start. A band played loud, epic music by the doors to the convention hall as the clock struck 10 and people poured in. Countless fans of all different ages were dressed up as characters from a variety of media: a little girl dressed up like Freddy Fazbear, a man in a 1:1 Sweet Tooth costume and someone in a Darth Maul-themed Stormtrooper cosplay.

The success of the convention is owed to its organizers. C2E2 is organized by ReedPop, a pop-culture event production company responsible for other large conventions in the U.S., including PAX East, PAX West and New York Comic Con. In collaboration with artists, celebrities, venues and countless other groups, ReedPop can make magic happen.

And ReedPop did make magic on Saturday, April 27 – the most attended day of the event. Tickets had been sold out over a week prior – and it showed. Droves of people turned out in elaborate cosplays, many of them being from Hannibal.

The two leads from Hannibal, Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy, did a panel on the show. Despite its final episode airing on August 29, 2015, swarms of people turned out to meet the two stars and see their favorite characters reunite on stage.  They took photos with fans and signed autographs. 

Fans line up ahead of a main stage panel. Photo by Varun Khushalani.

Other significant panels of the day included a Rick and Morty voice-cast reunion and a Star Wars Rebels voice-cast reunion.

A big draw of C2E2 and conventions like it are the fandom elements. Fandom is another word for community or subculture and generally refers to pop-culture fan groups. Conventions like C2E2 are the go-to place for fandoms to gather and celebrate their shared interests. They do this by hosting meet-ups, buying merchandise from vendors and, of course, by cosplaying.

An attendee takes a break from the action to eat, overlooking the convention floor. Photo by Varun Khushalani.

Cosplay is the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book or video game. It is a major part of almost every fan convention and people do it for a number of reasons.

Adrian Perryman is a DJ and Cosplayer. He attended C2E2 all three days this year and had a different cosplay for each one. These cosplays included Captain Enoch from Star Wars, Spider-Man 2099 from the Spider-Man universe and Batdance Prince. 

The Batdance Prince cosplay was niche but significant for Perryman. It was based on the outfit Prince wore in his Batdance music video. Prince, like Perryman, was from Minneapolis and was the reason he got into cosplaying in the first place.

“After Prince passed, there was a concert up here and I decided to get dressed up as Prince. And that was a really fun experience.”

From there Perryman continued to dress up and eventually found himself cosplaying for multiple conventions.

Fans cosplaying as Darth Vader and Stormtroopers walk past. Photo by Varun Khushalani.

 There are multiple major conventions held along either of the U.S. coasts, but far fewer in the heart of the United States. Part of C2E2’s success is thanks to its location.

With its placement in Chicago, scattered Midwesterners are able to drive or take advantage of Chicago’s many transit systems to attend. Perryman, for example, drove from Minneapolis to attend this year.

Perryman noted that while he traveled with a group of six, he recognized over 20 people from Minnesota at the convention, further demonstrating the reach of the event.

While cosplaying or conventions might not be everyone’s cup of tea, Perryman shares a part of the experience that matters to him that everyone can understand.

“It’s something to look forward to, a way to meet new people after you graduate college. It’s not always easy to make new friends and things like that,” Perryman said. 

C2E2 concluded on Sunday, April 28, with as much energy as it began. There were another round of panels, including a Ted Lasso cast panel. Celebrities were still available for fans to meet, vendors and artists stocked up and selling to fans. There was also a final competition to crown the top three cosplays of the convention. 

Attendees at a booth selling stylized portraits, one of the many vendors at C2E2. Photo by Varun Khushalani.

Like all good things though, it had to come to an end. As the clock struck 5 on Sunday, the show floor closed once again, and fans left – until next year. 

The next C2E2 is set to be held April 11-13, 2025. For timely updates on the event, check out their newsletter. 

Header Photo by Varun Khushalani