I’m looking forward to attending a GalaxyCon sometime myself, but until then we’ve got roving Guest Geek reporter and photographer Al Butler on the scene, with his thoughts about GalaxyCon 2023 in Raleigh, NC.

GalaxyCon Raleigh, NC 2023

GalaxyCon is a series of pop culture conventions set in various cities such as Richmond VA, Raleigh NC, Austin TX, and others. This year, I attended the one in Raleigh, where it was set at the Raleigh Convention Center. It lasted 4 days (Thursday through Sunday) and I attended two of these days.

The big draw of this con are the celebrities, which include actors, voice actors, pro wrestlers, professional cosplayers, writers, and comic professionals. The main room (and a secondary smaller room) is also filled with artists and vendors selling a multitude of products. 

The convention also sells a number of passes from a single day pass all the way up to a VIP pass with the price going up accordingly and each higher level has more features. The VIP pass has the most and the one best feature of this (pricey) pass is the “Jump the line” feature which allows you to skip waiting in lines for the autographs of the celebrities. There is also an option to buy some celebrities autographs without having to attend the con. One note: GalaxyCon does not refund passes to the con. You may be able to resell it, but you will not get a refund from the convention if you decide not to go. 

Taking Photos, Shopping and Autographs

My primary goal at this con was to get photographs, shop the booths, and get some autographs. All three were accomplished. I now have autographs from Ming-Na Wen, Will Friedle (Ron Stoppable from “Kim Possible”), and several “Star Trek: The Next Generation”/” Picard” cast members. That was accomplished and I now have most of the main cast autographs from TNG. So that was great.

I walked a lot, which is typical at any con. I like to see what the booths are selling and what the artists are displaying to see if any prints catch my eye. The main room was very large so if someone wants to get their daily steps in, this is a good way to do it. I walked this room multiple times on the days I attended, buying several pieces of art and a few other things so that goal was accomplished. 

Normally when I go to a con, I know several people who attend but this time was different, so I went around and met new (to me) people and I watched for people in cosplay to photograph. Many people did cosplay and I, as always, asked for their photographs. The people here were nice, and many were easy to talk to. But here is the thing—it was hard to get photographs.

The reason why is that the convention was crowded (I say overcrowded) which was made worse by the aisles of tables being narrow. If one person stopped walking, everyone in that aisle stopped walking. This crowding spilled over to the celebrity area (on one side of the room but still part of the main room) where the lines people had to stand in were long and people had to stand close together. People with VIP badges were supposed to be able to get to the celebrities first but, due to the crowd size, they had to wait with the general ticket holders. Getting photographs was challenging since it was hard to find spaces not blocking the path of people. 

I was very tired after I finished my two days at the con. I was able to meet new people and passed out business cards to the people I photographed. I got a lot of exercise. The best part is that all my goals for attending were accomplished. So, nice people, lots to see, and easy to spend money. Just be aware that it will be crowded!  

If you’d like to see Al’s photography work, check out his Instagram: The One True Al

And find out more about the convention on their website: GalaxyCon