Starting off the year with a packed schedule for the first few months of 2026 is crazy, but there are some new events and good conventions coming up fast, so it’s worth it. It’s also exciting to be seeing all these new fan run events happening, for anime and games. Last year was super fun with these happening around the convention down times, and being a few hours during a weekend. Not having that added stress of planning two-four days of convention going (a bit nicer on the wallet as well, since many fan events are free to attend).
I already have a few events planned before attending the first convention (for myself) this year. I had a fan event for Love and DeepSpace, Midnight in Deepspace, which is on January 15th down in Vancouver WA. This is followed by two more fan events for the same game, Plushie Go Go (January 17th in Seattle, WA), and a Period Drive (January 25th, Lynnwood, WA). Only after these three events, in the same month (almost back to back weekends), there is Anime WA.
Anime WA is the first event that is starting off February (taking place Feb 6-8th in Puyallup, WA), and that will be my official first convention of the year. After that will be anniversary events and valentines events for Love and DeepSpace (U.S. fans are putting on a lot more events this year, because there is definitely a demand for it). There is Heartbeats Ablaze taking place on the same weekend of Anime WA, February 7th-8th (held in Lynnwood, WA). Followed up with Valentines in Deepspace on February 22nd (being held in Everett, WA) and then a Love and Deepspace Soiree February 28th-March 1st (held in Seattle, WA).
As you can see, this is turning out to be a very full year with all the smaller events popping up, and still fitting in the big conventions. It’s a bit mind boggling and stressful, but I’m happy to have the dates and locations for these events so I can plan out my months a bit better. Also, surprising to see that the most active fan community is the Love and Deepspace one (LADS for short), as they are hosting a multitude of events in just one month alone. They are also still announcing and hitting at many more events for the community to attend for free or a small fee in the coming months as well.
I’m still slowly piecing together my convention list for the year and trying to juggle in a few new conventions I really want to attend as well. Right now, I’m all set for Anime WA, Emerald City Comic Con, Sakura-Con, and Anime Expo. Beyond that at the moment, I have no clue what the rest of the year holds for me. But, the above mentioned are all the ones I am planning for and I’m excited and looking forward to adding more to the list for this year!
If you’re interested in any of the above events and want to check them out, here are all the links with more information!
What cons are you looking forward to in 2026? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
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