3rd annual GeekFest attracts thousands in Lynnwood

Published 11:47 am Monday, July 20, 2026

LYNNWOOD — Over the weekend, gamers, cosplayers and artists gathered in Lynnwood for the third-annual GeekFest, the largest fan convention in Snohomish County.

GeekFest West is a volunteer-driven 3-day event where attendees could play games, purchase merchandise, gather with like-minded individuals and learn from experts. It was the convention’s first year in Lynnwood after two years in Everett.

While total attendance numbers have not yet been released, on Sunday showrunner Nathan Mumm said this year’s event drew in more people than ever before.

“On Saturday at around 2 o’clock we hit our all-time attendance numbers,” Mumm said during the closing ceremonies.

The show brought in more than 6,000 people in 2024 and more than 5,000 people in 2025.

On Friday, the convention started with speeches from Mumm, Lynnwood Mayor George Hurst and City Council member Nick Coelho.

“I’m really blown away by the variety of entertainment,” Hurst said after the opening ceremonies. “In a time when cities talk about budget crises and all that, it’s just great to have a fun event and for people to enjoy themselves.”

Lynnwood’s motto is “All Are Welcome,” he said, and the Lynnwood Event Center is going to expand to facilitate people with a wide variety of interests.

“We’re going to have green space, we’re going to have an amphitheater, we’re going to also have housing, we’re also going to have a hotel and then we’re going to have a festival street, so that there’ll be shops,” Hurst said. “We should be able to be kind of the University Village of the north.”

GeekFest helps build community right in Lynnwood, Coelho said in an interview on Friday.

“It brings all of geekdom together in one place,” he said. “We’ve got everybody coming in together and sharing what they’re super passionate about, and we all kind of get it because we’re all kind of geeks.”

Working with Lynnwood was great, Mumm said on Friday, but a new city means new challenges.

“We’re figuring out what the new challenges are in Lynnwood and they’ve all been addressed,” he said. “Each year I’m learning how to interact with the city and I’m sure the city is learning how to interact with us, but it’s been very fun and enjoyable, and everybody’s great to work with.”

GeekFest has a 1-year contract with the city, but Mumm hopes the Lynnwood Event Center will be the convention’s home for the long term, he said.

“I know their intent is they would like us to come back,” Mumm said. “I’m confident that Snohomish County needs an event like this, and so if we’re not here, I would be very surprised.”

At the event, cosplayers showed off their costumes, including many that were original characters.

“I think it’s fun to kind of connect with people on that level where I can see other cosplayers,” said one 19-year-old cosplayer who goes by Artemis and uses they/them pronouns. Artemis wore an original white, skeletal dragon character costume they made when they were 14.

“It’s easier to talk to people when I’m wearing a costume,” they said. “And I participated in the cosplay contest last year with this, which was super fun. What a fun way to like, it’s an easy way to engage with people.”

There were big performances like “Dungeons and Drag Queens,” where dungeon master Paul Curry led Kylie Mooncakes, Macy Marcs and Fallon Angel against crows and stubbed toes (suggestions from the audience) while Carson Cutter created backing music on the spot.

Many of the artists vending their creations were from Snohomish County, including Lizzy D. Hill, who rode her bike from her Lynnwood home to the convention.

“I love the idea of having a convention like this be in what you would call a mall town compared to Seattle,” she said. “It gives Lynnwood a chance to get that fun convention experience, and I honestly keep coming here because I love the potential it has.”

Many of the video games on display were developed by Snohomish County residents. Lake Stevens resident End Daniek, 18, showed off “Quarter Note Cafe,” which he began developing in January and hopes to release in December, he said.

“Video games were a very big inspiration to me,” Daniek said on Saturday. “Growing up, it was that inspiration that fit into the amount of passion that I have for math and later politics and the visual arts. That kind of all collectively came together and went, video games is the perfect place for me to do all of these things.”

Also, attendees could play games made by high school juniors and seniors from the Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center in Everett.

The TECH Skills Center is an applied learning program for high school students in Snohomish County. It offers hands-on learning in business and marketing, human services, trades and industry, information technology and video game development, among other programs.

“It’s really nice because the program feels a lot more professional than just normal school,” senior George Chmykhalo said Saturday. “It really give you kind of a sense for the field.”

You learn much more than someone might expect is part of game design, said Kayla Gerlach, 18, who uses they/them pronouns.

“Like the design pillars and gameplay loop,” they said. “You kind of just expect, ‘I do this and I code it,’ but there’s a lot more that you have to break down first.”

Chmykhalo and Gerlach, along with seniors Dylan Soh and Karina Prakash, made a game called “Escape from Hekk: Blood Tax.” The group started Hekk Productions, under which they hope to eventually release their game.

Gerlach graduated from high school this year and is on their way to DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond to major in computer science and game design.

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