Pass through the vicinity of the Holiday Inn in downtown Mobile during the weekend of July 20-21 and you might wind up feeling like you’ve stumbled into an alternate dimension.

Fear not. It’s just the Azalea City Con, a fan convention that made its debut in 2023 and is back with all its old attractions and some new ones to boot. If you happen to find yourself among pirates, superheroes, movie aliens and video-game warriors, don’t be alarmed. It just comes with the territory.

That’s not to say you can take it for granted. Renee Bangs, an organizer in charge of media and guest relations, said the people behind Azalea City Con learned something big last year that they’ve applied to this year’s edition.

“What we discovered is that as a group — the people who run the convention as well as most of the folks who attended — were just a lot more interested in making things,” Bangs said. “In the construction of the cosplay, in the 3D printing, in the painting of the artwork and the drawing of the comic books and things like that. And so what we wanted to do this year and going forward is to focus on makers, on creative hands-on things.”

Dig into the programming, and you’ll see much more of a how-to component.

What hasn’t changed is that for serious fans, the con presents the chance to plunge into some shared manias with like-minded folks. For more casual visitors, it’s a chance to browse some strange new worlds – and maybe do some shopping in a vendor hall full of creative wares that you absolutely, positively are not going to find anywhere else.

If this sounds intriguing, here’s what you need to know:

Who’s this for?

According to organizers, “Azalea City Con is a pop culture convention for pop culture geeks, comic book nerds, gamers, cosplayers, anime kids, and anyone who proudly wears the nerd label.” Organizers also say they strive to present a family-friendly and inclusive event where fans “can celebrate their love of film, art, comics, superheroes, cosplay, video and board games, and all things nerdy with a focus on makers and creative artists.”

There’s a serious side to the mission, organizers say: “The event is designed to be welcoming to lifelong con-goers and casual fans in equal measure, especially women who often struggle for acceptance in the community. Organizers know casual fans are sometimes hesitant to go to conventions or jump into activities like cosplaying or gaming, because it’s very overwhelming. Azalea City Con seeks to change that. They hope everyone who attends will feel like they belong.”

When, where, how much?

The 2024 Azalea City Con takes place Saturday and Sunday, July 20-21, at the Holiday Inn in downtown Mobile. Convention hours are 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Hours for the vendor hall are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Weekend passes are $40 at the door for adults, $25 for youth ages 7-13. Single-day wristbands are $25 for Saturday, $15 for Sunday. Children up to age 6 are admitted free if accompanied by a paying adult.

Festival policy on minors: “Minors 14 and under must be accompanied by a parent or designated guardian. All guardians must be 18 and over and must register with the convention. The parent or guardian must be at the venue at all times of the convention.”

There’s also a pre-party from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at Braided River Brewing on St. Louis St. Attendees are welcome to come in costume.

Major attractions

Festival highlights include a big cosplay component. The event is jointly owned by two professional cosplayers and prop makers, Martha Howard of Little Red Cosplay and Sarah Harris of Blue Knight Cosplay. Cosplay special guests include Taycosplayy, Geek Out Studio and YupKat, so you never know who (or what) you’re going to see walking around. There also are a number of guest artists and authors including locals such as Amanda Rachels and Rando Dixon. A full schedule of pane discussions offers education and informed viewpoints on topics related to gaming, game-related crafts, publishing and more. The con features video gaming and tabletop gaming areas. There’s also an extensive vendor hall and artist alley.

More details can be found at www.azaleacitycon.com. For updates, keep an eye on www.facebook.com/azaleacitycon.

New features

For its second year, Azalea City Con has added a slate of new activities. There’s a film scramble, with participants challenged to produce a 5-minute clip showing a con that has been shifted to a different dimension. Results will be screened at a viewing party at 4 p.m Sunday. Radio personality Matt McCoy will host a “Meet & Geek” session at 8 p.m. Saturday which is similar in format to speed dating but not focused exclusively on romantic connections.

“It’s just a good opportunity for the people who are attending the convention to sit one-on-one and meet somebody new,” said Bangs. “So we’re not going along gender lines or anything like that. We’re just gonna have 50% of the people sit down and 50% of the people walk around the room and everybody has a chance to make a friend or a romance connection. You can meet your new best friend, a new romantic connection or your arch nemesis. We’re not sure which one you’re gonna meet, but you’ll have the opportunity to do that.”

There will be plenty of chances to get hands-on experience in new skills.

“Our two owners, Martha and Sarah, they’re both makers,” said Bangs. “Martha is a wonderful seamstress who makes all of her costume, her cosplay and then Sarah has a prop making business. So she’s actually going to be the one running the armor-making or armor pattern-making workshop. And we reached out to some members of the community. There is a new gaming shop out in Theodore called The Broken Dice Guild, and we reached out to them and asked them if they would be interested in doing a workshop and they were very enthusiastic about it and they said, yeah, absolutely. So they’re doing our miniature-painting.

“One of our guests that we have had both years and that we hope we’ll have in the future is fighting Owl Films,” Bangs said. “We created the film scramble to try and get some of our filmmakers in the community involved in the convention as well. We have, you know, some, some [sessions that are] just fun, like we have improv. We have an improv workshop, Kelly Teague from Dad Company Improv is going to be hosting it. And then we have a belly dance for beginners class.”

Also new: Cosplay masquerade, live action role playing an a 21-and-up Saturday night party in the hotel’s Skyview Lounge.

Special guests

No convention worth its salt would be complete without some celebrity guests. In addition to its guest authors, cosplay stars, gaming hosts and artists, Azalea City Con is showcasing father-and-son voice actors Dino and Connor Andrade.

Dino Andrade’s extensive credits include providing voices for Dracula in the 2023 movie “Last Voyage of the Demeter;” the Scarecrow in the video game “Batman: Arkham Asylum;” and various roles in animated projects including “FLCL: Grunge,” “Jo-Jo’s Bizarre Adventure” and “The New Looney Tunes.” Connor Andrade’s roles include Grizz on the Cartoon Network’s “We Baby Bears,” toddler Groot in Marvel films and Bobbi in Nickelodeon’s “Deer Squad.”