Capital City Comic Con

The 8^th annual Capital City Comic Con, running Friday (June 30) through Sunday (July 2), offers a host of comic-book- and pop-culture-themed activities for all ages, including costume contests, meet and greets with celebrity guests, esports tournaments, tabletop gaming, panels, workshops, vendors and more.

Attendees can take part in “Fortnite,” “Super Smash Bros.” and “Street Fighter” tournaments throughout the weekend, with prizes for the winning players. Guests can rent Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch controllers for free or bring their own.

The tabletop gaming area in the Radisson Hotel, located across the Grand River from the Lansing Center at the corner of Michigan and Grand avenues, offers both an open-play area and scheduled events, including Dungeons & Dragons Adventurers League campaigns, a Dungeons & Dragons player vs. player arena charity event and Magic: The Gathering games. The space is open 10 a.m. to midnight Friday, 8 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

There are four costume contests throughout the weekend. Friday offers an all-ages animation-themed contest, where attendees can dress up as characters from animated films or TV shows. During the main event on Saturday, there will be a contest for ages 13 and up, and at the afterparty at Lansing Shuffle, there will be a contest for ages 21 and up. Sunday offers a kids’ contest, limited to ages 12 and under. Guests can dress up as whichever character they prefer for the Saturday and Sunday contests.

The vendor hall features hundreds of booths from artists, publishers, writers, video game developers, charities and more. There are a number of celebrity guests to meet, including actors and actresses, comic book creators and publishers.

There are also a plethora of workshops and panels every day, with topics ranging from self-publishing and crowdfunding to creating cosplay jewelry and making your own dice for tabletop games.

Following the main events, Lansing Shuffle will host afterparties 8 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, featuring food and drinks for purchase, DJ sets and booths from artists and vendors. Friday evening, the “sci-fi geek” band Wesley and the Crushers will play an album-release show, and Saturday evening, there will be a cash-prize costume contest and a cosplay photography contest.

Midtown Brewing Co. is also hosting a pop culture trivia contest 8 p.m. Saturday.

Weekend passes are $60, Friday and Sunday passes are $20, and Saturday passes are $30. Tickets are free for children 13 and under. To purchase tickets or learn more about the events, visit capcitycomiccon.com.