DashCon ball pit

Where it started

DashCon (originally titled Tumbl-Con USA) was a fan convention catering primarily to users of the blogging platform Tumblr, with a particular emphasis on fandoms. Held over the weekend of July 11, 2014, at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, Illinois, the inaugural convention quickly became infamous for allegations of mismanagement and corruption among organizers, an alleged abrupt demand by the hotel for an upfront payment of cash for use of its facilities, and celebrity guests being forced to drop out of the convention after they were informed by the hotel that they would be responsible for paying for their rooms. A small ball pit placed in one of the halls became a meme after organizers offered attendees an "extra hour" in the pit (along with raffle and concert tickets) as reimbursement for a canceled panel. Organizers for DashCon initially stated they would hold a second DashCon in 2015 despite the issues faced by the inaugural edition, but officially announced via Tumblr post in September 2014 that DashCon LLP would be dissolved and have all its assets liquidated, meaning they would not hold a second convention. The post also denied claims that a similarly themed convention, Emoti-Con, was a re-branded DashCon. In 2025, a similarly themed convention named DashCon 2, organized by a team unrelated to the 2014 convention, was held in Toronto. This event was considered a success.