Every spring since 2013, sci-fi nerds, cosplay fanatics, and comic book geeks have descended on the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in waves for D.C’s Awesome Con, the event that—if only for a weekend—replaces the city’s professionally clad masses with masked and face-painted die-hards from every walk of geek-culture.

This year’s Awesome Con, originally scheduled to take place this weekend, was expected to be what it always is—a proud nerd paradise—until the coronavirus pandemic upended the annual celebration. While the in-person event has been rescheduled for December, organizers have launched a virtual celebration this weekend. Awesome Con Online will include a slate of free, virtual programming, giving quarantined enthusiasts perhaps a much-needed fix of literal comic relief.

“The reason behind Awesome Con Online is just kind of giving our fans and our community something to do the weekend of the original dates,” says Lauren Dabb, director of marketing for LeftField Media, the events company that produces Awesome Con, and other comic conventions around the country. “Our fans and our community have always been so supportive of us, and we wanted to find a way to bring them together and support them during this time.”

Prospective attendees who had already purchased their tickets for the convention were offered refunds, or can save their ticket for the December or spring 2021 convention. Dabb says last year’s event brought in more than 70,000 guests (For comparison, the local anime convention Otakon had about 28,000 attendees last year) and by the looks of ticket sales prior to COVID-19, this year’s convention sales were close to surpassing that. According to Dabb, most ticket-holders have opted to hold onto their spots for a future date.

While most of the bigger-name celeb appearances, like Adam Savage (the orange-bearded scientist from MythBusters) and Leslie David Baker (Oscar from The Office), have been pushed to December, Awesome Con Online has tried to offer creative snippets of the weekend in a virtual format.

Guest speakers like Ross Marquand, star actor of The Walking Dead and Avengers: Endgame, and Zachary Levi of Tangled and Shazam! will be hosting a Zoom Q&A session as a part of the free convention. For those who have spent months perfecting their perfect cosplay, designer and professional cosplayer Mikel Mosley will judge a virtual costume contest. The best cosplays (definitely with better masks than any you’ve seen at the grocery store of late) will win a free badge to the IRL December convention.

And it wouldn’t be a weekend in quarantine without socially-distanced fresh air. For the first time, Awesome Con is hosting a virtual 5K through Fanthropy Running Clubs. Costumes aren’t required for participation (now may not be the best time to go jogging through the neighborhood in a Storm Trooper get-up), but participants are encouraged to send in a post-run selfies with the hashtag #AwesomeConFunRun to featured in a panel over the weekend.

Aside from the joy of reveling in comic-fan community, Awesome Con is usually a place where artists and vendors can best reach their target market. On Sunday, a live-stream will feature a virtual “Makers Market,” and “Artists’ Alley” for crafters and creators who had originally planned to set up shop in the Convention Center to display and sell their items. In addition, Awesome Con will be donating the proceeds of their own merch and autograph sales, plus pledged donations, to the Red Cross of America to assist in COVID-19 response efforts.

The pop culture convention first came to D.C. in 2013, the city’s first large-scale event catered towards enthusiasts from a broad range of fandoms. While it had a few hiccups in its so-far seven-year journey (long lines and a failed attempt at setting a cosplaying world record), by 2017, the convention had worked out the kinks, drawing in larger crowds and prominent figures from the sci-fi and comic genres.

Dabb says the December in-person convention’s programming will look similar to what was planned for this May, but that Awesome Con is allowing speakers and guests some time to assess the pandemic situation, and decide if they feel comfortable attending.

Other nerd conventions in the area have taken different responses in the wake of COVID-19. Otakon has cancelled its convention scheduled for this summer, and Blerdcon, named for black nerds, is still planned for mid-July in Arlington.

Awesome Con Online takes place Friday-Sunday. Most events will be held on Facebook, details here. FREE