7 PopCon Indy highlights for superfans and casuals
PopCon Indy turns 12 this weekend and will close out its awkward preteen phase with three days of celebs, cosplayers and countless opportunities to embrace your inner superfan.
Why it matters: The pop culture convention has seen a massive glow up since its homegrown roots as a Kickstarter campaign launched in the early 2010s, and continues to expand its offerings to appeal to nerds and normies alike.
What they're saying:"There's something magical about watching a family geek out together over their favorite movie or video game," said PopCon co-owner Carl Doninger. "We see it every year — parents and kids cosplaying as their favorite characters, creating memories that last well beyond the weekend."
Plus: The air-conditioned halls of the Indiana Convention Center provide a nice way to beat the heat as sweltering conditions smother the Circle City.
Here are seven PopCon 2025 highlights to check out.
The voice actors that brought Leonardo, Raphael, Donotello, Michelangelo and April O'Neil to life will be in the house to swap stories about their time as heroes in a half shell.
📽️ Find a new favorite movie
The 5th annual PopCon International Film Festival is one of Indiana's biggest film fests and will showcase movies from more than 14 countries. Stick around after the credits for post-screening Q-and-As and filmmaker panels.
🎭 See next-level craftsmanship during the Ultimate Cosplay Competition
The free event invites cosplayers of all ages and skill levels to transform into their favorite pop culture icons. Feel free to dress up even if you don't want to compete.
🤖 Witness a robot battle at Circle City Clash
Competitors will pick up their controllers and send their hand-built robots into war during this Robot Smashing League qualifying event.
🤫 Play a secret game
Inspired by "Squid Games," participants will play children's games with a twist for a chance to win a lifetime pass to PopCon. Big mystery. Big reward.
🐈 Get catty at Purrcon
Billed as the "ultimate cat celebration," celebrate our feline friends with kitten therapy sessions, Swiftie Feline Friendship Bracelet-making and trivia and games like "Cat That Tune."
If you go: PopCon Indy runs Friday through Sunday at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capitol Ave.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indianapolis Star
a day ago
- Indianapolis Star
PopCon Indy returns this weekend! What to know about tickets, celebrities, cosplay and more
PopCon, a celebration of pop culture, is back this weekend in Indianapolis. The three-day event caters to all things in the geek universe with cool merch, fans dressed up in exciting cosplay, plus escape rooms, a film festival and stuff for the kiddos as well as the child at heart. Attendees have a chance to score an autograph or two with famed celebrities slated to attend, such as Emma Caulfield from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and WandaVision, or Rob Paulsen, whose voice talents have included popular animated shows like Animaniacs and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Here's what we know about this year's big three-day shindig. PopCon Indy takes place this weekend from Friday, June 27, through Sunday, June 29. Just like last year, the three-day event happens at the Indiana Convention Center at 100 South Capitol Ave in Indianapolis. The schedule for PopCon Indy includes vendor floor hours from 1-7 p.m. Friday, June 27; 10:30 a.m.-7 pm. Saturday, June 28; and 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, June 29. VIP and Superfan ticket-holders can walk in 30 minutes ahead of the general public. Program hours Fri-Sat extend to 11 p.m. You can get tickets to PopCon Indy online or at the convention center registration desk on the day of the event. Tickets for all three days of PopCon start at $70. Day passes begin at $40. Children under 10 get in free with the purchase of an adult ticket. The list of things to do at PopCon Indy is huge, but here are some of the highlights: Story continues after photo video. The actors behind many popular TV shows and movies are slated to appear in Indianapolis this weekend. For those Gen Xers and Xennials of a certain age, that includes the original vocal cast from the smash-hit animated series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. You can find these and other celebrity guests tentatively scheduled to appear at this year's PopCon Indy, which we've listed in alphabetical order. They include: Note: PopCon Indy appearances were last retrieved from the organization's website on June 27 and are subject to change due to scheduling conflicts. Autographs and pictures with many celebrities will happen Friday through Sunday at the Indiana Convention Center. The cost of an autograph for each celebrity guest varies in price. Be sure to check PopCon Indy's official website for the latest information.
