When anime conventions were originally created, they were made for college student age and up. In recent years anime and cosplay have become a haven for high school students, but very few have been organized by young adults. Here are two anime conventions organized by high school students and supervised by teachers and staff at their high schools:
CHIBICON SAN JOSE, CA. Branham Anime Club presents its fifth Chibicon on Saturday, March 23rd at Branham High School, located at 1570 Branham Lane in San Jose, California. On-site admission is $8 with ASB and $10 without. Its 2012 convention has an age restriction for adults not accompanied by a minor as 25 years of age, but there is no information on whether or not this age restriction will be continued for the 2013 event. More information can be found on the Branham Anime Club page on Facebook or by contacting Branham High School at (408) 626-3407.
ASAHiCON ANTIOCH, CA. Anime Society of Antioch High presents its 2013 ASAHiCon event on Saturday, April 13th at Antioch High School, located at 700 West 18th Street in Antioch, California. On-site admission is $5 with student ID and $7 without. Further information can be found on the ASAHiCon website or by contacting Antioch High School at (925) 706-5300.
CONVENTION TIP #10: PARENTS! If you were an anime fan or have a child that is into anime, take the opportunity to learn or continue to learn what the fandom is all about. Mainstream media point out the negative and the freakish side of anime fandom, but there are two sides to everything. Instead of giving your children some money to spend and dropping them off at the convention like it’s daycare (or weekend-care in some cases), take an interest in your child’s hobby and be a fan together. Some conventions encourage parents to attend with their children and provide “parent-in-tow” badges at a discounted rate. Keep in mind that some subject matters and activities at conventions may not be suitable for younger audiences, so do your research and use your own discretion.
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LOS ANGELES, CA. (Jan. 24, 2013). DBoy Productions, in association with Azure Lorica Productions and Raging Nerds, will be hosting its first Ninja-Con event on Saturday, April 6th at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center located at 244 South San Pedro Street in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district. Confirmed Guests include voice actress Cristina Vee, vocalist/actress Xio and anime convention celebrities Chocolate Covered Cosplay group and San Francisco Bay Area based musical group The Shogunate.
Registration until March 23rd are $20 and will include a free t-shirt with pre-registration. Vendor Registrations and Event Hours have not been announced on the Ninja-Con Website as of this article, but will be updated in the coming months before the convention. A portion of the registration proceeds will benefit the Wildlife Waystation.
CONVENTION TIP #9: Don’t look like a mooch to friends and people that you meet at conventions by having some money saved up before heading to a convention. Attendees generally carry enough money to buy the things they need and do not always have enough money to pay for other people. As a general rule, carry enough money for meals, registration fees and lodging for each day that you are planning to attend. For items that you wish to purchase in a convention’s vendor’s area, carry a minimum of $25 and for bigger ticket items, research the item online in advance and be prepared to pay the actual retail price in case you see it.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Jan. 14, 2013). An update on the Mai-Con Facebook page announced that Mai-Con, the convention featuring Hatsune Miku as one of its guests, has “disbanded” until further notice. Although, the wording of the announcement seems a little confusing.
“Mai-Con is Disbanded till further notice,” according to a Mai-Con status update. ”Work will still be going on but the convention was not ready to be released. Work is being done to make this successful, but sadly this was not the time. I hope you all understand.”
Facebook status update on January 14, 2013 at approximately 2AM. Source: Facebook.com
Since the convention hasn’t started and no information about its organizers has been made public, it’s safer to say that the event has been postponed rather than disbanded. The latter means that EVERYTHING about Mai-Con is stopping and the organizers have ‘broke up’… and if that’s the case, we shouldn’t be hearing anything more about the event. But that’s just my two cents.
The fan page will remain on Facebook to take suggestions for the event and to promote anime and cosplay.
CONVENTION TIP #8: Conventions invite guests of honor from a variety of industries and may do autograph signings. Support their work by having an authentic copy of their work to sign. Having a guest sign a bootleg item is considered an insult by the guests of honor.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Jan. 8, 2013). Animation on Display announces its first round of guests for its 10th year anniversary convention. Among its guests of honor are Puella Magi Madoka Magica voice actors Christine Marie Cabanos and Cristina Vee, Dragonball Z voice actor Kyle Hebert, “The Lounge” web comic artist John Joseco and Transformers: Robots in Disguise voice actor Neil Kaplan. [UPDATE] An extensive guest list can be found on the Animation on Display website.[UPDATE]
CONVENTION TIP #7: Maintaining proper hygiene is essential to all social interactions at any convention. Good oral hygiene (e.g., brushing and flossing teeth, using mouthwash) is recommended for maintaining spoken communication with people and even better personal hygiene (e.g., properly groomed hair, deodorant use and bathing regularly) will increase your chances at making more friends and decreasing the appearance of looking like a homeless urban dweller outside of the convention area. For best results, perform these hygiene checks daily.
GARDENA, CA. Digital Manga Inc., the presenters of Yaoi-Con, announced that they will be postponing their next convention to Spring 2014.
“We’ve identified many aspects we would like to update and improve, and doing so will require more than a year’s worth of preparation,” states Digital Manga Inc. President Hikaru Sasahara in a statement on Yaoi-Con’s website. “We are aware that spring is a busy time in the convention season, and we are working to accommodate the schedules of guests, staff, volunteers, vendors, and attendees. As soon as we have more information, we will pass it on to you.”
Yaoi-Con was transferred to Digital Manga Inc. in 2011 from Biseinen-ya of Northern California, who has been hosting Yaoi-Con in the San Francisco Bay Area since October 2001. Digital Manga Inc. hosted its first Yaoi-Con on October 12-14, 2012 in Long Beach, California at the Westin Long Beach Hotel.
