Awesome Con April 18-20, 2014 Coverage at Walter E. Washington Convention Center 

Awesome Con 2014 was a amazingly fun this year. For being a second year convention, I honestly have not heard of Awesome Con in the beginning of the year. I was more surprised that the convention was in Washington D.C. which is less then a three hour drive from my hometown Philadelphia.

So how did I stumble upon Awesome Con? My friend on Facebook sent me a message that Billie Piper was coming to Awesome Con. I am a big Doctor Who fan and I've been waiting to meet Billie Piper or any actor from the Doctor Who show n quite sometime. Before I started to throw money at the computer screen, I decided to do a little research on the convention. Awesome Con was in it's second year, being a rather smaller convention last year. From the guest line in 2014 Billie Piper, Sean Astin, Dani Gurira, Jewel Staite, Melissa McBride and a few more known guest, this was gutsy move of a fairly new convention. Normally it takes years for a small convention to grow up in status before they handle all these guests on their plate, including the massive crowd that will follow. I have seen conventions go big the first or second year and it doesn't end will, as the convention is either under staff or just mass confusion all together. I had my doubts about this conventions but I decided to pay the money for my ticket.

Friday 

April 18th rolled around and it was time for Awesome Con. Driving into Washington D.C. wasn't bad. Stayed at the Renaissance Hotel right across the street from the convention. The hotel was a very nice place to stay, they allowed me to check in early, and the price was not too expensive for my budget. After I dropped myself stuff off in my hotel I was headed to Awesome Con. I walked into the convention and picked up my badge without any issues. It was a light crowd inside the convention since the main guest arrived Saturday and Sunday. Although, there was a few guests willing to sign autographs on Friday for the fans without any hassle. I checked out many vendors and brought beautifully designed artwork in the Artist Alley. Once I was satisfied, went to my hotel, and meet my friends who would company me at Awesome Con, and prepared for the crazy Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday
I knew it was coming and it didn't fail me, the crowd. The huge crowd was massive on Saturday compared to Friday. 15,000 people showed up for Saturday alone. The Awesome Con staff didn't panic too much about the increase in crowd. Although, it was way beyond what they expected, they controlled the crowd the best in their abilities. Yes, there was some hiccups like the extremely long line for badge pickup for Saturday (big reason why I I got my badge on Friday). However, the staff corrected their mistakes going into Sunday. I have seen some convention staff ignore the issues and allow the problem to continue throughout the convention. Awesome Con staff tackled the issue quickly and had the lines running much smoother on Sunday. I had to give them major kudos on their part.

The autograph and photoops section on Saturday was controlled very well. The only crazy line I saw was for Billie Piper. People waited 45 to over an hour to get her autograph. I already knew that was to be expected because of her popularity on Doctor Who. When I was speaking to many new congoers, they were shocked how long the lines was for her panel and autograph. I told them this was nothing. Go to New York Comic Con and your jaw will drop from the long lines.

The major panels I attended on Saturday was Dani Gurira (Michonne from the Walking Dead) and Jewel Staite (Kaylee from Firefly). Both panels was fantastic and the two ladies loved answering our questions. The only panel I recorded the entire convention was Dani Gurira. Just click on the link to see her panel. Danai Gurira Awesome Con 2014 Panel

Sunday
From the beginning, I made Sunday Billie Piper day. I knew this was going to be a good day. My friends and I ran into Billie Piper at Starbucks at our Hotel early in the morning. I didn't notice her at first as she almost ran into me, trying to avoid us with her head down and said excuse me as she went pass me. My friends and I Doctor Who get up we was wearing, forced her to get out of dodge quickly. I understood why she did it but I didn't want her to leave her coffee on the table behind as a result of it. We wouldn't have bothered her anyway because if actors are eating, leave them alone and let them eat.

First thing on the agenda was to rush over to Billie Piper panel. It was amazing as Piper talked about her past TV career and on new upcoming projects, funny moments on Doctor Who set, and answered the fans hilarious questions. I was extremely glad the Awesome Con staff added the extra panel on Sunday or I would have never made it inside Billie Piper panel on Saturday.

After her panel, I rushed over to the photoop line to get my picture taken with her and her autograph. It was some much fun meeting Piper properly this time face to face. I actually brought up the Starbucks incident but she was not keen on the details. She said if she looked dog tired in the morning, it was probably her. I was screaming like a fangirl inside throughout the entire day.

For my first time going to Awesome Con, I would say it was a complete success. I meet many congers, the artist in the Artist Alley was very pleasant to speak with, and meeting the con guests was literally awesome. The Awesome Con staff deserves an A for putting on an excellent con and maintaining the crowd which is very critical for any convention.

Will I come to Awesome Con 2015? Yes, without a doubt. Since Awesome Con was a great success this year, the crowd next year will be even bigger. I am already saving up money for VIP tickets next year when they are available.

Next year date for Awesome Con will be May 29-31, 2015.
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