The 11th annual 2026 Huntsville Comic & Pop Culture Expo took place in downtown Huntsville at the Von Braun Center South Hall on April 17-19, 2026. The expo is a family-friendly, homegrown “celebration of all things geek” founded and operated by Huntsville native Jeremy Long.

This year’s expo featured over 200 vendors and 58 special celebrity guests, including Christopher Lloyd, Zachary Levi, Vicki Lawrence, Ming-Na Wen, Tom Welling, Ron Perlman, cast members Dave Coulier and Andrea Barber of Full House, and actors and voice talent from iconic film and TV franchises from Disney, Warner Bros., DC Comics, and many more.

Special guests and speakers were featured in 45 panels and breakout sessions throughout the event. Attendees also enjoyed cosplay contests, an on-site gaming room, and exploring the artists/authors alley on the event floor.

Attendance grows year over year, with the 2026 event coming in at roughly 25,000 tickets sold.

A crowd of attendees fills the Von Braun Center during the 2026 Huntsville Comic & Pop Culture Expo, which drew approximately 25,000 visitors over three days in Huntsville. Photo: Jeremy Long

For the past eight years, the expo has been hosted in the VBC South Hall, with the addition of the East Hall in 2025 and 2026. Next year, the event expands again, adding the Saturn Ballroom and possibly Mars Music Hall, according to Long. The additional space will open more possibilities for extended programming.

Exponential growth and economic impact to Huntsville

Attendees from 41 states traveled to the expo this year; event room blocks sold out at the nearby Hampton Inn and Suites, 106 Jefferson Huntsville by Hilton, AC Hotel by Marriott, and Embassy Suites. Some attendees opted for hotels or AirBNBs outside the downtown area.

“People stay all over,” Long said. “Even when they stay with friends, they still drive in to eat. The tax revenue for the city is huge. All the downtown businesses I’ve talked to see huge numbers on expo weekend, so it’s a massive economic impact.”

The expo logo was prominently displayed on the Huntsville International Airport’s baggage claim screen, as well as on banners along Monroe Street downtown, sponsored by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Although much expo-adjacent activity takes place in and around downtown, it also spreads into greater Huntsville, further supporting the local economy.

“You see people Saturday night all over town, going to restaurants still in cosplay,” Long said.

Supporting local children in need through fun and fandom

Beyond fun and fandom, the expo gives back. Each year, Long and his team make a sizable donation to Madison County’s Kids to Love foundation, headed up by CEO Lee Marshall. A portion of event ticket sales, plus proceeds from its annual charity auction, go toward the donation.

“The last few years, we’ve been able to write [Kids to Love] a check for $20,000,” Long said. “That’s one of my favorite things about the show. It’s fun to give away that much money.”

Proceeds go toward supporting local children in the foster care system. Vendors donate items to go toward the charity auction each year. Long includes signed memorabilia from the previous year’s special guests.

In addition to Kids to Love, the expo also features an on-site LifeSouth community blood drive.

From frustration to inspiration: the expo’s origin story

Long, a missile defense professional who has always been a fan of comic books, first attended comic shows as a vendor until a disappointing event in 2015 left him frustrated and ruminating on his drive back to Huntsville.

“I get home and my wife, Emily, says, ‘You just need to do your own show.’ And I said, ‘Well, I didn’t know this, but I’ve been planning one for the last two hours.’

“My thought was, Huntsville is the nerdiest town in America. You can’t throw a rock and not hit an engineer. Why do we not have some sort of Comic Con?”

A year to the day later, in 2016, Long held his first expo at the 12,000-square-foot Jaycee Community Building at Huntsville’s John Hunt Park. Admission cost five dollars, and he sold 1500 tickets. By year two, the expo had already outgrown its original location and moved to the VBC North Hall.

Still leading in the trenches, 11 years later

Despite its tremendous growth over the past 11 years, Long remains the face of the expo, backed by a close-knit, enthusiastic volunteer team of over 200 Tennessee Valley locals.

“Many people just assume it’s some big company or corporate thing,” he said. “With the size we’ve become, they assume there’s a whole squad of employees.”

Through the event, Long has intentionally created a community environment that feels rewarding and fulfilling to volunteers. The fun isn’t over when the expo closes its doors for the year; instead, he finds ways to keep the community engaged and excited about the coming year, like a wrap party after each expo and an office Christmas party during the holiday season.

Rather than focusing on transactional interactions, Long is invested in building and fostering genuine relationships within the expo community. This relationships-first effort extends beyond volunteer staff and sets the expo apart, making an impression on attendees, vendors, and special guests alike.

According to Long, voice actor Marty Grabstein—the voice of Courage the Cowardly Dog and one of this year’s returning special guests—took note of the Huntsville expo’s unique environment.

“He said it best: ‘It feels like one of those corporate shows, but it has the intimacy and the heart that no other show has.’ That was really cool to hear because he does 30 to 40 shows a year. You hear that from one of the special guests, and you really appreciate it.”

Advice to aspiring event founders: Take your time building

For aspiring and established entrepreneurs who see a need in the market and want to start their own event, Long said it’s important to take things one step at a time.

“Surround yourself with good people and start small,” he said. “I’ve seen so many shows try and fail because they want to skip the first 20 steps. They want to make this huge show, and they go too big, too quick, and it doesn’t work.

“Don’t try to go too fast, and do what you love. Trust your heart and don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

Long added, “Do it for the right reasons. Don’t do it because you think you can make a quick buck, and don’t be afraid to fail.

“Failure doesn’t mean game over. Failure means you learn new things.”

Stay tuned for 2027 expo news

As for next year’s expo, fans should stay tuned. Long said they’re looking to book bigger special guests each year, and there’s plenty to look forward to.

“This will forever be a family friendly show, and that doesn’t just include content,” he said. “Kids 12 and under will forever be free at my show, because I want the show to be as accessible to as many people as possible. I want everybody to come and have a good time—not just the special guests, not just the patrons. Everyone.”

Learn more about Huntsville Comic & Pop Culture Expo at https://www.hsvexpo.com/.