What Was 'TanaCon'?

On April 2, 2018, YouTuber Tana Mongeau posted an hour and nineteen minutes long video titled, “Why I Won’t Be Attending VidCon 2018: A Rant”. After 2 years of promoting VidCon for free and being promised that she would be a Featured Creator at the convention, she was banned from the event for life. Feeling duped, betrayed, and heartbroken by VidCon, she decided that she would have her own convention on the same days and down the street from VidCon. Her event would be free and more fun. It’d be open for all those who felt unwanted and rebellious.

Less than two months later on June 22, TanaCon began. Unfortunately, it was cancelled after several hours due to safety hazards and overcrowding. There was a lack of security, fans waited hours in long lines, attendees received third-degree burns in the heat outside, suffered dehydration, riots broke out, and people were fighting for food and water. 

Tickets to the event were oversold, as the space could only hold 1,500 people and over 5,000 people showed up. 

Today, the event coordinator, Michael Weist of Good Times Entertainment, filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. Three documentaries have been made about TanaCon and are free to watch on YouTube. Still to this day, many attendees have not received a refund as promised. There are current lawsuits against Good Times and TanaCon.