Gen Con and Make-A-Wish® Grant First-of-its-Kind Wish at 2019 Convention

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDIANAPOLIS (July 25, 2019) — Gen Con, the largest and longest-running tabletop gaming convention in North America, is partnering with Make-A-Wish® to make a Missouri boy’s wish to attend the convention come true at Gen Con 2019 this August 1-4. Twelve-year-old Drake Kiderlen of Troy, MO, who is battling a pineal parenchymal Tumor, will attend Gen Con this year on an all-expenses-paid trip with members of his family. Drake’s wish will be the first time a wish is granted at Gen Con.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Drake and his family to Gen Con to experience gaming and all that our convention has to offer,” said David Hoppe, Gen Con President. “We are honored to work with Make-A-Wish to give Drake the best four days of gaming, and to make his trip to Indianapolis a memorable event.”

Drake, who will celebrate his thirteenth birthday on Friday, August 2 during the convention, will see, learn, and play as he takes in the more than 520 exhibiting game companies, hundreds of newly released games, and choice of 18,000 ticketed events during the four-day convention in the Indiana Convention Center.

When was asked what his wish would be, Drake told Make-A-Wish that he wanted more than anything else to go to Gen Con to play Dungeons & Dragons, and learn about new board games.

Drake will kick off Gen Con by assisting Gen Con co-owner Peter Adkison in the annual Roll of the Dice, which officially opens the convention on Thursday, August 1 at 10 am. He is also scheduled for several games and events of his choosing, including Foam Weapon Fighting, D&D and other roleplaying games, a board game event, and a fantasy-themed improv comedy show.

Drake, members of his family, and a Gen Con representative will all be available for interviews.

About Gen Con

Gen Con is the largest and longest-running annual event devoted to tabletop gaming culture in North America. The convention, which began in 1968 in Lake Geneva, WI, attracts 70,000 attendees and 520 exhibiting companies each year. During the convention, attendees choose from 17,000 ticketed events representing a wide array of board games, card games, roleplaying games, seminars, entertainment events, and more. Gen Con takes place each August in the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, and surrounding downtown hotel spaces in Indianapolis, IN.

About Make-A-Wish

Make-A-Wish® creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We seek to bring every eligible child's wish to life because a wish is an integral part of a child's treatment journey. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight their illness. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the world’s leading children’s wish-granting organization, serving children in every community in the United States and in more than 50 countries worldwide. Together, generous donors, supporters, staff and nearly 40,000 volunteers across the U.S., grant a wish every 34 minutes, on average, somewhere in the country. Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 315,000 wishes to children in the U.S. and its territories; more than 15,600 in 2018 alone. For more information about Make-A-Wish America, visit wish.org.

Media Contact for Gen Con

Stacia Kirby, (206) 363-1492, [email protected]



