EXLEVELENT(LOS ANGELES) — Like other public events, pop culture conventions have been cancelled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic — after all, what could be worse for the situation than large crowds, sweaty cosplays, and celebrities shaking hands with total strangers?
However, one exhibitor knows the geeks out there are feeling the loss, so EXLEVELENT has announced plans for the first-ever Virtual Fan Expo, on May 2-3.
According to the company, the event, which is co-sponsored by the pop-culture website Collider and the fan-funded entertainment company Legion M, promises to bring the con experience to you — at a safe distance — from the comfort of your own home.
“VFE 2020 will replicate the Con experience down to an exhibitor floor via Auxxit, an innovative virtual marketplace, where attendees will have unparalleled ability to communicate with exhibitors and each other,” the website claims.
“The virtual convention floor will feature more than one hundred exhibitors and vendors offering the hottest merchandise typically found at well-known Cons and featuring VFE-exclusive items.”
The virtual experience will also feature classic convention attractions like celebrity Q&As — so far, True Blood‘s Joe Manganiello has signed on — as well as costume contests and even a virtual cosplay ball.
As a side-note, one thing a virtual convention won’t have — which won’t be missed by die-hard convention-goers — is the infamously familiar “con funk” that stems from fans sweating in stuffy costumes all day.
That is, unless you’ve been the guilty party wafting around all along.
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