Dream Con 2026

Dream Con 2026 Exhibitor badges are not upgradable to premium. Persons that are interested in a fan experience are heavily encouraged to acquire/retain weekend badges.

EXHIBIT HALL OVERVIEW
As the one-stop bazaar of anime goods and wares, the Exhibit Hall is the centralized spot to find official merchandise alongside fan creations for sale.

Exhibitors inside Exhibit Hall include the following:‍

• Vendors
  Vendors generally sell merchandise that is manufactured by a third-party company other than the respective exhibitor. Typically, these exhibitors offer official product lines.‍
• Artists
  Artists sell merchandise self-produced and created by the respective exhibitor. These exhibitors usually sell products that are original ideas/IP or fan-derivative (think fan art and fan fiction). Artists have personally made or designed 80% or more of their stock and do not sell third-party items.

Changes from Dream Con 2025: The Exhibit Hall team will not be offering Vendor Booth spaces greater than 30' x 10' for purchase. If you are interested in securing a space that is greater than 30' x 10', complete and submit the 2026 Dream Con Partner Inquiry Form at https://dreamconvention.com/partnership-form.

Dream Con 2026 Exhibitor badges are not upgradable to premium. Persons that are interested in a fan experience are heavily encouraged to acquire/retain weekend badges.

EXHIBIT HALL OVERVIEW
As the one-stop bazaar of anime goods and wares, the Exhibit Hall is the centralized spot to find official merchandise alongside fan creations for sale.

Exhibitors include the following:‍

• Vendors
  Vendors generally sell merchandise that is manufactured by a third-party company other than the respective exhibitor. Typically, these exhibitors offer official product lines.‍
• Artists
  Artists sell merchandise self-produced and created by the respective exhibitor. These exhibitors usually sell products that are original ideas/IP or fan-derivative (think fan art and fan fiction). Artists have personally made or designed 80% or more of their stock and do not sell third-party items.

Thank you for your interest in being a programming host (also referred to as Panelist) for Dream Con 2026! All prospective programming hosts must submit their panel, workshop, or event idea(s) to Dream Con via this Programming Application. The person submitting the form will be considered the primary host and will receive all communication moving forward regarding their panel submission. All co-hosts must correspond with the original primary host for updates.

Submit one (separate) application for each panel, event, performance, demo or workshop you would like to host (up to three). If more than three (3) submissions are transmitted then the most recent entries will be prioritized and reviewed.

Please note that submitting an application does NOT guarantee approval. Acceptance in prior years does NOT guarantee acceptance this year. Prospective hosts will receive an email notifying the applicant if their panel or event has been accepted, rejected, or waitlisted.

Due to the volume of submissions, only selected submissions are guaranteed to receive follow-up correspondence regarding the status of their application. Programming applications close on Wednesday, December 31, 2025 at 11:59 pm Central Time. We will NOT accept any submissions after the application deadline. Prospective programming hosts may apply for multiple panels/events; however, Dream Con does not guarantee that all programming applications will be accepted.

REMINDER: Please check your spam folder regularly for updates and add panels@dreamconvention.com to your contacts. Missed messages will not be accepted as an excuse or exception. Any issues regarding submitting this form must be reported prior to the deadline for resolution and/or to request an extension.

PANELIST PACKAGE: We’re beyond excited to welcome our incredible community of creatives to Dream Convention 2026! As a way to honor the passion and hard work of those who help make our event so special, we’re delighted to share the Panelist Package—a collection of exclusive opportunities designed just for our accepted panelists.

Discounted Badge

• Accepted panelists will receive a special link to purchase a discounted weekend badge. The exact discounted price will be announced when the link is sent out.
• You’ll also have the choice to use the exclusive Panelist Badge or one of your other badges to enjoy different perks.
• Panelist badges MUST be picked up on-site; they are NOT eligible to be mailed to you.

Ticket Purchasing Guidelines

• We recommend waiting until acceptance BEFORE purchasing tickets if you’d like to take advantage of the panelist discount.
• Should you decide to buy a regular badge early and are later accepted, please note that NO REFUNDS or price adjustments will be available.
• If you wait for acceptance and are not selected, we unfortunately cannot guarantee badge availability at that time.

Waitlisted Panelists

• Panelists that are placed on the Waitlist will be reviewed by the Programming Department on a rolling basis prior to the con.
• If your panel gets selected from the Waitlist to join the 2026 Programming Schedule, you will receive a special link to purchase a discounted weekend badge at that time.
• The same Ticket Purchasing Guidelines listed above also apply for panelists listed on the Waitlist.

Perks Information

• We’re still finalizing some exciting benefits with our venue—additional panelist perks will be revealed at a later date.

We’re so grateful for the time, energy, and creativity our panelists bring to Dream Convention. Thank you for helping us create something truly unforgettable—we can’t wait to see you at Dream Convention 2026!

Thank you for your interest in being press for Dream Con 2026!

Important: Only one application per outlet. Please do not submit multiple applications under different contact names. The person submitting the form will be considered the primary contact and will receive all communication moving forward. Other members must correspond with the original primary contact for updates.

All applicants will undergo a careful screening process, which may require additional information from the respective outlet. Please note that submitting an application does NOT guarantee approval. Acceptance in prior years does NOT guarantee acceptance this year.

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Dream Con reserves the right to approve or reject any applications without reason at any time. All decisions are final. Approval and rejection status of application will be sent to the provided email address at least 1- 2 months after applications have closed.

• PROGRAM DESCRIPTION • Priority Consideration Deadline: January 1s at 11:59pm CST. General Consideration Deadline: February 28th at 11:59pm CST. Waitlist Deadline: TBD. CONTACT EMAIL: industry@dreamconvention.com This invitation-only program is curated by Dream Con Staff and reserved for leaders across the anime, manga, sports, licensing, publishing, streaming, media, marketing, and merchandising worlds. Dream Con is proud to offer one (1) discounted three-day admission badge ($40) to select persons with an active CORPORATE or ADMINISTRATIVE rol in the production or development of creative and consumer industries such as television, film, books, music, gaming, animation, comics, content creation and more. If a group would like to experience the rewards/benefits of this program together, each person must submit their own individual application for review AND be approved by Dream Con’s executive leadership. No exceptions. Each member of your group/organization should submit an application for their own eligibility/consideration regardless of their position and affiliation: executive, managers, supervisors, hosts/talent, assistants, hair/makeup specialist, security, valet, personal chef, friend/family, videographer, photographer etc. Thanks for being a valued member of the Dream Con community