Dream Con
Multi-genre convention in Houston, Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dream Con is an annual three-day multi-genre convention held during July at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. The convention was founded by Mark Phillips and RDCWorld (Real Dreamers Change the World), a YouTube channel and minority owned business.[1][3][4]
| Dream Con | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Multi-genre[1] |
| Venue | George R. Brown Convention Center |
| Location | Houston, Texas |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 2018 |
| Attendance | 32,674 paid in 2025[2] |
| Organized by | RDCWorld[3] |
| Website | dreamconvention |
Programming
The convention's programming includes an artist alley, cosplay contest, exhibitors, gaming tournaments, music concert, panels, and various sports events.[5][4][6] Dream Con in 2024 added over $15 million to the Austin, Texas economy.[7] In 2025, Dream Con brought $19.2 million to the Houston, Texas economy.[8]
History
RDCWorld started Dream Con after the group had issues working with other conventions.[5][7] Dream Con 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] The convention, due to growth, moved to Esports Stadium Arlington in 2021 and was sold-out of tickets.[1][10] It remained at the Esports Stadium for 2022 and attendance was limited to 6,000.[10] The convention's 2022 COVID-19 policies required vaccination or testing to attend.[5]
Dream Con moved in 2023 to the Austin Convention Center and was sold-out of tickets in February.[3] For 2025, the convention moved to the George R. Brown Convention Center due to expected construction at the Austin Convention Center that would make it unavailable for several years.[7][11] Megan Thee Stallion appeared as a guest, in cosplay, and had a cosplay contest she judged.[12][13] During a panel she announced an animated series in development with Amazon Prime Video. Prior to the event, the convention apologized for liking controversial posts on Instagram regarding her.[14][15]
Event history
| Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 10-12, 2018[16] | Waco Convention Center Waco, Texas | 1,000 or 1,200[10][17] | |
| May 3-5, 2019 | Waco Convention Center Houston, Texas | John Burgmeier, Kyle Hebert, Chuck Huber, and Linda Young.[18] | |
| July 23-24, 2021 | Esports Stadium Arlington Arlington, Texas | 3,000 total[19] | Maile Flanagan and Sean Schemmel.[19] |
| July 15-17, 2022 | Esports Stadium Arlington Arlington, Texas | 6,000[3][10] | Dani Chambers, Gabe Kunda, Anairis Quiñones, and Zeno Robinson.[20] |
| July 28-30, 2023[21] | Austin Convention Center Austin, Texas | 20,000 or 23,000[4][17] | |
| July 26-28, 2024 | Austin Convention Center Hilton Austin Austin, Texas | 19,853 individual or 25,000[7][8] | Nadji Jeter and Pros and Cons Cosplay.[22] |
| July 10-13, 2025 | George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas | 32,674 paid[2] | Rodney Barnes, Kimberly Brooks, CutiePieSensei, Zeno Robinson, Reed Shannon, Tony Weaver, Jr.,[2] Dontai, Cedric Yarbrough,[23] Kai Cenat, and Megan Thee Stallion.[24] |
| July 10-13, 2026[25] | George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas |