The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) returned to McCormick Place on March 31st and ran though April 2nd for their 2023 show.
Related:
C2E2 2023: Friday Cosplay Pt. 1
C2E2 2023: Friday Cosplay Pt. 2
C2E2 2023: Friday Cosplay Pt. 3C2E2 2023: Saturday Cosplay Pt. 1
C2E2 2023: Saturday Cosplay Pt. 2
C2E2 2023: Saturday Cosplay Pt. 3C2E2 2023: Sunday Cosplay Pt. 1
C2E2 2023: Sunday Cosplay Pt. 2
C2E2 2023: Sunday Cosplay Pt. 3
C2E2 2023: Sunday Cosplay Pt. 4C2E2 2023: “The Future of Fandom: Better Together vs. Absolutely Toxic” Panel
C2E2 2023: Vendors and Artists
This is the my final cosplay photo article. We’ve all talked about the great things that C2E2 had to offer, now it is time to talk about a few other things that they had going on there.
The problems were relatively minor with the tickets being the biggest. Many people order their tickets months in advance so that they can meet the deadline to get their passes mailed out to them. It seems that only a small portion of people had their tickets mailed to them. There are also reports that some people received twice as many passes as they ordered. This mailing fiasco meant that a lot of people were in a state of last-minute panic as they scrambled to find their initial receipt, from almost a year before, so they could stand in the Will Call line. This was the longest Will Call line that C2E2 had ever seen. I will say that they did process people relatively quickly, but it was still a few hours waiting in line for passes they expected to already have in-hand.
The aisles were wider, which was nice, but it was partially due to the lack of vendors. Unfortunately, a lot of the big vendors were at MegaCon the same weekend. This meant the vendors had to make a choice between attending the Chicago or the Orlando event, and many chose MegaCon. The same thing with the artists – a lot of the big and regular names that you would see at C2E2, chose to appear at MegaCon instead. This did leave a nice void which allowed some newer artists to make appearances and broaden their audience.
<Editor’s note: The weekend prior to both C2E2 & MegaCon, WonderCon took place in Anaheim which may have been difficult for creators or vendors to manage back-to-back.>
My other problem, which may not have affected as many people, is the layout of Cosplay Central. In past years, Cosplay Central had been laid out in a big square with the cosplay groups and photo backdrops around the perimeter and a few cosplay guests with tables in the middle. This year, the cosplay groups and guests were put into rows, meaning that some of them were hidden behind from view due to the crowd of cosplayers in the aisles. Returning back to the square format would allow things to be more easily seen.
Back to the cosplays! Here is the final batch of images taken from Sunday, April 2nd at C2E2 2023.
C2E2 Location & Hours
C2E2 is located at McCormick Place South in Chicago, IL. Here’s when the show opens and closes every day. After Dark and gaming run late into the night 😉.
LOCATION
South Building at McCormick Place
2301 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois
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HOURS
Friday:
Show Floor: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Panels: 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Autographing: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
C2E2 After Dark: 7:00 PM – 11:00PM
Saturday:
Show Floor: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Panels: 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Autographing: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
C2E2 After Dark: 7:00 PM – 11:00PM
Sunday:
Show Floor: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Panels: 10:45 AM – 5:00 PM
Autographing: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
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Convention – C2E2:
About C2E2:
C2E2 stands for the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. It’s the largest pop culture convention in the Midwest. C2E2 espouses that all nerds need a place to call home. Whether you’re a fan of comic books, cosplay, video games, anime, TV shows, movies, books, wrestling, comedy, or anything else – C2E2 is your home for good and geeky times.
To see what Cosplay Conventions are coming to your area,
be sure to check out our Cosplay Convention List!