Axios
2 days ago
- Axios
7 PopCon Indy highlights for superfans and casuals
PopCon Indy turns 12 this weekend and will close out its awkward preteen phase with three days of celebs, cosplayers and countless opportunities to embrace your inner superfan. Why it matters: The pop culture convention has seen a massive glow up since its homegrown roots as a Kickstarter campaign launched in the early 2010s, and continues to expand its offerings to appeal to nerds and normies alike. What they're saying:"There's something magical about watching a family geek out together over their favorite movie or video game," said PopCon co-owner Carl Doninger. "We see it every year — parents and kids cosplaying as their favorite characters, creating memories that last well beyond the weekend." Plus: The air-conditioned halls of the Indiana Convention Center provide a nice way to beat the heat as sweltering conditions smother the Circle City. Here are seven PopCon 2025 highlights to check out. The voice actors that brought Leonardo, Raphael, Donotello, Michelangelo and April O'Neil to life will be in the house to swap stories about their time as heroes in a half shell. 📽️ Find a new favorite movie The 5th annual PopCon International Film Festival is one of Indiana's biggest film fests and will showcase movies from more than 14 countries. Stick around after the credits for post-screening Q-and-As and filmmaker panels. 🎭 See next-level craftsmanship during the Ultimate Cosplay Competition The free event invites cosplayers of all ages and skill levels to transform into their favorite pop culture icons. Feel free to dress up even if you don't want to compete. 🤖 Witness a robot battle at Circle City Clash Competitors will pick up their controllers and send their hand-built robots into war during this Robot Smashing League qualifying event. 🤫 Play a secret game Inspired by "Squid Games," participants will play children's games with a twist for a chance to win a lifetime pass to PopCon. Big mystery. Big reward. 🐈 Get catty at Purrcon Billed as the "ultimate cat celebration," celebrate our feline friends with kitten therapy sessions, Swiftie Feline Friendship Bracelet-making and trivia and games like "Cat That Tune." If you go: PopCon Indy runs Friday through Sunday at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capitol Ave.
The Verge
07-06-2025
- The Verge
TMNT: Tactical Takedown is a radical twist on turn-based strategy
I usually struggle with strategy games. They're typically too hard for me, and I often get overwhelmed at managing multiple characters or squads. But I couldn't put down Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown, which blends ideas from strategy games and classic TMNT arcade games to keep things snappy, easy to play, and full of action. One way Tactical Takedown — developed by I Am Your Beast maker Strange Scaffold — keeps things simple is by having you play as just one character in each of the game's 20 levels. The four turtles have different movesets; Leonardo, for example, uses his swords to aggressively attack enemies, while Michelangelo can zip around the playing field on his skateboard. You're able to customize each turtle's arsenal by buying new moves, but I didn't change the movesets at all and got through the game just fine. Battles take place in a grid overlaid on small chunks of very TMNT locations, like a street, sewer, or subway system. Every turn, you have six 'action points' to spend as you please, whether that's moving around the level or attacking bad guys. You just press a button to use one of your moves, no menu required, which speeds things up considerably. You have six hearts and three 'lives' — lose a life and the game will quickly flash a 'Continue' sign before letting you choose where you'd like to drop in the level to keep the fight going. (You also lose a score multiplier.) The levels feel like tiny dioramas, and while characters will move into a kick or a punch when attacking or a fall when taking damage, they aren't actively animated moment to moment. It all creates the sense that you're playing with action figures. Perhaps Tactical Takedown 's best trick is that the levels are constantly shifting around you. Every once in a while, the game will show you that a new piece of land is going to drop in on the next turn, and after that spot is in place, you'll get a warning that another part of the level is going to fall away. It means that you're constantly dealing with new terrain, layouts, and hazards like poisonous sewage or cars driving by while also strategizing on how to fight bad guys. Sometimes, after adding a new chunk of a level, the game even flashes the word 'Go,' encouraging you to move forward like you would in an arcade game. Even better, if there isn't a wall, you can send enemies flying off the edge of a level into the void, defeating them instantly. It took me a bit to understand that the game wants you to do that as much as possible; occasionally, there will be a lot of bad guys in a level, and the only way to efficiently take them out is by sending them to their doom. For me, it all came together in a level where you play as Leonardo in a subway tunnel. The level started on a subway platform, and then the game signaled that a subway car would appear. I navigated my way onto the subway car, and the platform fell away. After a few turns on the subway car, it 'arrived' at the next subway stop, and I had to hop off. It really felt like I was 'advancing' through a level in a faster-paced game, and all while managing a legion of enemies with Leonardo's swords. The genre is usually slow, but when you get in a good rhythm, Tactical Takedown almost feels as crisp as the TMNT arcade games — despite being a turn-based strategy game.
