Starting in 2026, all St. Pete Cons (St. Pete Comic Con, Sunshine City Scare, Anime St. Pete, Holiday St. Pete) are moving into hotel-based conventions, giving fans a more immersive, convenient, and accessible experience than ever before. Our new hotel venues unlock nonstop entertainment (Saturdays from 10am-11pm), creating a true “con weekend” where the fun never ends. No matter which of our conventions you attend, you can count on the same high-energy format and fan-focused perks listed below. Here is what you can count on at every St. Pete Fan Con in 2026: 

• Nonstop Entertainment: Saturdays run from 10 a.m. – 11 p.m., with the vendor hall open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., followed by panels and late-night programming until 11 p.m., plus our signature pool party (7:30 p.m.–10 p.m.). Sundays continue the fun from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Cosplay at the Core: Our events have become known for our cosplay, both the quality and high percentage of attendees in costume. This is because we highlight cosplay with 4 different cosplay contests across the weekend. In addition, every cosplayer also gets entered into our Celebrate Cosplay Raffle, where prizes include free hotel nights and VIP tickets – and it’s only for those who attend the events in costume. 
• Fandom Shopping Rewards (FSR): Spend as little as $50 collectively with all of our vendors and earn a free ticket to another convention we run. It’s our way of rewarding fans for supporting local artists and retailers while keeping our events affordable and accessible year-round.
• Fan-Favorite Competitions: Every con features our always-popular Lip Sync Competition, bringing big laughs and high energy to the main stage. It’s high-energy fun you won’t want to miss!
• Hotel Room Blocks for Fans: Every con offers exclusive hotel room blocks with discounted rates and parking. You can stay just steps from the action and enjoy the full weekend experience.
• Foodie Paradise: Each convention has its own food trucks as well as snack and dessert vendors. Your taste buds will love you! And you won’t go away hungry.
• Year-Round Applications: All of our event websites now accept vendor and contest applications year-round, with instant confirmation emails — making it easier than ever to plan ahead and join the fun.
• Fully Accessible Venues: Our previous venue, the Coliseum (owned/operated by the City of St. Petersburg), often did not have a working elevator— and could not guarantee a functioning one for future events. For our disabled fans, this issue goes far beyond a broken elevator; it means being denied access to the event itself. We believe every fan deserves to experience conventions without barriers, and accessibility is not optional — it’s a right. Our future events will be held at fully ADA-compliant venues, so every attendee, regardless of ability, can participate fully.