Oviedo Mall hosts inaugural Great Geek Gathering for all ages

Oviedo Mall will turn Free Comic Book Day into a full-scale fandom festival on Saturday, May 2, with its inaugural Great Geek Gathering set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The free, all-ages event will bring 100 geeky vendors into the center, including original artists, comic creators, anime merch sellers, collectors and baked-goods vendors.

The mall says the day will include a mall-wide vendor marketplace, cosplay guidelines for a public family setting and a tie-in with Ultimate Comics, where shoppers will find free comics and a warehouse sale. Feral and Rowdy Tattoo Studio is also scheduled to offer geek-inspired ink from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., extending the draw well past the core event hours.

The timing gives Oviedo Mall a built-in audience. Free Comic Book Day is held on the first Saturday in May, and in 2026 that falls on May 2. The national promotion began in 2002, and a retrospective on its launch says the first event gave away more than 2 million books at more than 2,200 retailers worldwide. At Oviedo Mall, the comic-shop tie-in is central to the pitch, with Ultimate Comics presented as a community hub for comic lovers, gamers and collectors.

That matters for a property that is trying to do more than sell goods. Oviedo Mall, at 1700 Oviedo Mall Blvd. in Oviedo, says it serves Seminole County, Orlando, Winter Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford and surrounding areas, and its public event pages already frame the center as a place for family-friendly events, festivals, markets, teen meetups and kids’ activities. Vendor applications for the mall’s market events close two weeks before each event date, a sign that the property is building a repeatable event business rather than relying on walk-in traffic alone.

The broader retail picture helps explain the push. The Sanford Herald says Oviedo Mall opened in 1998, is anchored by Dillard’s and Regal Cinemas and includes 70 national, regional and local retailers. Owned by IGP Business Group, the mall has been adapting to changing retail conditions and redevelopment plans for former anchor space, making themed programming a practical strategy for keeping families, collectors and younger visitors coming back.

For Oviedo, the Great Geek Gathering is more than a day of comics and cosplay. It is a test of whether niche community events can keep a suburban mall relevant by turning one shopping trip into a shared local gathering.