Frequently Asked Questions
When is the 2026 HVC3?
Saturday, February 28th, 2026 - 10 am to 6 pm
Sunday, March 1st, 2026 - 10 am to 5 pm
Will there be any celebrities?
Of course there are! Take a look at our Guest page!
Can I bring outside food to the event?
The Sports Centre will have a concession stand onsite and would prefer no outside food. There will be food vendors as well.
I live on campus, how do I get there?
You can of course use Uber of Lyft, but the convention will have a free bus shuttle to and from campus. The shuttle bus will pick up at he Tennis Courts in front of East Halls and will loop back and forth to the convention each day all day!
Downtown State College can get very busy and congested, will that cause a problem for the convention?
Downtown is actually south of campus and the convention is 3 miles north of Beaver Stadium. Though the convention would like attendees to visit the many shops downtown, convention goers can bypass the downtown hustle and bustle completely.
What’s the benefit of buying my tickets online?
Well, you let the convention know how many people to prepare for, but it helps you from waiting in line at the con! There will be a separate line for prepays and since money will not change hands or credit cards will not have to be charged, the line will go much faster. On top of that, each person buying tickets online before February 14th will also get a HVC3 collectors pin! Click here to order your 2026 tickets!
Is the Early Entry Add-On worth it?
The Early Entry lets you get on the convention floor first. You can quickly scout out all the vendors and see where you want to visit or you can also be one of the first in line to any of the celebrities. You will also receive a limited-edition gift if you order by February 14th!
Will there really be 100’s of vendors?
The capacity of the Nittany Valley Sports Centre is 250 booths (10 ft x 10 ft) or 450 half booths (6 ft x 10 ft). We are offering our vendors a choice between the two, so the number of booths or tables should be about 300 if we get to capacity. If we just count each person working at a table/booth as a vendor, we will definitely be in the 100’s. We also have the flexibility of expanding if need be!
Why did you choose the beginning of March?
Well, we didn’t have much to choose from. If we wanted to take advantage of the 50,000 students at Penn State, it had to be either Spring or Fall semester. With the football season, Fall is out. The only weekend during the Fall possible would be the weekend before Finals, which is not a good weekend to try to get students to come out. So that left the Spring semester, which ends the first week in May. Same problem with finals the weekend before, plus the traditional Blue and White weekend is in mid-April. March is a busy time so that left the first week in April or January or February. If we chose the first week of April, we would end up competing with the Steel City Con just 3 hours away. That is a great convention and we are friends with the owners so we didn’t want to do that. So we choose the latest weekend we can get in February. One thing Penn State does well is take care of its roads. Let’s hope for good weather!
How many attendees come to the convention?
We have consistently grown since our founding in 2022. Below are our attendance numbers based on cellphone data.
- 2022 - approximately 2,500
- 2023 - approximately 5,000
- 2024 - approximately 6,100
What is there to do at the convention?
You mean other than meet a celebrity, browse some cool vendors or visit a panel? How about getting a tattoo, getting your picture taken with some cosplayers, play a Magic the Gathering game, learn to use a light sabre plus so much more! There is plenty to do!
What is your harassment policy?
Safety, security & an open, inclusive, respectful environment with zero tolerance for misbehavior are fundamental to the show.
We do not tolerate violence, mistreatment, or any type of harassment towards staff, exhibitors, guests, or attendees at any of our events.
If you feel your or others safety is in question, please report directly to security on-site. You can contact any staff member or you can go directly to the police officers we have onsite. If you or someone else has been involved in an incident we should be aware of, please report this to a staff member or call 267-467-5115.
If you have any additional questions, please email questions@happyvalleycomiccon.com.
