Only creators and publishers are allowed to set up at the festival, although retailers can and do attend the show with the general public through paid admissions.
A portion of the profits from the annual SPX festival including fundraising activities that take place during the convention weekend, go to the CBLDF.
[5][6] Attendees of the early years often speak of the close-knit community that was attained during the convention, citing offbeat occurrences such as James Kochalka's nude musical performance in 1998[citation needed] and the annual pig roast/picnic/softball game.
Through this initiative, SPX purchases graphics novels on behalf of a local library system, as selected from a list of works from participating publishers.
Artist Lili Carre created a special bookplate that is included with each volume provided through the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program.