WreckCon, a free single-day convention run by students of Georgia Tech, will be hosted on the university’s campus in downtown Atlanta on March 1.
The pop culture convention is entirely organized and run by Georgia Tech students. It began in 2023 and now hosts a diverse set of student organizations, industry guests, panels, vendors, events, and more.
WreckCon aims to follow in the footsteps of Techwood Con, an event put together by Georgia Tech’s Anime O-Tekku in the 2000s. That event went on to become Momocon, one of the biggest conventions in the Southeast.
According to Flavio Irani, a fourth year and president of WreckCon, the first convention was put together by a team of around seven people. WreckCon’s team has since grown to about 20.
While WreckCon has been growing in attendance and scale each year, the goal is to keep a community focus.
“We ultimately want this convention to be focused on Georgia Tech,” Irani said.
WreckCon is fully open to the public and also serves as an event for prospective Georgia Tech students. A student currently serving on WreckCon’s board attended the convention in 2023. According to Irani, the convention was the deciding factor in her decision to commit to Tech.
“Things like that are also why we’re open to everybody, just to see Georgia Tech culture,” Irani said. “It’s made by Georgia Tech students for everyone.”
WreckCon’s events include an artists’ alley, a cosplay contest and showcase, an indie game showcase, tabletop freeplay stations, an Idolfest concert, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart tournaments, and various panels. One of the panels will be a voice acting panel featuring Tiffany Grant, known for the popular anime series “Neon Genesis Evangelion.”
Further details on each event can be found on WreckCon’s events page.
Other conventions around metro Atlanta can often carry a high ticket price. Five-day membership passes to Atlanta’s Dragon Con in 2025 started at $100 last year, with the price rising as the event drew closer. WreckCon is free to attend.
“I think it’s quite valuable that we can run a convention with such a low barrier to entry, especially since it feels like many people are deterred by badge prices,” said Kendrick Xuan, a fourth year student and WreckCon’s Outreach Committee Head.
Xuan said he owes a lot to WreckCon, crediting as a driver for many of the relationships he has formed as Tech.
“I also firmly believe that everyone should attend a convention or comic-con type event at least once in their lives,” he said. “So I’d like to keep doing my best to help people accomplish that.”
Whitney Charleston, a fifth year student and the de-facto vice president, secretary, and AV head of WreckCon, said she hopes the convention will continue to be free in the future.
“It’s tricky given the scale of the event, but it’s something we’ve been able to keep free so far and we’re pretty proud of it,” Charleston said.
WreckCon will take place in the Exhibition Hall Midtown Ballroom from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 1. Free tickets are available here.
