C2E2 2026 runs March 28- 29 at the McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. This is the place to be this weekend. Whether you are a star watcher, a comic fan, a collector or just there to geek out there will be something to catch your attention.
Friday started out at a nice easy pace with plenty of time and space to wander the floor, get the lay of the land and check out some vendors. One of the first things I noticed was that the aisles seem to be laid out to give the Saturday crowds of room to move around. There was also a variety of merchants. Yes, there were multiple light saber dealers and Funko pop dealers, but there were also a few vendors I don’t see as often.
There have been some changes from previous years. The Main Stage has been moved to S100 and the will call has been moved into the Queue Hall. They have also removed the Dunkin booth that was at the head of the side hall. This give them a bigger room for the big draws. They have also rearranged how some of the panel rooms are accessed. These changes didn’t seem too bad on Friday, but we will see how it goes on Saturday. Will the lines interfere with photo ops, or the general crowd?
Friday isn’t as cosplay heavy as Saturday, but there was still a decent turnout. Here is the first part of the Friday 2026 Cosplay.
To see what cosplay conventions are coming up
be sure to check out our Cosplay Convention List!
