Cosplayers, comic book fans, celebrities gather for Awesome Con

WASHINGTON - Thousands of people are descending upon D.C. this weekend for Awesome Con.

Fans of superheroes, comic books, cosplay and other pop culture are gathering at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center through Sunday in an event "that embraces all aspects of geekdom," according to Awesome Con's website.

Celebrity guests ranging from Kevin Smith, Adam West, Bill Nye The Science Guy, Karl Urban and others are scheduled to appear at some point this weekend.

You will see plenty of costumes, comic book characters and fun stuff for kids. Discussion panels, costume and trivia contests, gaming tournaments and other activities are being held along with new exhibits such as the science and technology area.

"Awesome Con is technically a comic book convention, but I think it is sort of a celebration of everything that is sci-fi, nerdy, geeky fun stuff," said one attendee. "And D.C. is a town that is - we get a bad rap as being wonky people wearing Ann Taylor pantsuits everywhere. There are a lot of cool things happening in D.C. besides politics and lobbyists."

"It's kind of like a family," another costumed character told FOX 5. "You meet people who were here last year. You get to see people in your favorite costumes. You get to see the characters and get the experience of personalizing with different artists and actors who you have grown up watching. It's just an amazing experience every year."

Tickets for the event are available online and at the box office. For more information, go www.awesome-con.com