Fan Fest Events

What Fan Fest Events does

Fan Fest Events, operating under the brand Walker Stalker Con, is a privately held fan convention organizer headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, founded in 2012-2013. The company produces a series of multi-day fan conventions centered on the AMC television series The Walking Dead, offering celebrity Q&A panels, professionally photographed photo ops with cast members, autograph sessions, and free family-friendly exhibit floor activities. Events are held in 7 US cities (Chicago, Cleveland, Nashville, Phoenix, Atlanta, Portland, New Jersey) and internationally in the UK and Australia, totaling 14 events annually across 4 countries with 250,000+ attendees per year. The celebrity roster features principal Walking Dead cast members including Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Melissa McBride, Chad Coleman, Khary Payton, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Josh McDermitt, who have provided testimonials praising the event's community atmosphere.

The company operates a pure event-driven business model with no proprietary technology platform. Revenue is generated through three transactional streams: ticket and pass sales (general admission and VIP), pre-sold and on-site photo operations (up to two adults and three children per session), and autograph sessions with cast members. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the walkerstalkercon.com website for online pre-sales (4-6 weeks before events) and on-site venue box offices. The company has built a 750,000+ Facebook community and generated 50M+ media impressions through coverage in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and USA Today. Branding emphasizes a 'for fans, by fans' positioning with relaxed environments designed for authentic celebrity interactions rather than transactional encounters.

The underlying business is asset-light, supported by only 9 employees and no disclosed technology stack beyond a basic mobile app for event scheduling. The model carries franchise-dependency risk tied to the ongoing cultural relevance of The Walking Dead IP, and the input data does not disclose revenue figures, ownership structure, funding history, or post-2019 operational performance, limiting financial diligence.

Name

Fan Fest Events

Legal name

Walker Stalker Con

Website

https://fanfestevents.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fan Fest Events operates Walker Stalker Con, a privately held fan convention series serving Walking Dead TV fans across 14 annual events in 4 countries, offering celebrity Q&A panels, photo ops, and autograph sessions with cast members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fan Convention Events

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture, Entertainment & Fan Conventions Organizers (THAHABAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Virtual Fan Events & Meet-and-Greets (Q&A, VIP Access) (MPAGAOAG)

Keywords

• Fan convention events
• Pop culture conventions
• Celebrity meet-and-greet events
• Photo op experiences
• Autograph session events

Headquarters

HQ city

Multiple US Cities

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Event Tickets and Passes: Ticket sales for convention admission across multiple event tiers and price points
2. Photo Operations: Professionally taken photos with celebrity guests, purchased online in advance of events. Up to two adults and three children under sixteen per photo.
3. Autograph Sessions: Autograph opportunities with cast members. Some pre-sold, most available for purchase in person. Actors provide selection of 8x10 photographs or sign fan-provided items at actor discretion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Fan Fest Events operates the Walker Stalker Con franchise, a series of fan conventions focused on The Walking Dead TV series held across U.S. cities and internationally. Each event features celebrity Q&A panels, professionally taken photo ops with cast members, and autograph sessions sold online in advance or on-site. Tickets and passes are sold directly to consumers through event websites and venue box offices.

Product overview

Fan Fest Events operates Walker Stalker Con, a single-brand convention event series rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The primary offering is the Walker Stalker Con event franchise, which encompasses multiple city-specific conventions held annually across the U.S. and internationally (including London). Each event includes core ticketed experiences: celebrity guest meet-and-greets, Q&A panels on the main convention floor, autograph sessions with photo opportunities, and free family-friendly floor activities. There are no separate add-on modules, sub-products, or technical platforms—the business model is purely event-based with tickets, passes, and ancillary purchases (photo ops, autographs) as revenue streams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Walker Stalker Con A multi-city fan convention series focused on The Walking Dead TV series, featuring celebrity Q&A panels, professionally taken photo ops with cast members, autograph sessions, and free family-friendly convention floor activities. Held annually across U.S. cities including Chicago, Cleveland, Nashville, Phoenix, Atlanta, Portland, and New Jersey, with international events in London and Australia. Targeted at dedicated fans of The Walking Dead and broader pop culture enthusiasts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 250,000+ attendees annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ReedPop: Division of Reed Exhibitions running New York Comic Con, MCM Comic Con, and other major fan events globally — a much larger incumbent with broader IP coverage and deeper marketing budgets.
• New York Comic Con: ReedPop-operated flagship US pop-culture convention featuring celebrity panels, photo ops, autographs, and large-scale fan programming — comparable in format but orders of magnitude larger in scale.
• Comic-Con International: Non-profit operator of San Diego Comic-Con and WonderCon, the largest fan conventions in North America, sharing the same celebrity-meet-and-greet, panel, and pop-culture DNA but at vastly greater scale.

Direct peers

• GalaxyCon: Multi-city fan convention organizer (formerly Heroes & Villains Fan Fest and Fan Fest Events) hosting celebrity-driven comic and pop-culture conventions across the US, directly comparable in format, attendees, and celebrity-led programming.
• Awesome Con: Washington DC-based annual pop-culture convention featuring celebrity guests, photo ops, autographs, and fan programming — directly comparable regional event competitor.
• Wizard World: Operator of branded pop-culture conventions in multiple US cities featuring celebrity guests, comic creators, and fan experiences — overlapping directly with Walker Stalker Con's celebrity-meet-and-greet, photo op, and autograph model.
• Creation Entertainment: Long-running fan convention operator for genre TV franchises (e.g., The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Star Trek), with celebrity meet-and-greets, photo ops, and autographs — a near-identical business model to Walker Stalker Con.
• Fan Expo HQ: Owned by Informa, Fan Expo runs major pop-culture conventions (Fan Expo Chicago, Toronto Comic Arts Festival, etc.) with celebrity Q&A panels, photo ops, and autograph sessions serving the same fan segments.
• Florida Supercon: Multi-day Miami-based fan convention with celebrity guests, comic creators, and fan programming, closely mirroring Walker Stalker Con's celebrity-meet-and-greet and family-friendly floor format.

Emerging players

• Heroes & Villains Fan Fest: Pop-culture fan convention focused on superhero and genre TV/film franchises with celebrity guests and fan experiences — a smaller, niche player that overlaps with Walker Stalker Con's single-IP approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/walkerstalkercon
• Instagraminstagram.com/walkerstalkercon
• Xtwitter.com/WalkerStalkerCon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fan-fest-events

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fan Fest Events