Conventions '07

[RobinWH]

[quote name='vegeta rocker']I will be attending A-kon this year in June, i have gone the last 4 years. It's in Dallas; if anyone else is going let me know![/quote]
i didn't see this when i posted my *plea* for people going to Akon....sorry !

is there anyone else besided us going ???

[BlueMoon]

This year, without a doubt, I'm psyched about Youmacon. It's a convention in Detroit and this is going to be its third year. It's not very big yet but it's already attracted some big names as far as voice actors and guests go. It was my first con and still the only one I've gone to (both years) but it's wonderful.

Actually, I really love this convention. It's been nothing but fun, with great panels, good choices on the video rooms, an artist alley, nice dealer's room...but I'd have to say the best thing is that overall, there's not much drama and the staff is great. One of my favorite moments of that convention was sitting in the lounge with my friends, listening to the Spoony Bards play music and watching the cosplayers walk around happily. I really don't have anything negative to say about it. And what can I say? Last year they had a live MSTing and it was a blast.

This year I'm actually thinking of cosplaying. As much as I would love to go to Anime North or ACEN, it's just too much money. I'd rather put all my efforts towards this con. So Youmacon is it for me.

As a sort of sentimental side note, this year's Youmacon will be my first away from home. (University in the fall and all) So it'll also be nice to gather with my friends again somewhere familiar and just relax.

[Shaholl]

I don't know which is more frightening: the number of conventions that I'm missing :animecry: or that there is actually a "My Little Pony" convention...

As long as there isn't a Barney or Teletubbies convention, the world hasn't gone completely insane yet.

[Fyxe]

[size=1]Dang, sounds like a lot of first-timers this year.

As for me, it's off to AnimeIowa in August. I've definitely been there before, yet, this is my first year getting a room in the hotel. And yes, I'm going to be a major geek and cosplay for my first time this year. I'm going as Haku from Naruto, because he's one of the few characters I actually like from that show. Plus, he's a pretty man... an easy character for a girl to pull off. ;)

Is there a Power Rangers convention?! I'd go to that, no matter how far away it was.[/size]

[Shaholl]

(Haven't posted in awhile and feeling the need to keep this topic alive)

Finalizing plans for the trip to Acen '07 has been a big ol' headache. Each member of the group that are going live about 15-20 minutes away from each other, as well as from me. Coming up with a neutral meeting area, as well as determining who's driving (consequently me. my friends P.O.S. car won't make another trip to Chicago without falling apart and of course, he's the only one who can both knows how to get to the convention center AND has driven in Chicago before) and generally trying to get information to everyone (WHY, GOD?! WHY DO NONE OF MY FRIENDS HAVE E-MAIL?) is generally giving me one huge headache...

Anyone else have problems like this when planning a trip?

Sidenote: My friend is not touching my car in any area that would indicate the he would be driving. There are reasons his car is a P.O.S. :animestun

[Dragonboym2]

[COLOR=Blue]Anime Boston is next week!

I've got my coustume all set, and I got alot of money ready.

I'm looking forward to meeting Travis Whillingham. I even made a custom mug for him. There's this make your own pottery place not to far from where I live, and I made him a dark blue mug that says "I'M COLONEL MUSTANG, BABY!" on it. It was going to say "I'M COLONEL MUSTANG, *****!" orginally, buit there was a little kid in the store, and I NEVER cuss around children.
Anyone else going to Anime Boston?

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

Dragonboym2[/COLOR]

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]Oh! I just wanted to let you all know that I'm going to Hawaii on the 24th, for a national academic competition. Our school team won first place in the state Academic Decathlon, so we're going to the nationals!!! But I'm going to be there over that weekend, and on Sunday I'm going to Kawaii Kon. Let me know if any of you are planning to attend!![/color]

[Dragonboym2]

[COLOR=Blue]Anime Boston was GREAT!

I had a lot of fun, let me tell you.
I didn't get to meet Travis Whillingham. Damn it.
But I did meet Laura Bailey, and Greg Ayres. Laura's a cute one, that's for sure.
As for Greg, he keeps coming back to Anime Boston. I got to say hi to him when I saw him in the hallway. His panel was hilerious. There was a Phoneix Wright cosplayer in the back, with a huge "OBJECTION!" sign with him, right?
Greg looks at him and says: "Are you objecting to South Park! I'll makew fun of you in my Cartman voice!" :)
I'm not sure how much money I spent of stuff. Over five-hundred, I think.
Did any of guys go there, this year?

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

Dragonboym2[/COLOR]

[nekoconeko]

I went to the Anime Detour here in Minnesota. It wasn't as big as I expected it to be, but it was still great! There were bunches of cosplayers (including myself) there. Lots of people asked to tack my picture.I think I spent a little more than $100 there. It was really fun.