CONVENTION TIP #6: If you want to get a good night’s sleep or a shower in before the next convention day, make sure that you have a way to get to your accommodations at any time. Most hotels offer their guests a maximum of 4 key cards per room for a room with two beds. While it is not encouraged to overcrowd hotel rooms, it is a common practice by many attendees in order to save money. However, one of the major drawbacks is the varying schedules of everyone staying in the same hotel room. If you are one of the unfortunate ones crashing in a hotel room and do not have a room key, have a method of contacting the people that have access to a room key so that you aren’t locked out.
ARCADIA, CA (Oct. 5, 2012). Macross World announces a one day event on Sunday, October 21, 2012 on 11:00AM to 6:00PM at Concept Cube located at 1313 South Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia, California. Macross World is a free convention and open to the public celebrating the Superdimensional Fortress Macross television series and subsequent franchises.
CONVENTION TIP #4: When you’re at a convention, be sure to bring spending money with you. You’ll never know when you might find that hard-to-find item you’ve always wanted, and it’s always a good idea to have money to spend for food or to pay back those friends of yours that you owe money to for convention traveling expenses. Another advantage to having cash on hand is for bargaining with a vendor, where you could get a low cash price on an item that you want to buy.
There are some dealer’s room vendors that accept credit cards and check cards, but not all of them are set to accept those as a form of payment. Convention locations may or may not have a nearby ATM machine and those that do also carry a heavy transaction fee or they might run out of money. It is always good to research the convention’s local area in advance to see if your bank is nearby and to give yourself some time that you could be spending on enjoying the convention itself. Just like with all valuables, remember to keep money in a secure place at all times.
MARYSVILLE, CA. (Sept. 12, 2012). The Laughing Lotus Event Center will host the second Marysville Anime Art Convention (MAACON) on Saturday, October 6th from 10:00AM to 6:00PM at its event center located on 103 C Street in the Historical Chinatown District of Marysville. According to its Facebook Event Page, MAACON focuses on the art of Japanese animation and manga and highlights local artists, but will also feature other events this year, including gaming tournaments, panels and a cosplay contest.
Admission for MAACON starts at $10, with child registrations also available. For more information and details on how to become a vendor, you can contact them at e[email protected] or call The Laughing Lotus Event Center at (530) 742-1039.
CONVENTION TIP #3: When you attend a convention, it’s always important to keep your badge or other proof of payment to the convention visible at all times. I say “proof of payment to the convention” because some conventions offer badges, others offer wristbands and others even use both, but most conventions use badges as proper identification that you are an attendee at the con. Whatever method is being used to keep tabs of paid attendees at conventions, they act as your key to enjoying convention related events, such as the main events like Cosplay Contest, Dealer’s Hall, Guest of Honor panels and “much, much, more!” As World of Anime correspondent Michi said in a video clip on Convention Basics, “Your badge is your life,” especially during convention hours. Losing your badge could mean paying a fee to replace it or in most cases buying another badge at the on-site admission price, and a chance to hang out with your friends in all the cool spots around the con. When the con is over, keep the badge in a scrapbook or photo album (yeah, they’re still useful for something) as a souvenir for those occasional moments to reminisce over your convention visits.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA. Still haven’t satisfied your anime convention fix in 2012 yet? The following conventions are taking place for the rest of the year. Mark your calendars, bring your cameras and make some friends!
Hyper-Con (San Mateo, CA) - San Mateo Events Center, September 7-9, 2012
Yaoi-Con (Long Beach, CA) - Westin Long Beach Hotel, October 12-14, 2012
Anime Destiny (Berkeley, CA) - Martin Luther King Student Union/UC Berkeley, October 13, 2012
Pacific Media Expo (Los Angeles, CA) - Hilton Los Angeles Airport, November 9-11, 2012
AnimeIcon (Monterey, CA) - Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa, November 30-December 2, 2012
CONVENTION TIP #1: Are you traveling out of town for the convention weekend? Make sure to plan out the travel details of your trip beforehand. Some of the most important things to work out before going to a convention are accommodations, transportation, dining arrangements and money for the bare convention necessities. The more you plan before the convention, the less drama you have to deal with when you’re there.
SACRAMENTO, CA (Aug. 2, 2012). Despite a blog entry on the Decepti-kon website stating that Decepti-kon will be returning in September 2012, a comment from the Director on a Facebook photo album post states otherwise.
On a posting in an album titled ‘Decepti-kon Headquarters,’ Facebook user profile ‘Sacramento Ghostbusters’ asks if Decepti-Kon is still planned to take place in September, to which Facebook user profile ‘Decepti-Kon Convention’ says ‘No,’ but has plans for 2013.
That being said, you can cancel Decepti-Kon 2012 from your convention schedule. What would have been nice to see on Decepti-Kon’s official website would have been an announcement to its visitors stating that the 2012 convention will not be taking place and that plans for next year are in the works. As of this entry (Aug. 2, 10AM), their most recent site entry is an announcement that they are using QR codes to promote their event (Mar. 13, 10:26PM).
BAKERSFIELD, CA (Aug. 2, 2012). We were originally going to tell you that Bak-Anime will be hosting it’s first two-day convention in November, but due to a recent posting on Bak-Anime’s Facebook, I guess that announcement’s going to have to wait.
“Just a heads up that we have to postpone Bak-Anime. We’re hoping for a January 2013 date, but that depends on the hotel,” states Dan Houck, promoter for Bak-Anime and Sac-Anime in Sacramento. “I’ll let you know as soon as I get more info.” According to previous announcements on the Bak-Anime Facebook page, the two-day event was to take place on November 24-25 following the Thanksgiving holiday.
Bak-Anime is encouraging its Facebook visitors to attend Sac-Anime in Sacramento on August 31, September 1-2 and Ani-Jam in Fresno on August 18-19 in the meantime.
