Flame Con 2022: Everything you need to know about this year’s event

Flame Con returns on August 20 & 21! Before the event kicks off this weekend, find out everything there is to know about this year’s event! 

Get ready for an amazing weekend ahead because Flame Con is heading back to New York City with what promises to be a yet incredible pop culture event!

Like many pop culture events, Flame Con is gearing up for its first in-person event since 2019 and the event is going big with a slate of incredible discussions, performances and screenings showcasing and celebrating the LGBTQ fandom.

As Flame Con prepares for its return, get caught up on everything there is to know about the annual event including the guests lined up for this year’s event, the schedule of events coming your way and more!

What is Flame Con?

Flame Con is the world’s largest queer comic con, created to celebrate geeks of all types across the multi-day event celebrating the diversity and creativity of queer geekdom and LGBTQ contributions to pop culture.

Across the 2-day event, attendees are invited to enjoy thoughtful discussions, exclusive performances, screenings, cosplay, and more showcasing creators and special guests from all corners of the LGBTQ fandom.

Where is Flame Con?

Like many events, Flame Con had to make the switch to virtual events in 2020 but the convention is finally returning to an in-person convention this August! As in past years, the event will be hosted in New York City with 2022’s event slated to be held at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel.

What time is Flame Con?

Flame Con is scheduled to host events on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 12 pm – 8 pm ET, and from 12 pm – 6 pm ET on Sunday, Aug. 21. Across the two days, attendees will be able to check out discussions, performances, screenings, cosplay and more!

Flame Con event schedule

Although Flame Con might only spam two days, there is a lot to enjoy across the convention’s weekend dates including some must-see panels and the event’s annual Cosplay Contest! Wondering what you can expect from this year’s event? Below you can find a full breakdown of the Flame Con schedule:

Saturday, August 20, 2022

12:00 pm ET

• Stage: Flame Con’s Opening Ceremonies

12:45 pm ET

• Panel A: Hey Adora: a Queer She-ra Podcast! LIVE SHOW
• Panel B: The First 100 Years of Lesbian Themed Japanese Animation and Comics
• Panel C: The Classroom Library is Open: Queer Teachers on Using Comics with K-12 Students
• Stage: Choirfly: Nerd-Themed A Cappella

2:00 pm ET

• Panel A: Celebrating Howard Cruse
• Panel B: Leather Daddies and Goth Girlfriends: Horror Representation Beyond Queer-Coded Villains
• Panel C: Padding for Cosplay: Masc Edition
• Stage: CEREBRO and X-Plain the X-Men LIVE
• Workshop: What Art School Doesn’t Teach You: How to Have a Career as a Creator

3:15 pm ET

• Panel A: TBD
• Panel B: Gotham Outsiders: A Batman Panel
• Panel C: Resources for Fighting Anti-Queer Censorship Efforts in Libraries
• Stage: Cosplay Contest

4:30 pm ET

• Panel A: Maarvelous Queer Voices at Flame Con
• Panel B: Queer Animation: From A to Z
• Panel C: Femme Bots and Gigolo Joes: Robot Gender Performance
• Stage: Live Proud and Prosper
• Workshop: Cosplay Fitness

5:45 pm ET

• Panel A: Queering Speculative: LGBTQ+ and Other Diverse Identities in Science Fiction and Fantasy
• Panel B: “Representation” as a double-edged sword with the Bitches on Comics
• Panel C: Art and Affecting Change
• Stage: Live DJ Set by Initial Rhi
• Workshop: Dragin Cosplay

7:00 pm ET

• Panel A: The Rise in Queer Media
• Panel B: QTBIPOC Storytelling and Healing through Tabletop Roleplaying Games
• Panel C: History of Queer Symbology – But Do You Have A Flag?
• Stage: Kweendom

8:00 pm ET

• Convention Hall closes

Sunday, August 21, 2022

1:00 pm ET

• Panel A: Building Fan Communities: You Can Do It!
• Panel B: Queerness in K-Pop: Fantasy vs. Reality
• Panel C: The Imagine Neighborhood Identity Extravaganza!
• Stage: Redshirts

2:15 pm ET

• Panel A: DCtinguished Queer Voices at Flame Con
• Panel B: Reclaiming My(Oo) Time – Navigating the Intersections of Mental Health and Gaming
• Panel C: The Fight to Keep LGBTQ+ in Libraries: Librarians Respond to Book Challenges
• Stage: Queer Nerd Poetics

3:30 pm ET 

• Panel A: From Broadway to Hollywood: The Future of Inclusive Storytelling
• Panel B: Homo Superior Podcast Presents: the X-Gaymes ft. Steve Orlando
• Panel C: You Do You. I’ll Do Me. Graphic Novel Memoirs in the Queer Comics Community
• Stage: Cosplay Contest
• Workshop: Smut in the Age of Censorship

4:45 pm ET

• Panel B: Romance, Sex, and Intimacy in Queer Tabletop Gaming
• Panel C: The History Of Queer Pirates: From The Golden Age to “Our Flag Means Death”
• Stage: Zlurp Zlorp LIVE!

6:00 pm ET

• Convention Hall closes

Flame Con guests

This year’s Flame Con event has lined up a variety of special guests from a variety of fields with a lineup that includes authors, illustrators and entertainment personalities! While the guest list is subject to change, here is the complete list of confirmed guests for this year’s event:

• Aatmaja Pandya
• Amy Reeder
• Anthony Oliveira
• Barbara Perez Marquez
• Connor Goldsmith
• Danny Lore
• Hamish Steele
• Jadzia Axelrod
• Jarrett Melendez
• Nadia Shammas
• Steve Orlando
• Tanya DePass
• Terry Blas

Are you looking forward to Flame Con this weekend? What events are you hoping to attend? Let us know in the comments below!