Peacefest 2025 Kicked Off A Great Start To SDCC & To Celebrate Peacemaker

The Peacefest brought so much to SDCC 2025 to entertain & to allow Peacefest to help usher in Peacemaker season 2

There was a whole lot of hype for Peacefest before we all went out to SDCC 2025, even to the point that tickets for it were so popular that the server crashed for it all. This was not some new or massive con that was going on instead of SDCC, but a fun little off-site event to further hype us all up for the upcoming season 2 of Peacemaker on HBO Max. More of a specialized version of SDCC with Peacefest focusing mainly on the man of the hour. There were many things available for the event, and we were invited to check them all out as it unfolded. Let us dig into what we had to experience out there, what you might have missed out on, and show off the full musical set that many fans did not think we were going to get for the fun little DC TV show.

 

Walking in the doors for Peacefest, we were funneled down a portal tunnel into a pocket dimension where the whole event was to take place. The in-universe explanation of how this was going down and how Peacemaker made his way into the real world. Yes, this is a multiverse situation, and those who have seen trailers for the new season would be up on all of that already. From here, we were handed our swag of a Peacemaker helmet and a bandana to help celebrate Peacefest, then we were let loose into the building to see what was brought over for us to celebrate and see from the show. The first wave of things we had before the massive concert that was about to go down with the Hair Metal that the character is so in love with.

Wandering about Peacefest, there were two floors of fun open to the public, and a third only for some very special guests of the event. More on that further down. The first floor was set up like a museum of sorts, where many of the helmets, gear, and the Peacecycle from the upcoming season were on display for us to take pictures with. A photobooth for a specialized photo was also on the floor to take home, and an extra little bit of fun from Peacefest. If you did not run right over to the Vigilante Merch booth, where, if you were lucky, you could pick up some swag specific for the event, and various other bits for Peacemaker were also on display and available for pre-order if you were that hardcore into the show or character before all of this.

 

Here’s where things were a little weird for us and the team at Peacefest, as almost all of the merch on the floor was sold out before we even made it through the doors. We were in about mid-day on the first day it was open, but many of the shirts and other things they had on-site were sold out. There was a whole different list of merchandise that could be purchased online during the weekend, but there was no crossover between the lists. Almost as if there was no limit on how much could be bought from Peacefest at the start and leaving those who had to wait most of the weekend out of the fun if they wanted to be part of it. Maybe the team underestimated how much people would buy. Most likely, though, is that waves of humans rushed in, bought what they could, and then posted that merch online for resale at a massive price jump. Internet searches lean towards the latter.

Moving along from there, we took a roll to the second floor of Peacefest to see what was going on up there and how they were going to cram in many more fans into the building for the event. Mostly, that was what the second floor was all about, with a few more props to take pictures with from Peacemaker, and some gaming stations showing off the character in Mortal Kombat 1. Nothing to write home about, except that they did have an open bar, which further explained why this was a hard 21+ event that was going down at SDCC this year. By open bar, though, it was just a way for Arizona Tea to offer up those at Peacefest a chance to try out and enjoy the new Hard Ice Tea options they have, as well as get sauced up for the main show that was almost about to start. We had a few of those and then tried to find our way to the hidden extra level where the bigger highlight of the event was taking place. A photo op with Eagly from Peacemaker…

 

This is where things took a weird snag for Peacefest, as this was something massively promoted and not something that anyone who came to the event would be able to partake in. Since this was a live bird, it obviously could not be held inside the building where loud music and fans would be. Especially as this one was one of the birds out of the American Eagle Foundation that was out for the fun and to help promote the organization. Sadly, if you were not part of the VIP status, press, or one of the few random fans selected at Peacefest to go upstairs for this, it was something you were going to miss out on. Especially as Challenger, the bird’s actual name, was only able to be out there for a few hours each day. So, maybe a small handful of fans were able to get this exclusive photo. Nice for those fans, but weird that the foundation would be hidden so those who wanted to offer aid had no chance of seeing it. Thankfully, for us, we had a chance to take some pictures upstairs and can talk about it now. All before getting ushered back down to the main show of it all.

Those still around Peacefest at this point, were then treated to a solid live concert from the in-universe band that Peacemaker loves. Also, the band that gave us the amazing song that opens the show for each episode that became a viral sensation out there. After the main theme for Peacemaker, The Doves Of Peace carried on with a set of a few more Hair Metal songs that were so fitting for the IP and amped up the crowd for another twenty minutes of fun. After all of that, which you can see the full set we had the chance to see, Peacemaker himself popped up on the screen to usher us all out of Peacefest before the pocket dimension closed out. That and so the whole thing could reset for the next wave of fans that were about to come in on the next hour wave. A solid cycle, and you can see it just a little lower down.

Peacefest Full Concert From The Doves Of Peace During SDCC 2025

 

I will have to say that Peacefest was one of the more fun and memorable events that I have been to at SDCC 2025. I had no clue what to expect out there during the run of it all, but I did not leave disappointed. Partially because it was a fun thing in general, and we had a chance to hit the special photo op on the top floor. Also, partially because I had no want for any of the sold-out merch and knew we would have the chance to go upstairs when many others would be missing out. I understand wanting to keep something exclusive for the event, but I know that there are many out there who had to miss out on some of the fun of Peacefest due to not knowing the right people. Not only that, but a great organization felt like it was hidden in the mix while it was being slightly mentioned in the lead-up to the event. I still had a blast, as did the whole team, but there were a few things that could have gone better.