BN'K ON TOUR: THE REVIEWS

 As fandom events continue to grow in the United States, Florida, especially the Central Florida area, has seen an increase in pop-culture events. For years, if you stayed in Orlando or the greater Orlando area, you could expect a few showcases a year. Anime Day Orlando in the spring and fall, MegaCon Orlando in the early summer, now early spring, Mystic Con in the late spring, and the popular Christmas-themed Holiday Matsuri in the winter. However, a new convention has decided to throw its hat in the ring of Central Florida conventions, taking over a portion of the west wing of the Orange County Convention Center from August 8th to the 10th, 2025. That convention was Animate! Orlando . This convention is by no means a humble operation; it’s a part of the larger GalaxyCon conglomerate, which hosts around 16 shows each year in cities all across the US. The Animate show series currently has four cities it tours in, including Columbus, Ohio, and Raleigh, North Carolina. According ...

  Dream Con 2025 came and went like a whirlwind, and the BN’K on Tour team is dealing with post-con sadness about it. From the diversity on full display from the cosplays and creative outfits, to the fun activities available, there was something particularly special about this event that we enjoyed. And while there are a ton of things that we could include about our time at Dream Con, we wanted to highlight our favorite experiences, activations, and activities from Dream Con 2025. Megan Thee Stallion’s Chicas Divertitas Tequila Booth The team adored the Chicas Divertitas Booth with its colorful, bubbly staff, supreme vibes, and tasty drinks. Enjoying the booth was a simple as hopping into line, where you filled out a consent form and completed an age verification check by showing your ID. Once completed, we waited in line and enjoyed the amazing DJ playing all of the hot girl tunes your heart desires. Once we made it to the front of the line, we were greeted by booth attendants who...

All Photography: Larry J. Photography I've been a fan of fighting games since I was a small kid watching my uncle play Soul Calibur II on the PlayStation 2. The ability to go head-to-head with a sibling, a cousin, a classmate, or a coworker in a battle of wits, creativity, and, of course, elite knowledge in combo inputs has always been fun and exciting for me. When I got a bit older and started going to conventions, one of my favorite places to spend hours was in the game room filled with well-cared-for consoles of gaming enthusiasts who were kind enough to lend their precious childhood consoles to us attendees for a few days. Little did I know that there were whole communities dedicated to creating space exclusively for gaming and, more specifically, for fighting games called the FGC (Fighting Game Community). After discovering this fact, I became entrenched in FGC digital spaces, listening to podcasts such as the Triple K.O. Podcast , joining local groups like Retro Revival , and...

E-sports have always been popular in the nerd space, but in Central Florida, we have access to some of the best e-sports hubs around. From CEO Gaming and CEOtaku, hosted annually, as well as other smaller gaming groups and gatherings, this area is perfect for members of the fighting game community (FGC) and other esports participants. So it was no surprise when a new esports event called Central Florida Face-Off (CFFO) was announced that folks in the area were stoked to attend.  Central Florida Face-Off was a one-day event hosted at the Avanti Palms Resort in Orlando, Florida, in the popular tourist area, International Drive. According to the creative team behind the event, CFFO is  “A daring experiment in combining the communities of fighting games and trading card games, showing off the power of competition to bring people together” .   The hotel was rather spacious with plenty of space for gamers and other nerdy enthusiast to enjoy their time at the event. The event h...