GalaxyCon 2024

Once again, it’s the most wonderful time of the year for me. It’s the season of the Con, Galaxy Con that is. On Sunday, July 28th I went to GalaxyCon for the fourth time since 2019 and I have to say this was definitely the craziest year I’ve ever went.

So it all started just a few weeks ago when the idiot who is me decided to buy my ticket to GalaxyCon at the last minute. To be fair I get my tickets around the same time every year, but they were selling out a lot faster this year and I was only able to get a Sunday ticket as opposed to the Saturday ticket I wanted to get so I could go with my friend group, but I couldn’t get a Saturday one due to them being sold out. After grabbing my ticket I already had my mind made up about who I wanted to cosplay. I decided I wanted to go as the on screen killer Stu Macher from the Scream films being that the actor Matthew Lillard who played the character was gonna be there as a guest.

After deciding I was gonna go as Stu Macher I ordered his character shirt off the internet and had my sister decorate it with a picture of him on the front. When I got my shirt made the day before GalaxyCon I was still reeling from Friday night when me and my friends saw the incredible Deadpool And Wolverine together and boy did it help set the tone for Galaxycon. So after my sister finishes designing my shirt I go home and hang it up in anticipation for the next morning. I get up on Sunday morning at 6:46 a.m. like it’s a work day tired as crap, but excited at the same time. I grabbed my shirt hopped in the car and began my one hour and ten minute track to the Raleigh convention center.

The whole way there I’m jamming to my favorite Marvel movie soundtracks with the sunrise shining through my windshield. When I get to the parking garage right across the street from the convention center I found a quick parking spot, much to my surprise. Now first thing I’m thinking is it’s gonna be fairly easy to get in early, considering that I got here so early, boy was I wrong. That line was super backed up, but I didn’t trip because I knew the line was gonna move fast. Right off the bat one out of every five to ten pair of eyes that saw my shirt complimented me on how much they liked my Stu Macher shirt.

At no later than 9:oo a.m. the huge line to the check-in starts moving. It took no longer than five minutes for me to make it to the front and get scanned in so I could get my pass. After I was given my pass I went to sit at one of the outlets while waiting for them to let us in so we could begin our day. By 9:30 I made note of how big the crowd was as I was sitting down charging my phone. By 10:00 I got in line as they opened those doors and the growing crowd of hundreds cheered as the convention began.

As I walked through those doors for the fourth time ever I felt like I was home. I saw so many cosplayers dressed up in their best as I started going around and peeping every vendor. There were so many content creators selling merchandise, literature and artwork of their own makings, each with a different theme and purpose. From Marvel to DC, Star Wars to Harry Potter, and Anime to Mortal Kombat. Everyone was dressed to impress.

I also looked at the lines of all the celebrity guest who were set to appear later in the morning. The main spots I had my eyes on were the ones that were reserved for Scream stars Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich and Jamie Kennedy. They were all the ones I was hoping to meet before the day was over. Meanwhile I was hanging out and interacting with the other cosplayers until this one lady who was one of the staff members running the event grabbed me from behind and asked me could she take a picture with me because she was obsessed with my Stu Macher shirt.

While so many people were telling me how much they loved my shirt I was snapping as many photos of the hundreds of cosplayers that I could because it never ceases to amaze me how much they go all out with their outfits. Some of them were so convincing that it’s like they weren’t even cosplaying, it’s like they were just being their regular selves, which in a sense, they were.

Most of the best ones tend to be the ones that go in a group or pair life friends, families and couples. From personal experience I can say sharing these events with the people you love, knowing they enjoy it all just as much makes it overwhelmingly worthwhile.

At one point I spent alot of time talking to different vendors. This always great because I’ve recently become a content creator myself as a writer, so it’s always good networking with other people who aspiring artist in their own right because you get inspired by what they have to offer and really pushes you to work hard at what you do. It’s like if these people can do it then I definitely need to work hard and keep it pushing as well.

The biggest highlight of the day for me came in the form of a meet and greet. Like 100% of the people who were there that day my biggest goal was to meet the stars of Scream, especially Matthew Lillard. I could say I definitely wanted to meet Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich the most because Scream is my top favorite movie series of all time and Ghostface is my top favorite of horror icon, so of course I was adamant about meeting the two men who started it all. The only issue here was a thousand other people wanted to meet them too, so getting in their lines were hassles all day. Their lines were so full that they kept getting capped off and people kept having to wait another hour just to get in their lines. I tried the best I could to get in Matt Lillard’s line, but kept failing miserably and pretty much gave up. At some point after 3:00p.m. I finally secured a spot in Skeet Ulrich’s line, realizing this is who I was gonna meet

While sitting in Skeet Ulrich’s line I was talking to the other Scream fans who surrounded me. It must’ve took us all like 45 minutes just to get to the front of the line, but we were talking to each other so much that it didn’t seem like it. We all kinda became friends with each other due to our joint love of Scream. Part of what was making the line take so long was Skeet along with Matthew Lillard, didn’t just take photos and sign autographs, they were nice guys who actually took the time to have conversations and spend time with all of their fans. This made those of us waiting feel comfortable knowing we’d get that chance as well.

So the moment comes when I get to the front of the line. A man and his daughter who I had been friendly with have just finished getting their pictures taken and autographs signed by Skeet and then it was my turn. First off I geek out laughing in excitement. I extended my hand to for Skeet to shake and he nearly went over it and went straight for a hug. I was happily surprised he asked me my name and I told him how I was a writer and that Scream was the series that inspired me to study filmmaking. As he listened with genuine interest I also jokingly told him that he was right in Scream when he said movies don’t create psychos, they just make them more creative. He then told me that since I was a writer making psychos more creative was now my job. That really struck me in an awe inspiring way and then we snapped our photo.

Skeet also liked my Stu Macher shirt and asked me did Matt see it to which I told him Matt’s line was too long for me to get to him, but hey I made it to Skeet and for me that was still great enough. I couldn’t believe I actually got to meet one of the faces behind one of the biggest stories that inspired me. Much like everything else at Galaxycon that’s something I’ll never forget. After hanging out for another hour I finally left the convention and made my way home with a grateful heart for another year of a dope GalaxyCon. I drove off into that setting sun thinking about what was perhaps the dopest Galaxycon I’ve ever been. I truly had a blessed time and I can’t wait to do it all over again next year.