Overview
DashCon (originally titled Tumbl-Con USA) was a fan convention catering primarily to users of the blogging platform Tumblr, with a particular emphasis on fandoms. Held over the weekend of July 11, 2014, at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, Illinois, the inaugural convention quickly became infamous for allegations of mismanagement and corruption among organizers, an alleged abrupt demand by the hotel for an upfront payment of cash for use of its facilities, and celebrity guests being forced to drop out of the convention after they were informed by the hotel that they would be responsible for paying for their rooms. A small ball pit placed in one of the halls became a meme after organizers offered attendees an "extra hour" in the pit (along with raffle and concert tickets) as reimbursement for a canceled panel.
Organizers for DashCon initially stated they would hold a second DashCon in 2015 despite the issues faced by the inaugural edition, but officially announced via Tumblr post in September 2014 that DashCon LLP would be dissolved and have all its assets liquidated, meaning they would not hold a second convention. The post also denied claims that a similarly themed convention, Emoti-Con, was a re-branded DashCon. In 2025, a similarly themed convention named DashCon 2, organized by a team unrelated to the 2014 convention, was held in Toronto. This event was considered a success.
Concept
DashCon was originally announced in mid-2013 under the name Tumbl-Con USA, as a convention catered to users of the blogging platform Tumblr, and was touted as the "largest gathering of Tumblr users to date". Prior to the start of the convention, the name of the event was changed to DashCon (alluding to the site's dashboard feed) to indicate that it was not officially associated with Tumblr.
Convention
, where the convention was held left The convention was organized by DashCon LLP, a Hudson, Ohio-based limited liability partnership owned by Megan Eli and Roxanne Schwieterman. Several guests – including ND Stevenson (who had to moderate his own panel because the scheduled moderator was absent), the Baker Street Babes (who produced an all-female Sherlock Holmes podcast), and an "extra hour with the ball pit".
Reception and aftermath
The ball pit – roughly the size of a kiddie pool, in an otherwise empty concession hall – and the notion of an "extra hour" in it, quickly became a meme among attendees and other Tumblr users, inspiring parodies. Convention guest Mark Oshiro explained that the ball pit was "not a point of interest, it wasn't something a single soul talked about, and it was just a quirky thing that existed", and that "in order to support the idea that DashCon was a full, 100 percent disaster, every single detail was used to paint the con and the people at it as horrific failures of humanity". The Baker Street Babes reported that the hotel payment issue was, according to organizers, a mistake. Stevenson, whose hotel payment had not yet been resolved, defended criticism of DashCon by other users, arguing that they were unfamiliar with what typically occurs at a convention in the first place.
Emoti-Con
Cain Hopkins, one of the co-creators of DashCon, announced Emoti-Con, a convention for "various Internet communities", in 2015. The announcement faced criticism as people noted significant similarities between Emoti-Con and DashCon, such as using the same venue, reusing much of the website's original text, and enforcing a no-refunds policy. Critics also felt that the mix between users of 4chan, Reddit, and Tumblr in Emoti-Con could become hostile due to their differences. In response, Megan Eli claimed that attendees of DashCon came from multiple different websites but still behaved well. Eli also insisted that Emoti-Con is not a renaming of DashCon, and will be "functioning under a very different infrastructure than DashCon did, with a more experienced and well-rounded staff". However, Emoti-Con was cancelled a few months later, citing "personal, financial, and safety" issues.
DashCon 2
DashCon 2 was announced in 2025 by co-directors Avis and Simone. Both are Tumblr users with experience in conventions, and are unaffiliated with the organizers of the original DashCon. The organizers of DashCon 2 have stated that they have "no intention of repeating DashCon's mistakes". It was held in Toronto, Canada on July 5, 2025. DashCon 2 focused on "celebrating a very specific era of fandom culture, as well as the original DashCon event". DashCon 2 is generally seen as having been very successful, especially compared to the original DashCon. The organisers have since announced a second DashCon 2, to be held on August 1–2, 2026.
See also
*Fyre Festival *TanaCon *Willy's Chocolate Experience *Detroit Bridgerton Themed Ball *Barbie Dream Fest