PENSACON 2025 was a huge hit in our local area. With over 30,000 people, beating out last year's record, Pensacon has become a staple to our nerdy (and geeky) community. People of all gender identities, races, ethnicities, and even cave-dwelling folk convened this weekend for one common theme- gaming, geeking, and nerdiness, all under one roof (and one parking lot).
The Pensacola Bay Center has been home to Pensacon and all its attendees almost every February since 2014 (inaugurally) as a premier comic convention that soon became as boastful as it is nerdy. Cosplayers and vendors from all over the region have traveled to Pensacola for this event, despite weather conditions and who our celebrity guests are.
Celebrity guests this year were:
Emily Swallow - Actor
Deep Roy - Actor
Lou Diamond Phillips - Actor
Christopher Mintz-Plasse - Actor
Priscilla Presley - Actor
Emilio Rivera - Actor
Michael Biehn - Actor / Director
Jennifer Blanc-Biehn - Actor
Pat Broderick - Comic Artist
Lily Butler - Comic Artist
Steven Butler - Comic Artist
Jim Calafiore - Comic Artist
Jonathan Frakes - Actor
Guy Gilchrist - Animator / Illustrator
Kimiko Glenn - Actor
Michael Golden - Comic Artist
Jenette Goldstein - Actor
Marty Grabstein - Actor
Larry Hama - Writer / Actor
Richard Horvitz - Actor
Scott Innes - Actor
Richard Karn - Actor
Alex Kingston - Actor
Jamie Marchi - Actor
Phil Morris - Actor
Bill Morrison - Artist / Writer
Roland Paris - Comic Inker
Bryce Pinkham - Actor
Andy Price - Illustrator / Cartoonist
Anthony Rapp - Actor
Mark Rolston - Actor
Blake Roman - Actor
Theo Rossi - Actor
John Wesley Shipp - Actor
P.J. Soles - Actor
Austin St. John - Actor
Arthur Suydam - Comic Artist
Amir Talai - Actor
Jen Taylor - Actor
Chris Tergliafera - Actor
Timothy Zahn - Author
Pensacon began as a concept by a Mike Ensley and a small group of local media and film enthusiasts in Pensacola, Florida, who wanted to host a science fiction convention focused on pop culture, comics, fantasy, and sci-fi, which they named "Pensacon" - essentially combining "Pensacola" with "convention" - and launched the first event in February 2014, drawing a large crowd of attendees to the city. It is estimated that Pensacon's first year, attendees contributed over $1.4 Million to the local community. This includes small businesses and vendors set up locally.