Another Steel City Con is in the books. This weekend, attendees had the opportunity to meet some of their favorite celebrities from wrestling, National Lampoon, Nightmare on Elm Street, and other pop culture franchises. Going to Steel City Con is no cheap experience though.

Before attending, prospective guests will need to be aware that just buying a ticket for the event is just one obstacle they will need to hurdle. If you want to make your Steel City Con experience memorable, you will need to be ready to spend a pretty penny. Yes, the convention does offer a few events, but most of the thrills come from paid experiences.

Fans who wish to attend Steel City Con must purchase a pass; guests can choose between a single-day pass or the ability to attend the convention for the whole weekend. Ultimately, purchasing a three-day pass is cheaper, even if you only plan to attend for two days. Guests who want the ultimate experience and shorter lines could purchase a variety of VIP experiences.

Once through the doors, we were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Pop-Culture merchandise available to be purchased. Needless to say, we definitely walked away with some goodies but our wallets were left hurting.

Just the merchandise alone is enough to make you miss a mortgage or car payment. If you want an autograph or photo with a celebrity guest, that’s more money out of your pocket. Celebrity guests signings and photos can range anywhere from $40 to $300 for the experience of interacting with the guest.

Is it Worth it?

So ultimately the major question at hand is, “Is it worth going to this event?” Well, first off if you are in the Pittsburgh area, then it is a pop culture event to go to. If you are outside of a three-hour radius, it would be against our discretion. Remember there are other events that these celebrities attend so it comes down to how far you want to travel to see your favorite celebrity.

Guests/Panels

At the April 2022 Steel City Con, guests had the opportunity to meet a variety of celebrities; sadly, a few guests were unable to make it due to unforeseen circumstances. During the event, guests could get in line in order to meet the guest of their choice. Personally, we were most interested in the following:

• Chevy Chase
• Christopher Lloyd
• Christie Brinkley
• Robert Englund
• Christina Ricci
• Devon Sawa
• Jon Bernthal
• Matthew Lewis
• Sting
• Darby Allan
• Steven Ogg

Each attendee’s interests were different and some came just to attend the Q & A panels.

On Friday, Steel City gave guests the option to attend eight panels. During these panels, guests were able to ask the panelists a variety of questions. On the second day, guests could attend one of seven Q&A panels or a charity auction; then on the final day, guests could check out the Nightmare on Elm Street and Christopher Lloyd panel.

The weekend saw multiple issues with the panels. On the first day, there was a lack of communication regarding certain panelists being unable to make the panel. So guests sat around waiting, just for the panelist to never show up.

Most of the panels on the second day we missed due to poor timing and inability to hear the intercom due to hall loudness. On the last day, we noticed multiple issues with the mics while the panelists were trying to answer questions. Just getting to the panel room was a nightmare due to overcrowding and guests standing around. On multiple occasions, guests were told they had to turn around due to limited space

Sunday ended with a costume contest for children, teenagers, and adults. First-place winners were granted a variety of prizes from collectibles to cash rewards for their cosplays.

Steel City Con does a great job at bringing in guests people want to see; however, the cost to have stuff signed or take a photo with a celebrity guest was a bit off-putting. After attending conventions where you can talk with the guests or they are at multiple panels they are at throughout the weekend, Steel City just feels limited. On numerous occasions, we heard guests complain that it was a waste of their money even to come in and felt like it was just a payout for the celebrities.

Looking at it from a general admission guests’ point of view, the prices can be off-putting. Yes, Steel City gives guests access to these celebrities, but ultimately, the admission cost is just a small part of what you will pay to have a memorable experience. Although meeting the celebrity guests can easily be the most expensive aspect, you can easily spend more just on collectibles; however, we experienced a few issues with the merchants.

Merchants

Going into the convention we expected that we would find collectibles that we would want to buy. What we didn’t expect is for the vendors to be front and center. Before you can even make it back to celebrity autographs, you could have already signed over your paycheck. During our time there, some merchants reminded us why we hate salesmen, but others reminded us of the joy of buying something we love from someone else who appreciates it, if not loves it.

So let’s talk about the excellent vendors first. Most of the vendors at the show were great, they took their time to talk with people who came up to their booth, answer any questions, and even offer their opinion; some merchants were even willing to haggle or offer deals. On numerous occasions, we found ourselves just talking with one of the vendors about a general topic and having a good time. In fact, on those occasions, we were more willing to buy from them than someone else. You don’t want to see all the Funkos we picked up.

On the other hand, there were some merchants that left a bad taste in our mouths. On one occasion, we caught a vendor lying multiple times to a customer. Luckily, we were able to recommend that they check out the online store for anything they were looking for. This vendor was trying to sell Funkos and statues for 3 to 4 times their average price. Just walking around the show floor, you could find something you were looking for at a cheaper price at a different vendor. One merchant decided to follow us around the hall after saying we would come back later if we decided we wanted his art. Although this vendor was annoying, he was by far not the worst.

The biggest offender at Steel City Con was a shop that allowed guests to buy pillows that they could have stuff with a variety of anime characters. Now, the concept of getting a stuffed pillow is not the issue. The issue was that the vendor was ripping off Sakimi Chan‘s art and charging a lot for it. When we asked them where they got the designs they answered vaguely with a commissioned artist. When we asked which one, they refused to answer and got defensive. Once they refused to answer, we informed them that we knew it was Sakimi Chan they walked away and refused to speak with us further.

Takeaways

In the past, we would have to choose between Steel City Con and Tekko. This year, Tekko was moved to July giving us the chance to finally check out Steel City Con. Although we had a fun time at Steel City Con, we still think events like Tekko, Ohayocon, Matsuricon, and Colossalcon are better events for anime enthusiasts. Steel City Con is ultimately a great convention for those looking to get Pop Culture collectibles or meet some of their favorite celebrities. Ultimately if you are on a tight budget, you will need to either plan carefully or stick to a set amount.

Overall the April 2022 Steel City Con was fun but not because of the celebrity guests at the show. Ultimately, the merchants are what made the show a memorable experience. Yes, Steel City Con did provide quests with a great line-up of guests but the limited panels and price can be off-putting. If you are looking for a pop culture convention in between Anime conventions, Steel City Con is worth checking out. If you feel like showing off your cosplay, you can definitely catch the attention of guests and potentially even win some money.

A guest pass was provided for April 2022’s Steel City Con. Hopefully, next time we will be able to interview some of the guests.

This is Niche Culture. In this column, we regularly cover anime, geek culture, and things related to video games. Please leave feedback and let us know if there’s something you want us to cover!