Youth Day at Flame Con: Under 20? Free Admission!

Geeks OUT, the organization behind Flame Con – New York City’s first LGBTQ+ comic convention – has partnered with the Ali Forney Youth Center for Youth Day.

What does this mean? Well, if you’re under the age of 20, you get free admission to Flame Con on Sunday, August 21st. That’s right! You can attend absolutely free of charge.

“Last year’s event brought a diverse group of attendees, and we noticed in particular queer youth embracing the convention as a safe space to celebrate pop culture,” said Joey Stern, President of Geeks OUT.  “We’re thrilled to partner the Ali Forney Center to bring free admission to our under 20 attendees seeking diversity, positivity and creativity.”

This is a fantastic idea. I mean, I’m in my 30s and I almost never have money, I can’t imagine being a broke teenager wanting to go to something like this but being unable to afford it. By allowing teenagers, who would benefit most from the sense of community Flame Con strives to achieve, to attend for free, it opens them up to a world of possibilities and allows them to meet and interact with others who are just like them.

Geeks OUT is certainly dedicated to ensuring that everyone not only has a good time, but also feels welcome. In the interest of all attendees feeling safe, both physically and emotionally, and in direct response to the Pulse night club shooting in Orlando, organizers have altered the cosplay policy regarding replica weapons, banning even obviously fake firearms from the convention.

This year’s Flame Con will be held August 20th and 21st in Brooklyn, New York. After the success of last year’s inaugural event, which boasted more than 2,000 attendees, the convention was expanded from one to two days and moved to a different, larger venue in anticipation of a bigger turnout and more exciting guests. This year’s guests include Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur writer Amy Reeder, Welcome to Night Vale‘s Cecil Baldwin, YAinterrobang blogger Nicole Brinkley, and YA authors David Levithan (Boy Meets Boy), Alex London (Proxy), and Terra Elan McVoy (Pure).

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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