Ray Writes: 2012 - The Year in Cons

 (Photo credit: Morgan F.)

With just a little over 8 hours before the end of the calendar year, I thought I'd take the time to reflect upon my convention experiences here in Northern California.

Matthew's Top 5 Moments from the Past 5 Years of the CCB

As we move into the end of 2012, this will be five "calendar" years of the blog (I have to differentiate since it would technically be five and a half years since the blog started at FanimeCon 2007) and a lot has happened since I started to report at anime conventions. With so many memories and moments to remember, I narrowed it down to my top 5 moments of the past 5 years of the California Conventions Blog (although, to be very honest these could be ordered in any way).

Pokemon Regionals 2012

I have a confession to make: I want to be the very best, like no one ever was. Failing at that, though, I'm satisfied with being moderately good as long as I have a good time. Nowhere else was that more true than at the Pokemon Regionals, held in San Jose. The winners would find themselves with a free pass to the Nationals, while those who don't make the cut would leave with memories, hopefully pleasant ones.

Ray Reports: Anime Destiny 2012

Previous attendances: 2010 onwards

While other cons are two-day affairs at the least, with even fellow minicon Kin-Yoobi Con upgrading to a 2-day con within the past two years, AD continutes to be a short and sweet single-day convention, held at UC Berkeley.

This year's AD seemed fairly light once again, because like last year it conflicted with a major event. This time, the conflicting event was none other than Yaoi-Con, which had recently moved to SoCal. Though it being in SoCal now, less Bay Area congoers were interested in attending, some even hoping it tanked hard enough in SoCal to warrant a move back up to the Bay Area.

If you're looking for events, a good gaming room, or cool stuff to buy at the dealer's hall, this is hardly the con for you. You see, the real meat and potatoes of small cons isn't for events and to see SS-tier cosplayers. The point is to gather some friends together and just have an excuse to chill out in cosplay, as well as to make new friends.

I mostly stayed in one place for much of the con, and it turned out quite well.

Anime Destiny 2012: Robbie's Report

Anime Destiny is a small con, held at UC Berkeley. I had gone there last year, and figured it would be fun to go this year, if just to hang out with friends. So, I drove down, and found a parking lot that was at least somewhat affordable, and went to the campus.

Ray Reports: Sac-Anime Summer 2012

Date: 2012, August 31 ~ September 2
Location: Woodlake Hotel - Sacramento, CA
Previous attendances: S'11 onwards


Let's be honest: My first impression of Sac-Anime, in S'11, was a bad one. I didn't like the crowds, and I didn't like the weather (as much as I like clear weather, not a huge fan of heat waves). However, I've slowly warmed up to this con, and I've actually grown to develop an appreciation of it.

Sac Anime Summer 2012: Robbie's Report

This summer promised to be a hot one, but that didn't stop people from showing up in all sorts of awesome, elaborate cosplay at Sac Anime Summer 2012. After all, what's a little heat stroke compared to good times with friends in awesome costumes?

Harison Randall, 1990-2012

The reason why I haven't posted on the blog about the death and mourning of Harison Randall, a cosplayer that was well-connected to the SacAnime community, was that I knew that the Summer 2012 edition of the convention would bring a weekend of not only sadness but also a time of celebration, to celebrate his life and the impact that he had on attendees and the community.

I had plans to visit the memorial service that was held today (Sunday) and pay respects, but by the end of of the service I had gained a sense of friendship with companions that needed comfort in this greatest time of need.

Ray Attends: Kin-Yoobi Con 2012

To be frank, NorCal's convention scene has taken a hit this year, with two big-name cons gone. But hey, it gives the smaller cons a chance to shine, since each one has a larger ratio of the con scene now.

One of NorCal's summer cosplay attractions is Kin-Yoobi Con (KYC for short), a local-sized con located in the southern reaches of the East Bay. Having been attending since 2009 after a mention of the con from a friend led me to attend on a whim, I've seen it grown fairly dramatically: It started as a simple one-day con at a college campus, expanded to two days in 2010, and now sees home in a hotel, just like many other cons. This is KYC's first year at the Hilton, which means there's going to be some bumps here and there.

Building The Convention Primer

As SacAnime Summer 2012 approaches, I would be starting my annual guide to SacAnime about what's there to eat and other important information. But what if I built a "permanent" guide to not only SacAnime but other conventions that we've attended?

That's where the Convention Primer comes in.