GeekFest to be held in Lynnwood this year

Published 1:30 am Thursday, March 26, 2026

LYNNWOOD — The third annual GeekFest will take place in Lynnwood this year, despite signing a three-year contract in 2025 with the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.

GeekFest’s first two shows averaged 5,000 attendees. Even with the move, showrunner Nathan Mumm expects about the same this year, he said in an interview on March 17.

The 2026 GeekFest West is scheduled July 17-19 at the Lynnwood Event Center. The main floor will be open 1-7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Friday and Saturday also have special “AfterDark” hours, 8 p.m. to midnight.

Ticket costs vary based on age, the day you wish to attend and whether a single-day or three-day pass is purchased. Badges for the late-night events are included in the three-day pass but are otherwise separate.

For more information, visit geekfest.com.

GeekFest started in 2024, and in 2025, signed a contract with its venue to keep the event in Everett until 2027, as part of plan to make it the permanent home for at least 10 years. However, last year’s show was fraught with problems, particularly because Angel of the Winds Arena is not laid out in a way conducive to conventions, Mumm said.

The contract required a renewal from GeekFest each year, which provided an easy out, Mumm said.

“Everett was a great city component of what we were doing in GeekFest, but their facility didn’t work,” he said.

For year one, the event occupied only a portion of the building and didn’t use the arena space, Mumm said. More than 5,000 people attended, filling the space quickly.

“Everybody couldn’t even buy stuff. It was packed out,” Mumm said. “So we went much bigger, thinking that people would walk around the arena floor more, and they didn’t.”

In 2025, GeekFest used the entire building, including the covered ice rink and a second floor.

Unfortunately, many attendees failed to realize a second floor existed, and the vendors there had low foot traffic. In the arena, ice came up from the floor and damaged a vendor’s product, Mumm said.

“That’s a $20,000 hit,” he said.

It was an arena, not a convention space, Mumm said. The entire staff came together and decided on a move, he said.

It was an event that didn’t work for both parties, said Tayler Fredrickson, Angel of the Winds Arena marketing director, in an interview.

“We’re just happy that GeekFest has found a venue that meets their current needs,” she said. “GeekFest was one of many events we’ve hosted, and our calendar remains filled with a variety of entertainment and community events.”

This year, 90 vendors and 50 indie video game developers will showcase their work inside the Lynnwood Event Center, Mumm said. Local artists will also have their own room to show off their creations.

The parking lots outside will be covered by more vendors and food trucks, all accessible without a badge.

Downstairs is the “play area,” Mumm said. Video game and trading card game tournaments, board game rentals, a chess club meetup and Dungeons and Dragons will all be on the lower floor.

New this year are late night events, including comedy shows, speed dating and burlesque.

The focus is on local games, local developers and local artists, Mumm said.

“How many of the events in Washington State, down in Seattle, are owned and operated locally? Not very many,” he said. “We wanted to be local.”

Mumm hopes GeekFest will replicate the environment he remembers Seattle conventions used to provide, he said.

“They had a floor where you’d have Microsoft and the two booths away from it, you had this guy selling ‘Mutant Football,’” Mumm said. “All he has is two monitors that he’s put together. He’s literally programming — one of the developers — on the side.”

He and the developer had a back-and-forth, Mumm provided some feedback, and the experience was so great he bought the game multiple times when it released.

“I wanted to be able to provide that in Snohomish County and not have to go to King County to get that experience,” Mumm said.

Some parking will be available on-site and in nearby areas. A shuttle service will connect the event center to the Lynnwood light rail station.

Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com; X: @BTayOkay