KC Retro 2024

Name: KC Retro 2024
Start: 2024-08-24T10:00:00-05:00
End: 2024-08-25T18:00:00-05:00
Location: Overland Park Convention Center

Schedule

Sat Aug 24 2024 at 10:00 am to Sun Aug 25 2024 at 06:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Overland Park Convention Center | Overland Park, KS

Step into the time warp and join the ultimate gathering of retro enthusiasts, gamers, and nerds in Overland Park this summer. Don't miss out on the nostalgia-filled experience of KC RETRO!
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Dive into a world where retro meets modern at KC RETRO! Explore a vibrant vendor floor filled with vintage toys, video games, comic books, Pokémon cards, and collectibles inspired by all things pop culture. Engage in activities like free-play retro arcade, video game tournaments, dress as your favorite retro cosplay, and game hunting. Join us in preserving and celebrating the nostalgia of gaming culture while bridging generational gaps. Come connect, compete, and celebrate retro gaming in Kansas City!
The show is full of new and exciting artists, vendors of: vintage and modern Toys, Video Games, Comic Books, Pokémon cards, & Collectibles of every kind inspired by Anime, Cartoons, Super-Heroes, Television, Movies, and other Pop Culture.
Hobbies that will be highlighted a lot at KC RETRO include:
-Sega, Nintendo, Xbox, Playstation collecting
-Arcade gaming, collecting, and restoration
-Magic the Gathering
-Pokémon
Activities include:
Large Vendor Floor
Free-play retro arcade
video game tournaments
cos-play
game hunting
History of KC RETRO
KC Retro started as a Swap Meet for Collectibles and Retro Video Games. At its core, a grassroots movement to unite the collectors and sellers of the rare hard to find merchandise, and grow Kansas City’s retro gaming market. An event to keep the retro gaming culture alive, and at the same time mix in modern art and modern gaming. To bridge the gap between generations of gamers and collectors alike.
The goal was to develop a way to help our friends, the retro gamers of Kansas City, connect with one another. We hoped these swaps would help us find ways to sustain the pathways of local vending for valuable retro collectibles.
We want collecting in Kansas City as a place people can see a future. That they see their collection as an investment. An investment in joy and happiness, and an investment in financial value and independence. The reason many of us got into collecting was to recapture fond memories of playing video games with buds, watching old VHS tapes with your family, memories and feelings of nostalgia that stay with you and comfort you in hard times.
If you’re just now hearing about Kansas City Retro the event at Overland Park Convention Center in December, maybe that’s by design.
We have several shows under our belt, several small shows. Our beginnings, a small group of like-minded nerds in a parking lot at a KC retro video gaming landmark, A-game in Independence, Missouri. (Sadly, it is no longer in Missouri.)
Before that, a field in Kansas.
March of 2021, kickstarted a series of parking lot swap events that have quickly grown to be well attended and fun retro video game, comic book, and toy swap meets. There were now places to trade, buy, and swap retro video games and collectibles in KC. These swaps were the testing grounds for our theory, that if there was a way to sell and market our games and collections to local collectors and gaming enthusiasts we could help our retro communities grow and keep the hobby alive and thriving.
The creators and team members that plan and operate the show (Nathan Walker and Derek Smith) aim to provide a space for fans of all ages who enjoy these multitudes of nerdiness to grow and connect.
The full weekend experience will include opportunities to dress in your favorite cosplay, finding that collectible or rare video game you remember playing as a kid, connecting with fellow collectors and friends, and finding your inner competitive side by competing in a video game tournament.
Come join the producers of the event and hundreds of video game players, collectors, and nerds alike as we take over Kansas City. Let's build the community in KC and celebrate retro video games.