Flame Con launched as a Kickstarter campaign in November 2014 , with a fundraising goal of $ 15,000 . The campaign would ultimately raise over $ 19,000 , and was inaugurated as a one-day convention in June 2015 . The following year , Flame Con moved from Grand Prospect Hall to the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott , and expanded to two days of programming . After the 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub , Flame Con instituted a ban on all prop weapons at the convention , including those used in cosplay . In 2018 , Flame Con relocated from Brooklyn to Manhattan to be held at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel . The convention switched to a lottery system to assign exhibitor space in 2019 , and launched a mentorship program with artist Jen Bartel that same year
2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub
Orlando nightclub shooting
Flame Con