Tag Archives: Back from…

Con and event reviews

Sep 23 2009

Back from Anime Weekend Atlanta 2009

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Anime Weekend Atlanta, or AWA (pronounced by letter or A-wa, whatever you like), took place this past weekend on September 18-20. AWA turns 15 this year. It is one of the top 10 attended anime conventions in the US. It’s particularly known for its AMV contests. I’ve been going since 2005, making this my fifth convention, a personal con attendance record rivaled only by MTAC.

If conventions are really for convening, then AWA is a great place for it. You get to meet all sorts of interesting people, including a guy grilling hot dogs right outside the con because when you got to eat you got it eat. It’s always great to meet people, and it’s especially interesting when you later find out about the odd connections you actually have with people (random cosplayer actually being friend of a friend and so on). I got to hang out with OSMcast and Akihabara Renditions on Saturday, talk tokusatsu with GaijINside and meet a lot of random people in great costumes. The whole experience is very communal, which is one of the most important parts of a convention.

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Sep 15 2009

Back from Dragon*Con 2009

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Dragon*Con 2009. One of the largest fandom conventions in the country, Dragon*Con takes over four hotels in downtown Atlanta every Labor Day weekend. This year was the 23rd year, making the convention as old as I am. This year was my second time going.

Dragon*Con makes experiencing the entire con difficult. It’s really a group of several mini-cons (not like Transformers Armada) with its several programming tracks, some of which having more content on their own than some other complete cons. All of these are spread out among the four convention hotels. If your interests are spread out among several fandom genres, expect some walking.

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Jun 10 2009

Back from OMGcon 2009

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This one is probably going to be fairly short. I was only at the convention for Friday to promote MTAC. I enjoyed myself with what little time I was there.

OMGcon is a fourth-year convention in Paducah, KY.  That’s basically right on the border of Kentucky and Illinois.  It’s a fairly small town, and the small con complements it. It’s attendance last year was around 600, and it does seem to have grown from when I last attended in 2007. It’s held at JR’s Executive Inn, which is right on the Ohio River and actually fits the convention quite well with elbow room.

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Apr 8 2009

Back from MTAC Ninja

I complain that it’s hard to review a con when I’m stuck promoting at it. It’s even harder when it’s the one I actually work at.

Kamen Rider Cosplayers @ MTAC Ninja Super Sentai Panel

This year was my fifth Middle Tennessee Anime Convention, the fourth I worked at and the second I was actually staff for. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was my busiest MTAC ever. We had a packed house this year with well over 4,000 attendees. We even sold out of our badges. With some more responsibility on my shoulders this year, I was running around and being fairly busy. I didn’t get to take my own photos, which is sad because there were some truly photo-worth sights. Luckily, that’s what everyone else with cameras were for.

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Mar 18 2009

Back from MomoCon 2009

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This past weekend, a group of us headed down in the wee hours of the morning to for the free, two-day convention MomoCon. Sponsored by Anime O-tekku, the anime club of the Georgia Institute of Technology, this was the con’s fifth year. It’s typically held in March at the beginning of the university’s spring break. While it was also on our spring break, it was at the end of it, making Monday morning somewhat unpleasant. Enough about that though and onto the con.

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