Whether you are a fan of the spoopy or the scary, Hocus Pocus or Candyman, it was hard to argue that the general consensus is that the first ever Nightmare Weekend Convention in Richmond was an absolute success.
From the same team that brings us GalaxyCon every March to the Greater Richmond Convention Center, Nightmare Weekend brought together all levels of fans. Whether you prefer all things soft and spooky, or you like to embrace the darkness and go all in for scary and horror, there was something for everyone – and on Friday the 13th of all days (appropriate).
There were many options for fans – whether they wanted to go shopping down artist alley or amongst the vendors, people watch cosplayers (or share tips with fellow costume aficionados),chill out in various panel and game rooms, or ask your favorite celebrities your deepest questions during Q&As, the weekend remained packed.
No convention would be complete without a costume contest, and Nightmare Weekend managed to bring three, one each night of the event. Each contest featured cosplayers of varying levels, new and old with judges comprised of veteran cosplayers and professional prop master, Evil Ted, and special effects pro and FaceOff winner, Nicole Chilelli.
Q&As featured various veterans of horror and Halloween entertainment all three days, such as Danny Trejo who discussed putting good back into the world, and the irony of how his businesses came out of helping out friends. Max, Dani and Allison of Hocus Pocus (Omri Katz, Thora Birch, and Vinessa Shaw) reunited to talk about their favorite Halloween candy (which is absolutely not the controversial candy corn). Tony Todd, the Candyman himself, discussed his stage and teaching background, and just remained an entire vibe as he mentioned his favorite thing to do is to just stay home with his cats and watch old movies.
Same, Tony. Absolutely same.
Other actors discussed various things as well during their Q&As and gave fans to get to know them better outside of their work. An upside to not being able to discuss their work due to the SAG-AFTRA strike meant that fans had to get creative with their questions which led to more intimate and heartfelt moments with their favorite actors.
Missed Nightmare Weekend 2023? Fear not my fellow Halloweenies. Nightmare Weekend has already confirmed that they will return to the Greater Richmond Convention Center next year from October 11th 2024 to October 13th 2024.
Visit GalaxyCon.com for more information about the event including ticket announcements.
PHOTOS BY ASH GRIFFITH
