Alex Owens | Downtown News
Comic Con officially begins July 23 and tickets are sold out — as usual.
But even if you can’t get inside the Convention Center, there are plenty of unconventional ways to get your Con fix. Even better, many are free.
For instance, just walking down Fifth and Sixth avenues towards the Convention Center on the main Con days (Friday and Saturday) can land you all sorts of freebies, from posters to movie passes for special screenings to free food, like chips or ice cream treats.
In addition, the whole area behind the Convention Center is a free fun area featuring exhibits by some of the pop culture purveyors in attendance. Details are still being worked out, but last year, Cartoon Network had all sorts of fun displays.
Same with the parking lot nearest to Petco Park, which usually features specially equipped vans promoting certain networks or shows.
In addition to those events, Seaport Village will host a free showing of “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” on July 24, at 8 p.m.
The Headquarters Shopping Center is hosting a free event for kids on Friday, July 25 at 4 p.m. It’s called Captain Jam’s Funki World Tour, and is a multi-cultural music event centered around a superhero named Captain Jam.
Of course, the highlight of the cheapskate’s version of the Con may be the July 26 Zombie Walk, which is open to undead of all ages. Just meat, er, meet at 5 p.m. at Children’s Park (corner of Island and First avenues).
Downtown businesses are taking advantage of the extra visitors during the Con in unique ways as well.
The House Of Blues has booked performers designed to appeal to pop culture nerds.
Marijuana comedian Doug Benson will tape his popular podcast, “Doug Loves Movies,” onstage July 23, while filmmaker Kevin Smith will tape his podcast there while ukulele comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates perform Friday night.
The Suicide Girls, an alt-rock burlesque troupe, will perform Saturday night at midnight.
Local restaurants and bars are trying to provide fun for attendees as well.
Gaslamp Tavern, 868 Fifth Ave., is offering a 10 percent discount on the first drink to anyone wearing a costume during the Con.
The Blind Burro on J Street is going all Sharknado all the time, with a special shark burrito for people on the go. There is also a new drink, the Shark Bite, a margarita-style drink topped with a shark gummy worm.
Spike Africa’s at the corner of Broadway and Fourth Avenue is getting into the Con spirit by hosting a costume contest on Friday night with a $150 first prize. The restaurant will also have a themed menu including Aqua Man fish and chips and cocktails like the Kryptonite Martini (vodka, pepperoncinis and olive brine) and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Cup (gin, lime, cucumber and honey syrup).
Kitty corner from Spike’s is RA Sushi, who hopes to attract the Walking Dead Comic-Con hordes with items like the Zombie Roll (spicy salmon, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeño, avocado and sriracha).
The Commons Bar on Fourth Avenue is celebrating Comic Con with a Captain America special that consists of the house specialty chicken wings, with a special Captain America cocktail, a blend of citrus and sweet tea vodka, grenadine, curacao and topped off with frozen lemonade.
The RoofTop600 bar at Andaz San Diego on F Street is hoping Con lovers trek upstairs to try the “Beam Me Up Scotty” cocktail, which mixes coffee liqueur, crème de banana and Bailey’s.
The week’s biggest “brew-ha-ha” takes place on Comic Con Saturday, July 26. The Heroes Brew Fest, where comic book geeks also geek out on local craft beer while dressed in superhero costumes. Now in its second year, the event showcases more than 40 breweries along with food trucks, a costume contest and live music performed on a solar powered stage. For more on this fun craft brew festival held the same weekend as Comic Con, visit heroesbrewfest.com.
Things can change, but to keep up on all your non-Con-related information, check out outsidecomiccon.com.
—Alex Owens is a San Diego-based freelance writer.
