After its biggest convention in the city yet, Dream Con is coming back to Houston in 2027 with dates landing on Juneteenth weekend.
Dream Con, the entertainment convention content creators RDC World founded in 2018, brings together fans of nerd culture, anime and video games. It is one of the largest Black-owned conventions in the country and has become a yearly pilgrimage for Black nerds from all over.
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RDC World, which stands for Real Dreamers Change the World, is a Texas-based group of online content creators and video producers led by Mark Phillips and Affiong Harris. Despite their booming success and YouTube channel with more than 7 million subscribers, RDC members often felt out of place at comic and anime conventions as Black fans of nerd culture. Enter their creation, Dream Con, which they created to provide a safe space to connect with fans and allow a convention where everyone, including Black nerds, could feel comfortable attending.
The convention continues to grow, with 45,000 attendees visiting downtown’s George R.R. Brown Convention Center in 2026. This year’s record-breaking multi-day convention put Dream Con on par with mainstay conventions like Comicpalooza, which is the biggest of its kind in the South. In 2025, Dream Con took in almost $19 million in Houston, compared to $15 million in Austin the year before.
Now, after concerns that the convention would jump to another city, Houston will host Dream Con for the third year in a row on June 18-20.
“Ooo lawd on Juneteenth in Htown… The earth about to explode right around Houston,” one comment wrote.
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“ON JUNETEENTH WEEKEND??? This is so perfect,” another commenter said.
Houston has become a destination for young people flocking to the city to experience its nightlife, food scene, and everything else it has to offer. Dream Con and Houston, with its prominent Black community, make a ton of sense, and holding the convention on Juneteenth makes the weekend even more special for some fans, according to the comments on the announcement video.
Smart, funny and sometimes unhinged look at the week that was.
Last year’s convention included video game tournaments, a celebrity basketball game, and panels that included Emmy-nominated actress, writer, producer, and Insecurecreator Issa Rae, The Boondocks executive producer Carl Jones, and many more.
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“Juneteenth is rooted in Texas history, and Dream Con represents so much of what that legacy has made possible: the freedom to create, build, own, and shape spaces where our culture is celebrated,” Dream Con Director of Communications Trish Phillips told Chron in a statement. “We’re proud to continue growing Dream Con in Houston and to contribute to the city’s cultural and economic landscape while creating an experience where our community can celebrate everything from anime and gaming to music, sports and pop culture.”
Badges for Dream Con 2027 go on sale on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.
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