Jazmin Rice watched "Blade" dressed as Sailor Jupiter last year, surrounded by other fans who got every reference.

She's heading back to the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute this weekend as Bulma from "Dragon Ball," her daughter in tow as shiny Eevee from "Pokémon."

The Seattle Black Nerd Festival runs Friday, Aug. 28, through Sunday, Aug. 30, at the Central District venue, 104 17th Ave S, and it is free.

More than 1,400 people have registered for the three-day event, more than double the roughly 600 who attended last year's two-day inaugural festival, according to Gabriel Teodros, director of programs and partnerships at LANGSTON, the nonprofit that produces the event. The Seattle Times reported the registration figures Thursday.

"I think cultural specificity is important," Teodros said. "As someone that's gone to some of those conferences (Comic-Con, Sakura-Con), it can be overwhelmingly white. To have a space where you can find your people is really empowering."

The festival opens Friday evening with a screening of the 2026 film "I Love Boosters," a surrealist satire starring Keke Palmer. Director Boots Riley will attend. Saturday features a cosplay competition, and all three days include live music, karaoke, game rooms, workshops and adult-only "nerdlesque" (nerdy burlesque) performances.

More than 40 vendors are scheduled. Rice, a student midwife, said the inaugural festival gave her something she hadn't found at larger conventions.

"To have that experience in a room that is mostly other Black people and being able to point out the things that align culturally for us … that was the best way to watch that movie," she said.

The festival is funded by 4Culture, the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, Arts in Parks grants and private donors. Registration is free online, and walk-up registration will be available as capacity allows. No costume is required, though organizers encourage dressing up.

The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, a city-owned venue in Seattle's historically Black and African American neighborhood, has been home to LANGSTON since 2016. The nonprofit's mission centers on advancing Black arts and culture. The Central District has experienced significant demographic displacement over the past two decades, and the institute remains one of the neighborhood's primary cultural anchors.

The festival follows the Northwest Blerd Convention, held in Seattle the previous week. Teodros said there is "more than enough appetite" for events celebrating nerd culture in the region.