[RobinWH]

[QUOTE=RobinWH]i know this is an old thread...but i'm fairly new.

is there anyone here that is in Texas (DFW area) that may be going to A-Kon in June ??
i'm going to TRY and go as long as i can save the money and get the time off work.

i can't wait cause it will be my first con. to go to !![/QUOTE]

my plans have changed emensly, and i doubt i will make it to A-Kon now.
*editing, because i just signed up to be a volunteer for A-Kon. if i get accepted i WILL be going !!
if not i might be able to swing a one day ticket (i know in the end it will probably cost me more, but i will only be able to go one day if i don't volunteer)

so now i am going to try and make it to Anime Fest in Wichita Ks, in Aug.

does there happen to be anyone here from Kansas ?? (or Missouri even !)

[Shaholl]

Here is an interesting challenge that I'm setting up for my friends at Acen this year. There is a big, hairy, bearded, potbellied type guy who works security at Acen every year and every year, he dresses up as Sailor Moon. He calls himself Sailor Bubba or Bubba Moon, depending on the situation. I'm going to challenge my friends to find him and get a photo taken of them hugging him.

One of my friends already cringed at the thought of it, so I know it's a good idea. :catgirl:

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]Hey! I just got back from beauuuutiful Hawaii, and Kawaii-con!

It's a pretty small con, but that just meant I had more time to spend with VAs, and less crowding in the dealer's room. ^_^;

And Dragonboym2 - Travis Willingham is SO hard to get a hold of! Really! He was supposed to be at Kawaii-con but he left early. My friend (who loves Roy) was upset.

Of course I got pictures with Vic (Yay!), but another person who was a LOT of fun to meet was Michael Sinterniklaas who was very nice to the NJ native (me!) - he works in New York, actually. =) He was really a lot of fun. I was such a dork but he was still sooo nice to me. ^_^;

Next con up - Otakon! [/color]

[vegeta rocker]

Im still waiting for A-kon, man i can't wait!

My friends and I are A-kon Tv so we will be covering the concerts and such so we get in free.

I always forget to pre reg so this is a special treat for me!

[RobinWH]

[QUOTE=vegeta rocker]Im still waiting for A-kon, man i can't wait!

My friends and I are A-kon Tv so we will be covering the concerts and such so we get in free.

I always forget to pre reg so this is a special treat for me![/QUOTE]

hey !! i just got approved to volunteer too !!
i'm in the group that provides help to whatever part needs extra help, so we might run into each other.

i'm so excited !!!!

[Venge]

This will be my first con, and its A-CEN. 12 people going, but only 2 rooms...yeah, its gonna be crowded. So Shaholl, I've had my fair share of problems too: money, whos sleeping where, getting directions, ect. I know how ya feel. XD

Its gonna be so freakin' sweet. Our badges haven't come yet. -sadness- But I hope we won't have to wait long. We're leaving Thursday morning (like 5 AM EST), just so we can get there early. YAY!

Hey Shaholl, my badge name is 'Zelex', and if you want my real name, PM me. Maybe I can finally meet someone who goes to this board. XD ^_^

[Shaholl]

Heh heh... Well, Venge, that sounds pretty kewl. Try to keep a look out for me. I'll be dressed as a ninja with a chef's apron and a giant spatula strapped to my back. My badge name will be Delivery Ninja #35.

Are you staying at the Hyatt or a hotel close by? My group of 4 are staying at a nearby hotel that I got directions to last year (I loved the directions that the cop gave us, "Turn right from the convention center, turn left at McDonalds, turn right at another McDonalds, and it'll be right behind it."). It's much cheaper and we're all willing to stay in one room.

[Venge]

My group and I are staying at the Marriot Courtyard nearby. And I am very tired seeing as how I just got in from work at 6 AM EST...going to bed now. XD

[The Heart]

I'd kill to go to a 'con of any nerd-related sort (mostly to cosplay, meet other fans, and get things signed, the usual), but I neither have the right amount of money nor my parent's support. What are 'cons like, usually? Are they worth it?

[Shaholl]

Heart, to say that a con' is worth it is a major understatement, depending on the convention you go to. Besides all the stuff to buy, people to meet, autographs to receive, etc. there's always fun stuff to be had.

Take Acen, for example. Sure, there's the panels with the artists and voice actors. Sure, there's the merchandise hall (or as I call it, the "Hall o' Stuff to Buy"). There's also the game room, featuring so many video games that haven't been released in the states yet, as well as the tabletop gaming room, where nerds of all kinds can gather and mingle over a nice game of Magic or Warhammer.

