From September 26 to 28, 2025, the Rijeka Exportdrvo will transform into the center of geek culture, expecting over 5,000 visitors at Rikon, the largest Croatian convention of fantasy. Over three days, on three stages, the organizers from the Association 3. dragon have prepared more than 80 program points for visitors: a Cosplay competition and K-pop dance spectacle, gaming tournaments, creative workshops, comic programs, popular science lectures, and much more. This year, Rikon also brings a record number of booths and exhibitors, over 60, and Rijeka will host attractive international guests for three days, becoming an ideal weekend destination for lovers of fantasy, science, popular culture, gaming, and Asian culture.
This edition of Rikon is truly special: Association 3. dragon is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and the event is being held for the 28th consecutive time in Rijeka. Thanks to the long-standing dedication of the association and community support, Rikon has grown into a cult event and become one of the most important and visited events on the themes of fantasy, popular culture, and science in the region.
A rich program of all themes
This year's international honorary guest at Rikon is Shaune Harrison, a legend of film makeup known for his work on franchises such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, Marvel and many cult and horror films including The Fifth Element, Sleepy Hollow, Hellraiser and many others. At Rikon, he will present his work, share with young people how to enter the world of films, and demonstrate an attractive film makeup workshop, scheduled for Sunday.
The scientific honorary guest of the program is Ante Radonić, the most famous Croatian popularizer of astronomy, who will be joined in the rich program of popular and scientific themes by local scientists: Dijana Dominis Prester, Rajka Jurdana Šepić, Marina Manganaro, Sarah Czerny, and Petar Jelača. The audience can expect interesting topics such as astronomy and astrophysics, mythology, artificial intelligence, magic and science, physics in the myths of ancient Slavs, and much more.
All comic book lovers will find their place at the joint panel of Damir Stojnić, Damir Steinfel, and Damir Bralić, where comic artists will share their experiences and challenges of creating comics in Croatia. In the program, the authors will also appear individually, presenting their recent publications.
Movie lovers will be able to watch screenings of recently award-winning short films brought by the Grossmann Film and Wine Festival from Slovenia in the cinema room. The repertoire includes not only local films but also titles from various countries around the world, including films from Belgium, France, Taiwan, Spain, the USA, Russia, China, Argentina, and Mexico.
Artefakt Literary Award
At Rikon, the Artefakt literary award will traditionally be presented for the best literary works in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, awarded since 2010. This year, the winners are: Danijel Bogdanović for the short story Šiškanomikon (a fantastic story about an encounter with the spirit of Davor Šišović in the Pazin cemetery), Tanja Radman for Vezove sudbina (a touching fantasy story about fate and prophecies), Dario Šarec for the novel Razdvajanje (a dark story about secrets and the personal struggle of the main heroine), and Morea Banićević for the children's novel Izgubljeni gospodin Kovač (a fantastic adventure about childhood through generations).
Program on Korean and Japanese Popular Culture
This year, Rikon brings an exceptionally attractive program dedicated to popular Asian culture, which has become an essential part of the event. Alongside the international K-pop Dance competition, the audience can expect dance performances and creative workshops such as making a traditional Korean hat, inspired by the most popular Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters. All fans on the Exportdrva floor will also find a photo corner with a tiger from the movie!
Cosplay - the most popular part of the program
Saturday afternoon is reserved for a spectacular Cosplay competition with contestants in the Apprentice (beginner) and Master (advanced) categories. Each cosplayer on stage has the opportunity to showcase their performance and costume, while the best are decided by a professional jury consisting of three international cosplay artists: Sabaku (Austria), Walkiah (Germany), and Obelyn (Croatia). The audience also plays an important role as they vote for their favorites.
In addition to the competition, there is a rich program of cosplay workshops and panel discussions with international guests Sabaku, Walkiah, Ryu-no-artist, and Obelyn, which is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to learn more about costume making, stage performance, and cosplay skills.
Gaming and tournaments: on boards, with cards, and on powerful computers and consoles
Throughout the entire Rikon weekend, visitors will be able to enjoy the Board Game zone with Udruga RiRoll, which brings a rich selection of board games for all those who want to try their hand at classic board games. In the TCG zone (trading card games), River City Games organizes tournaments in card games Yu-Gi-Oh and One Piece, while in the gaming zone, visitors can play popular titles on computers and consoles or participate in tournaments in games League of Legends, Rocket League, Tekken 8 and premiere test and compete in FC26!
Discounted tickets and free entry for children up to 12 years old
Tickets for Rikon are available on the website www.RikonRijeka.com or through the Entrio system, where exclusive discounts on packages for two, three, or more festival tickets are offered. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the event entrance.
Rikon is an event for all ages, with free entry for children up to 12 years old, and there is also a Kids zone with workshops, gifts, and a relaxation corner for little ones and parents.
The complete program of the event is published on the official social media and the website www.RikonRijeka.com. Rikon is held under the patronage of the City of Rijeka, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, and the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia.
