Whether you’re a sucker for street fashion or Pokemon cards, HypeCon is the place that caters to your every nerdy obsession. Recently founded in 2021, Hype Con offers its attendees a family friendly convention experience completely diverse in interests and activities. There’s something for everyone with nearly 200 exhibitors dedicated to people’s most popular passions such as cards games, K-Pop, toy collecting, fashion, and other various pop culture entertainment. Not to mention dance tutorials with professional instructors, cosplay competitions, appearances by voice actors, and card tournaments. By giving all kinds of local artists and businesses a chance to showcase what they have to offer, Hype Con remains dedicated to its goal of helping them further succeed while connecting them with like minded guests. Tickets are on sale now online or at the door for this special one-day event happening on February 15th, 2025 at the Santa Clara Convention Center from 11AM to 5PM. With everything it’s got going on, Hype Con can strike the fancy of all kinds of nerds.
Sneakers
Let Hype Con be your source for some unique kicks with its sneaker stands. The event opens the floor to some fantastic vendors who are ready to offer customers a plethora of sneakers with a variety of cool designs. With so much to choose from, you’re bound to find the right pair of shoes to enhance your style.
Trading Card Stations
If collecting and playing with trading cards is more your niche, Hype Con is one of the ultimate places to be. At the event, you’ll find sizable stations where you can find the cards you’ve always wanted and do trades for all different types of card games. You’ll also find general card playing spaces to engage in different card games with other skilled individuals. Interacting with such passionate vendors and seeing other card playing enthusiasts provides an awesome experience full of luck and camaraderie. This is especially true if you choose to participate in the One Piece Trading Card Game tournament they’re holding as well! If you’re a One Piece card collector in particular, Hype Con offers you this fun chance to really put your playing skills to the test, observe that of others’, and potentially come out on top with a One Piece Booster Box! You can pre-register for entry into the tournament alongside purchasing an general admissions ticket to the con all in one bundle online. Check in for the tournament is from 11:30 AM to 12 PM!
Funko Pops
If you love Funko Pops, then Hype Con is definitely a convention you’ll want to attend as it has a number of Funko Pop vendors available for attendees. With such a large selection of pops to choose from, you’re likely to find at least one to take home with you. Extreme pop fans can also make sure to bring some of their more rare pops to the convention as well! Some vendors look to buy some of those pops off of collectors for reasonable prices. Unfortunately, no wagons or carts are allowed at this event. So, If this aspect of the event particularly interests you, I’d recommend bringing a larger bag to fit the pops you’re looking to trade, the ones you’re looking to buy, and all the other cool items you’re likely to find around the con as well.
Designer Toys
Hype Con is also a great place to find some rare toys and collectibles for prices you won’t often see anywhere else. If this is something that speaks to you, Hype Con invites you to stop the troublesome online digging for such items with the chance to see a few of them all in one place. You can even surprise yourself by finding old toys you’ve never seen before themed after your current obsessions. With many vendors ready to provide a variety of these kinds of items to attendees, you’re likely to find something you love that’s of great value. Take a blast from the past by discovering all different types of vintage toys at Hype Con.
K-Pop
Hype Con has so much to offer its K-Pop fans in particular. If this sounds like you, then you can look forward to browsing many stands offering artsy items themed after all the K-Pop groups you love. Not only can you have a good time by interacting with the vendors while you find something that suits you, in the background there’s some K-Pop music to jam to coming from the talents of DJ Phong as part of the K-Pop dancing workshop and performances. This upcoming Hype Con includes a K-Pop dance workshop starting at 12:00 P.M led by dance instructor Jason Nguyen. Following that are dance performances at 1:00 P.M by the K-Pop cover groups Starchrome and Off The Grid, the latter of which Jason is the instructor for! Finally, everyone can enjoy the random play dance at 1:30 P.M curated and hosted by DJ Cazius Clay. Whether you’re a long time fan or a new one, you can immerse yourself in the world of K-Pop by learning their dances, marveling at skilled performances, enjoying their music, and discovering all the themed items around these lively events.
Artist Alley
Of course, more general pop culture lovers have their place at Hype Con as well. With their selection of vendors, you’ll be able to see exciting artistic pieces themed after your favorite shows, movies, anime, and video games! This is yet another part of the con that allows you to best support your local artists by walking away with their beautifully crafted stickers, keychains, standees, prints, and more!
Cosplay
Minor who are already set with the skills and passion for cosplaying can enjoy Hype Con’s cosplay competition! Anyone 17 years old or under has the chance to showcase their best cosplay for the chance to win a grand prize. It’s a great opportunity to show off your cosplay, become inspired by others’, and maybe even form new friendships! Cosplay check in will at 2 P.M near the DJ area before the event starts at 2:30 P.M. Sign ups for the event are also found here, but hurry! Space is limited.
Special Guests
Much like many other cons dedicated to pop culture, Hype Con has a fantastic lineup of Special Guests making an appearance this year as well! Come see Maile Flanagan who is best known as the English dub voice for the infamous Naruto as well as for her role as the hilarious Terry Perry in the hit Disney XD show Lab Rats. Jason Marnocha is also attending as he provides the voice of fan-favorite Megatron from the Transformers: War of Cybertron Trilogy as well as Kitana Man and Samurai Sword from the popular anime Chainsaw Man. You’ll also get to see John Gremillion who has been involved in anime for over 20 years and has come to voice Dracule Mihawk from One Piece, Gentle Criminal from My Hero Academia, and Arthur Randall from Black Butler. Finally, John Demita will also be here as he has voiced several characters from the Naruto Series including Hiashi Hyuga, Sakumo Hatake, and Dosu Kinuta. With photo ops and signatures available for you to get, Hype Con is your chance to meet some amazing talent and take home special memorabilia. It’s also a great opportunity to get some valuable insight as to what it’s like to work in anime as well as show business in general.
Hype Con offers this wide array of opportunities and so much more with free giveaways and sticker rallies as well as their very own HypeMart and HypeShop! If you’re in the Bay Area, come attend to celebrate a diverse world of nerdy obsessions!
