What it was like
During the four days when 130,000 people descend on downtown San Diego for the world's biggest pop culture convention, there is a small restaurant on F Street that becomes something else entirely.
Lumpia Con returns for its fifth year as the Filipino American heartbeat of Comic-Con week. No badge required. Gaslamp Lumpia Factory hosts exclusive pop-ups, artist events, community mixers, and signings — free and open to anyone who knows to show up.
The lineup runs Thursday July 23 through the weekend: Sketch and Scratch opens with live art and music; Friday brings a meet-and-greet with artist signings; Saturday closes out the weekend programming. Every night ends at midnight, because the convention floor crowds thin out and this one fills up.
What SDCC cannot give you: a room where Filipino American creators are the focus, where the food is part of the culture you are celebrating, where the energy feels earned rather than budgeted. Lumpia Con is that room.
423 F Street, Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego. Free admission. No Comic-Con badge needed.