Then, there's the Soap Bubble. As part of Acens "Got Soap?" campaign, a dance party is held on Saturday night in the ballroom of the hotel. The DJ who won the competition the night before gets to perform, and man, is it loud and fun!

Sidenote: No one here has heard massive bass until they have actually felt the air vibrating against their skin... and they're as far away from the speakers as possible without leaving the ballroom. I feel sorry for the people dancing right next to them.

[Ellerby]

[COLOR=DimGray][FONT=Tahoma]Hey, I'm actually kind of new at this whole convention thing and my friend and I were planning on attending Anime North '07 in T-Dot (Toronto). I was wondering how I would go about getting in and whatnot. I'm assuming it's not free.

Also, I don't [i]have[/i] to cosplay, right?

[b]EDIT:[/b] 50 bucks for the whole weekend according to the site. Is it worth it? :/[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]Hey, White! Welcome to the con scene. =)

I'm jealous that you're going to Anime North; the person who runs hopeforlorn.net (Weiss Kreuz anime site -- I'm totally obsessed) is cosplaying at Anime North. Wish I could see the cosplay. ><;

No, you don't have to cosplay! The majority of people at cons usually are not cosplaying. Some people like to wear funky anime shirts (my friend wore this T-shirt he had; it's an actual spoiler for Fullmetal Alchemist : [spoiler]The Philosopher's Stone... IS PEOPLE![/spoiler]). And some people just come in completely regular clothes. =)

50 bucks for the whole weekend is average fare for a con. I've seen cheaper for three days, but that's about what AnimeExpo is, I think. *shrug*

Are you staying a hotel? Make sure you have money for that, if you plan to.

And bring about $50-$100 with you (at LEAST), for spending. The dealer's room always has really cool stuff.

If you haven't been to the Anime North website, you should [url=http://www.animenorth.com/]check it out[/url]. Cons usually have something really fun going on Saturday night (late at night, like a concert or something). Find out what it is.

Hmm... if you meet Derek Stephen Prince (one of the guest voice actors), tell him to come to AnimeNext or Otakon. I absolutely ADORE him; he's actually my favorite English VA of all time. >_>;

Er... ^^; Anyway, I hope you have fun! I'm sure it'll be great. =D[/color]

[Ikillion]

[COLOR=#0e1030][SIZE=1][FONT=Trebuchet MS]You don't have to cosplay, but if its like any anime conventions that I've gone to in the past. You feel kinda... odd not cosplaying but this again could just be me.

and of course the 50 is worth it, you may end up spending more inside though so be prepared.

As for me I may be attending A-Kon this year if I get my costume done in time and if not then I'll be going to animefest it should be fun :animesmil [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Ellerby]

[COLOR=DimGray][FONT=Tahoma]Nah, I won't be needing a hotel. I only live like 10 minutes away from Toronto. And I'll take pictures for you, hehe.

Will any of you OBers be going to Anime North? ._.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[r2vq]

[quote name='MistressRoxie][color=#9933ff']Wish I could see the cosplay. ><;[/color][/quote][color=#007520]Show me a picture of this person and I'll see if I can get their picture in cosplay.

And last year the concert was on Saturay morning... Saturday nights are usually predominated by the Masquerade.

So yes, I'll be going to Anime North this year. Registered for my ticket back near St. Valentine's Day so my ticket was only $35 CDN. Oh and for all you Americans keep in mind that the $50 that White mentioned is in CDN also so that's about $45 in USD... okay not that big a difference.

The convention is fun and pretty big, but every year my friends and I just have a blast spending time with each other in an environment full of other Otaku... not necessarily from the events themselves. In fact, we have been getting pretty bored of the events at the Toronto cons.

We blow a whole wad of dough on the dealers' room floor though. I might have blown over $700 or so at last year's AN... but I got a lot for my money. Paying Canadian currency for American cover prices + no tax + haggling + extra cash off if you buy in bulk + extra discounts on Sunday evenings = Savings like mad.

Hey White, we should meet up. All of us OBers going can go out for dinner or something... There's a Harvey's right beside the place. XD

-r2[/color]

[Ellerby]

[QUOTE=r2vq][color=#007520]
Hey White, we should meet up. All of us OBers going can go out for dinner or something... There's a Harvey's right beside the place. XD[/color][/QUOTE]
[COLOR=DimGray][FONT=Tahoma]If it has a Swiss Chalet attached to it, I'm there. Though I can't resist an Original Bacon and Cheese Burger, anyway. Sounds like a plan. Closer to the time of the convention I'll give you my friends cell number and you can ring us up (or vice versa) at some point.

Are any other OBers going to be there?[/FONT][/COLOR]