We're back! We attended SacAnime's Summer 2014 convention and as with the Winter 2014 event, it was an amazing experience. With an attendance over 13,000, about 3000 more than the typically bigger Winter show, it's becoming a bigger event as well. Everything is still well organized and the convention is full of things to do, and more people meant more participation. And participation is what made this event special.
This time around we explored a bit more of the convention, taking in a few Q&A sessions along the way. Rodger Bumpass, the voice of Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants, was a genuine standout. His ability to summon the Squidward persona effortlessly, not merely the voice, combined with his great sense of humor and genuine dialogue with the audience to make a lively session. It was the most fun I had personally while watching and photographing any of the Q&A sessions.
Mark Sheppard also had a memorable panel. It was clear that he had a good grasp of who his fanbase is, and used this understanding to great effect. This made his talk quite entertaining if somewhat less than predictable for people who wanted to ask questions. Interacting with the audience beyond the call of duty with intense charisma, he asked many questions of his own and in the end memorably made quite sure that everyone was aware that he never played a "bad guy" - only morally flexible characters, of course.
Another convention favorite of course is cosplay, and SacAnime did not disappoint. A with wide range of characters from anime, sci-fi, video games and even western cartoons such as adventure time were on site to show their costume creating skill. The masquerade was also longer this time around, with a more extensive set of participants and more performances overall.
Cosplayer participation in the masquerade overflowed with a fully costumed martial arts display, several songs performed by both karaoke contest winners and others, dancing, and many more themed skits. The audience packed the rather large auditorium and added to the energy.
The convention didn't sleep early either. Live music was performed both Friday and Saturday nights. As with the masquerade the crowd was right there with the performers, bringing tremendous energy to the room. The excitement flowed out into the convention halls as cosplayers gathered and even put on in-character performances, which would be more difficult during the daytime with so many people walking around.
You can see our full event coverage at http://www.lavieenphotos.net/f1036401400. While the Summer 2014 convention may be over, the Winter 2015 event is already being planned and there's room for you! Whether you enjoy anime, cosplay, science fiction, are an artist, or just enjoy getting out and seeing an event where the attendees are a true part of the experience, we've found SacAnime to always be enjoyable and welcoming. Visit SacAnime's website at http://www.sacconventions.com and their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SacAnime for more information. Until next time! では、また!
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We attended SacAnime Winter 2014 in the beginning of January, our third visit to this popular and ever-growing biannual Anime convention. Boasting an attendance of over 10,000 (9000? That's so last year!) this was easily the largest we've seen it so far.
Although there were a lot of attendees, registration was fast and efficient - no half day "line con" waits here, a great surprise when compared to some of the larger conventions we've attended. Staff efficiently guided people into lines instead of allowing chaos to run its course, and the convention definitely went more smoothly for it. The location was convenient as well, with several nearby hotels and a variety of good and reasonably priced restaurants in the vicinity. This is not always the case for conventions, and definitely enhanced the experience.
Cosplay of course is one of the staples of Anime conventions, and we we were not disappointed. Spanning Anime, Comic, Sci-Fi, and even self-created characters, there were no shortage of subjects represented as people brought their favorite characters to life through their costumes. Although it's not always a group activity, many cosplayers come in groups to represent their favorite series or even just a particular genre. We were actually pleasantly surprised by several family cosplay groups, where people not only took part in the event but passed down the tradition of amazing cosplay craft to the next generation of costume artists. Judging from this picture there will be a lot to look forward to!
The masquerade on Saturday pushed the spotlight directly onto the cosplayers, with several group skits highlighting not only their costumes but also acting, singing and dancing talent. The winner of the karaoke contest held earlier was invited to the stage to sing one more song, and many more single costume entries for the costume contest. Some of the most creative costumes were brought to the stage one more time to receive awards from the judging panel, including unique accolades for the most traditional techniques, the least amount of layers to achieve an effect, the youngest entry, and a variety of others. One cosplayer even made the list at age 50, shattering preconceived notions of what judges look for in these contests. Most importantly, it was also a friendly, fun competition and not the kind of over-sensationalized, hyper-competitive event which certain "reality" shows might like to depict it as.
