COMMUNITY ZONE

The 501st Midwest Garrison is the Illinois chapter of the 501st Legion; a worldwide Star Wars costuming organization comprised of and operated by Star Wars fans. The 501st Legion represents the "villains" of the Star Wars universe and in addition to appearing in film-authentic, movie-quality costumes; the 501st is committed to helping the community. As the "Bad Guys Doing Good," the 501st is dedicated to putting its resources to good use by giving back to the community and offering support through volunteer work at charity events, fundraisers, and social functions. 

The Windy City Ghostbusters are a registered 501c3 charitable organization. The WCGB is an all-inclusive group of Ghostbusters fans from all across the Chicagoland area. We attend events of all kinds and collect donations for our charity partner, La Rabida Childrens Hospital.

We are a queer, gender diverse, and neuro-varied womxn owned company, with widely varied socio-economic backgrounds and professional experiences. NDU is committed to creating high quality and nerdy comedy & tribute content, that is both uplifting and thought provoking while maintaining integrity and our mission to provide positive entertainment.

 The Finest: A G.I. Joe Costume Club (The Finest) is the world’s premier international G.I. Joe costuming organization. The club celebrates G.I. Joe through the creation and wearing of high-quality costumes and props based upon characters from the G.I. Joe universe. Each year, club members appear and exhibit at more than 100 pop-culture conventions, parades, and events worldwide. The Finest has used their love for GI Joe to raise more than $120,000, with all proceeds donated to military and veteran organizations such as K9s For Warriors and the USO!

Extra Life is gamers doing what they do best to help sick and injured children at their chosen Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Simply sign up, commit to play games on any day of your choosing (or over a few days), and ask your family and friends to support your efforts!

The Windy City Rollers is a nonprofit organization that strives to promote athleticism and fraternity among its members and seeks to foster professional, personal and athletic advancement for all its members. The goal of the organization, beyond advancing the sport of roller derby both in the city of Chicago and nationally, is to create a network of talented, multifaceted individuals offering both opportunity and training in order to continually self-govern the organization and raise up all its members.

If you’ve ever wanted to see your fave fandom characters brought to life, you’ll want to check out our Cosplay Groups. Make friends from a galaxy far, far away, be enchanted by heroes and princesses, and even bust some ghosts. Check out all our amazing Cosplay Groups below. 
501st Midwest Garrison
Chicagoland Cosplay Creations
Crying But Capable: Plus Size Cosplayers
CosMeetUp Chicago
Cosplay Monthly Magazine / Moorcroft Photography
Costumers With a Cause
HDC Fabrication
League of Enchantment

Join FreeN'Fun Bar Bingo for free-to-play bingo and trivia all weekend long! Come play for a chance to win prizes including con swag and giveaways from local sponsors. All ages welcome. Get ready to get your game on, it's FreeN'Fun! Check the schedule for dates and times.

Bringing award winning short science fiction, horror, fantasy, action, and fan films to audiences across North America, with screenings and indie film panels at pop culture and comic conventions all year long. Plus meet and greets with our Women of GeekFest at our booth space on the exhibition floor. If you're a genre filmmaker or just love genre films, GeekFest has something for everyone!