The nonprofit event, sponsored by the Grand Theatre, was first held in 2018.

“I’ve always had a passion for sci-fi and comics,” said Doug Holmes, event organizer and a Grand Theatre board member. “So we decided to put on a local comic con, or pop culture event.”

This year’s event was canceled because of the pandemic.

“We’ve set our date for 2021,” Holmes said. “We figured we’ll wait until everything hopefully settles down a little bit and we can have a safe event again.”

Jim Pohl, Grand Theatre board vice president, said he is hopeful the event will occur next year.

“I would love to see it happen,” Pohl said. “Our big one that was supposed to happen in the spring was canceled. We’ll just have to see.”

The two-and-a-half-day event begins on a Friday at the Grand Theatre.

The opening ceremony is a movie. Previous showings included 1978’s “Superman” and 1980’s “Flash Gordon.”

The event then moves to the Aurora Cooperative Pavilion for the weekend.

Holmes said a variety of vendors and creators will be featured.

“We have independent comic book creators. We have artists, authors, cosplayers who come dressed up as their favorite superhero or fantasy character,” he said. “We have informational panels, if people want to learn how to do costuming or make their own comic book, whatever it may be.”

The event also features industry professionals.

Previous guests have included such DC and Marvel Comics artists and writers as Bob Hall, Phil Hester and Jim Mehsling.

“Everybody we have at our event is approachable,” Holmes said. “You can go right up and talk to them and find out what it’s like working for DC or Marvel, what they’re working on.”

The visiting artists always have been helpful, he said.

“If someone wants to create their own comic book, for example, we have a few different creators who will give them pointers,” Holmes said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Holmes especially enjoys seeing independent creations being highlighted.

“It gets you away from traditional heroes, like Spider-Man and Superman and Batman, which are great. I still love them, but some of the unique characters they’re able to share, those are awesome as well,” he said.

Holmes said attracting guests to the event for 2021 should not be a challenge.

“This year, after we had to postpone our 2020 event, we kept in contact with the people who were scheduled to come in,” he said. “They’re being cautious, of course, and trying to keep safety in mind, because no one knows where we’ll be in 2021. Hopefully, everything will be at a safe, manageable level. But everyone is excited.”

Grand Comic Con has been well attended in the past.

The inaugural event in 2018, held for one day, attracted more than 1,000 people.

“It really took us by surprise,” Holmes said. “There really is a large community of people that love sci-fi or comic books, and have that creative outlook.”

He is optimistic the event can be safely presented in 2021.

“First and foremost, we’re taking care of all of our fans and everyone who comes to our event,” he said. “That’s our priority.”

Grand Comic Con remains a passion for its organizer and volunteers.

“Everybody that works on the event, they’re all fans,” he said. “We don’t run this as a business. It’s really a passion for us. Getting to meet with creators and vendors and the people who are actually doing the projects is very fun. It’s rewarding for all of us.”