SacAnime is not only a cosplay event. With two nights of live music after the day's events and a variety of panels and workshops, there was plenty of entertainment to be had. Kazha, depicted in this photo, made their way from Japan to rock the audience for two nights with songs from their new album. There was also a strong set of artists and voice actors from both the Anime and video game industries, offering interviews, autograph/photo sessions, industry insights and even sharing experience and art techniques in a variety of panels. Dance classes and dances, the ubiquitous Anime convention performance cafes, vendors, the "artist alley" spaces where smaller artists can display their own creations, and many more of the usual aspects of the convention experience were well represented.
In the end, SacAnime continues to exemplify what is perhaps my favorite part of the convention experience: the creativity of the attendees. While people are brought together by the industry guests and entertainment, each attendee becomes part of the experience through cosplay, artwork, shared experiences and meeting new people. If you've never been to a weekend-long Anime con, SacAnime would be a great place to start. SacAnime Summer is already being organized as I type this, registration opens on March 1st but hotels are already being booked - VIP badges are currently being offered with each night booked at the Sheraton. See their website at http://www.sacconventions.com and their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SacAnime for more information. Also see our galleries for many more photos from the event here: http://www.lavieenphotos.net/f708805942
The layout for 2013 consisted of a single large event room containing the artist alley, vendors, anime viewing area and video games. Smaller rooms to the sides of the main room were reserved for guest speakers and panels, and food was catered in a side hall next to several panel rooms with sufficient space for everyone and we never experienced overcrowding. With a final attendance of around 1000 people after initial expectations of 500, this was no small feat!
Anime conventions tend to draw attendees through industry guests, and Kraken Con was no different. Chris Sabat of Dragonball Z fame and Jessica DiCicco, the voice of the Flame Princess from Adventure Time, were both in attendance for 2013. Chris proved to be an extremely animated (ahem) speaker, more than able to bring stories from his many years of voice acting for the Dragonball franchise and his recent work with his own studio on video game voice acting. Jessica also captivated the audience with stories of her involvement in Adventure Time, with no shortage of fans in attendance - some even dressed as the Flame Princess herself.
Speaking of cosplay, like many conventions Kraken Con also had a cosplay contest. This was possibly the most crowded part of the convention, and could have used a larger room, but it was managed well given the limits of space in the facility. Each cosplayer was given an opportunity to go on stage, explain how they created their costumes, give two poses, and then exit for the next contestant. It was a bit brief, but it worked well given that Kraken Con is only a single day convention.
Aside from our photography, my wife was also present as a vendor in the artist alley. This gave us additional perspective on the convention, and having been a part of several anime/comic events both large and small we found the vendor process to be more painless than any other we've attended. The rates were reasonable, signup process simple, everything was well marked in terms of location and vendor name, and due to the central location vendors were not only never slow but also invited to take part in presenting the Kraken Con scavenger hunt for a set of cute convention-themed collectible cards.
Will we go again? Definitely, if Kraken Con can pull off the same attention to detail and creativity as this first year it's looking to be one of the better conventions in the SF Bay area for both vendors and attendees. Have a look at our photo coverage at the link below to see more, including the outstanding work of many of the cosplayers.
http://www.lavieenphotos.net/p160867641
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Sunday we'll be attending the Northern California Renaissance Faire. Not content to simply watch, we'll be sporting pirate/wench garb as we capture souls with our magic picture box. We'll be performing this black magic at Casa de Fruta in Hollister, California. Stop in for a great time with creative food and Renaissance period entertainment!
Next week I will be covering Thursday and Saturday at C2SV, kicking off Thursday at Cafe Stritch with a great lineup including Dinners, E.V. Kain and The Phenomenauts. This time with a press pass, so we'll likely be unable to bring video, but the lineup should more than make up for it. Friday we're going to take a little detour and cover the A/B Duo at San Francisco's Center for New Music; Meerenai Shim and Chris Jones (flute and percussion respectively) will be presenting new compositions, some created specifically for their performance. Saturday it's back to C2SV, with a truly epic lineup at multiple venues culminating in a headlining performance by Iggy and the Stooges.
This is just the start as the summer wraps up and we head into the fall. Much more to come!
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As always we'll be covering SF Bay area local music as well, with more shows in the Daydream Nation and 8bitSF shows and hopefully some surprises. Back to processing until next time!
Although February's wrapping up, we're looking at an amazing March as well, kicking off with two great concerts at Homestead Lanes' X-bar concert venue and moving on with a GDC concert afterparty at the DNA Lounge. More to come!
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