Rhode Island Comic Con 2019
Another year, Another RICC.
And, wow – was it a good one.
Is it really that big?
Who would have thought that Rhode Island could host such a big convention? But they do – year after year. Altered Reality Entertainment (the genius behind RICC) does a great job all the way around putting together this con. A ton of celebrity and artist guests, fun panels, amazing vendors – there really is something available for you whether you’re in to comics, movies, cartoons, television, toys – you name it – they’ve got something there for it.
Held in the Rhode Island Convention Center, Dunkin’ Donuts Center, and the OMNI Hotel… it really does cover a lot of ground. Literally. From the time we arrived around 2PM on Friday until we left (early) that evening around 7:30PM – I had already covered 7.7 miles of walking. Seven – Point – Seven. MILES. And that was just the first day getting used to the layout and working my way around everything. (See super fast video walk through below)
The numbers are staggering…
I don’t have the official numbers, so I’m going to go with what we witnessed while visiting Rhode Island Comic Con 2019:
- At least 50 different celebrity guests
- Easily a few billion (ok, hundred) vendors and artists
- 80 trillion attendees. Yes, trillion. Maybe closer to 80,000 (and again – an estimate), but WOW a lot of people converge on this convention – and the most impressive part is how quickly the staff and security gets everyone in. It really is an impressive feat.
Cosplay Galore!
One of our favorite things about any good convention: The cosplayers! They are EVERYWHERE and span every genre of cartoon, movie, or television.
You can’t go 10 steps without seeing someone in costume – and they’re just so much fun. Shout out to all the amazing people that spent countless hours (and $) on those amazing costumes.
Celebrity Guests
One of the best parts about any convention is seeing, meeting, or hearing from your favorite celebrities. Our very own Jules got to meet and chat with The Hulk, Lou Ferrigno – who is a whole heck of a lot sweeter than his green alter-ego. William Shatner actually spent considerable time with Casey’s (our Photographer) kids. Ariel and I went to chat with one of our favorites – Ross Marquand.
Ross was extremely kind and actually spent a good deal of his time chatting it up with all the So Many Shows crew. All part of the magic when visiting a comic con of this nature. We saw THOUSANDS of people all hanging out with their favorites – and consequently – smiles filled the venue.
In case you missed some of the extensive guest list… Here are a few notables: Chevy Chase, Christina Ricci, Gaten Matarazzo, William Shatner, Robert Englund, John Barrowman, Steven Yeun, George Takei, Elijah Woods – AND SO MANY MORE!
So… is it worth it?
A resounding, YES! Tickets are inexpensive, the convention itself is run really well, and with so many different things to see and do – it’s well worth your time and money. As with any convention of this size – you do need a little patience. Lines can be long for some celebrities (IE: Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things – his line was soooo long) and getting in the door on Saturday will take a few minutes as security ensures that all protocols are followed.
Be sure to wear comfy shoes as well – there’s a lot of area to cover and you’ll move back and forth between various buildings. It’s almost like free exercise!
All-in-all, it’s a great experience for fans of any type of entertainment and the folks at Altered Reality do a fantastic job putting the convention together.
Anything I’d like to see different?
If I could give the RICC crew two recommendations, it would be this:
More food options! It’s basically the same thing throughout with your typical pricing… but it’s not great. Hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, pretzels, sodas, etc – your typical convention food – but basically by the same vendor throughout. Variety is the spice of life, ya know?
The main convention floor moving between areas can get extra crowded. It’s not a very wide space and part of the problem here are the vendors in this hallway. If they weren’t there – there’d be a lot more room to travel between spaces. Not really a gripe – but would certainly ease some of the congestion in that area.
Get ready for next year!
Be sure to visit Providence, RI next year November 6th-8th for the next RICC! More info: www.ricomiccon.com
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