BLERD City Con is about to bring a revolutionary event to the historic Dumbo Spot in New York, NY — and you’re going to want to grab your tickets soon. BLERD City is an innovative, unique, creative, and challenging celebration of the Black community and all the glorious nerdiness held within. Art, science, film, literature and technology; it’s all going to be on display from Sunday, July 29th through Saturday, July 30th. This family-friendly festival is going to be hyperactive and fueled with fantasy and fandom.

“What is a BLERD?”  A Blerd is simply a “Black Nerd”. They are those who have an interest in what others would say are strange and specific things.  An interest in talking about unrivaled passions for characters, stories, and forms of art that often outweigh real celebrities.  The goal of Blerd City Con is to honor creativity of the Blerd culture, encouraging inclusion, community, and awareness in the process.

Clairesa Clay, the founder of BLERD City Con, has a simple and inspired mission: “I want the audience to experience Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy by the talents of leading African Diasporic filmmakers, writers, coders and creators who are serving the community of Black and Nerdy.”

BLERD City is a conference dedicated to showcasing the multi-dimensional complexity of black nerdiness through all spectrums of creativity, invention, and innovation. We’re going to have panels, workshops, film screenings, special guests, presentations, and so much more. Visit our marketplace for gaming and comic books and take your kids to our all ages science and technology exploration center.

This year, BLERD City Con will be honoring L.A. Banks for her outstanding contributions in fantasy horror speculative writing and non-fiction with an award in her name. BLERD City Con has worked with some of the most renowned, accomplished, and critically-acclaimed presenters within the community:

Sheree Renée Thomas, award-winning fiction writer, editor, and poet, and author of Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora and Dark Matter: Reading the Bones. Sheree will be honored with the new L.A. Banks award.

 Tim Fielder, graphic artist, cartoonist, and animator, best known for Afrofuturism: The Next Generation.

Warrington Hudlin, veteran producer of film, television, and online media

Floyd Webb, an award-winning filmmaker and groundbreaking film festival producer.

Regine Sawyer, owner and writer at Locket Down Production a press comic book company. Also the founder of the Women in Comics Collective International.

BLERD City Con’s mission is to provide the Black community with a tangible connection to the talented and cutting-edge professionals working within the arts and sciences, providing room for inspiration, networking, and education.

In addition to featured guests, BLERD City Con panels and workshops include:

People of Color Gaming

Venture Capital for Technology

Women in Comics

The Great Black Panther Debate

Afropast, Afrofuture

Black Karate

Coders and Writers

SciFi/Fantasy/Writers Reading

AfroCrowd: A Wikipedia Workshop

This expansive cultural celebration will be held over five areas: The Dumbo Spot (Panels), Creative Chaos (Book Readings), Automatic Studios (Film Screenings and Panels), The Green Desk (Workshops), and Brooklyn Bridge Park (Children’s Corner). You don’t want to miss this one-of-a-kind event and experience. Tickets are available now.

BLERD City Con is a two-day conference celebrating the fantastic NERDiness in you! Join panels & workshops in Games, Tech, SciFi/Horror/Fantasy film screenings and book readings.

Get your tickets to BLERD City Con here!