Welcome to Gaia! ::

I've attended and volunteered for some conventions over the years, primarily larger shows in my state that friends were attending as well, or in the case of volunteering friends worked for the show so I helped out in Artist's Ally, got to meet some fun comic industry people that way. I had the opportunity to attend NYCC in 2013 which was well worth the experience (even with the anxiety episode); last year I attended the inaugural Shatterdome Atlanta , a fan-run Pacific Rim fancon.

Oh. My. Glorb. Because of Shatterdome ATL I am much more interested in attending small conventions this year if I can financially afford to do so. When fans are both devoted to and responsible for making a show happen well I think the experience is more meaningful and memorable. I'm looking to volunteer this year because I had such a great experience, in part because the staff recognize things like "what happens if the crowd gets overwhelming for an attendee with anxiety" and "making the show an all-inclusive space." Pacific Rim has a lot of LGBT fans and an accepting community as well, so I'm also supportive for that reason.

I TOTALLY agree with advance planning (as an attendee or volunteer) given money and timing concerns. When I volunteered it was amazing to learn the kind of things you have to think about in advance, or what people failed to think about and caused us to scramble for a solution as a result. Take one year volunteering at a mid-sized show where suddenly not only were signers asking for sharpees, but realizing half the things to be signed were black, requiring metallic pens! Queue calling and rushing to every office supply store in a five-mile radius to buy HUNDREDS of pens!

I love going to conventions! But so far I've only attended to very small Finnish conventions haha. sweatdrop But they're great too!
I need a lot of time to prepare, since usually I also cosplay and make the costumes. Best memories are from the times when you don't except anyone to know your character because the series is so "never-heard-of" and then someone comes to you telling they love the series!

I've also attended Artist Alley couple of times, though it doesn't work that well for me, I'm trying to sell my own art but people are mainly looking for fan art of their favourite series.

Next con I'm going to is Yukicon 2.0 which is actually next weekend, 10th and 11th of January 2015. It's the first convention of the year for me!
I'm going to cosplay as Rin Okumura from Ao no Exorcist/Blue Exorcist on Saturday and Nagi Kengamine from Deadman Wonderland on Sunday. But I'm also at the Artist's Alley on Sunday, hope my friends don't mind.

If I get nice photos I could also post some cosplay pics here? I could put them at "Post your pics" but I feel like sharing them here would suit the topic well. mrgreen

Today, I plan to go out and buy the materials necessary to make a Pavi Largo latex face. I plan to catch the process on camera and eventually upload it to YouTube before the end of the month. If anybody's interested in seeing the process in more detail or has any suggestions on how to make the video more entertaining or unique than "Step 1 + 2 + 3", please let me know!

I'm not sure if I have a favorite con so much as favorite experiences. I'm pretty out of the loop when it comes to conventions outside of the US, or even in the southeast. I would enjoy going to a convention in England as well but more for the opportunity to visit the hosting city as well as the con. Also because Warren Ellis rarely comes to the states anymore.

A meetup would be fun, I'm sure. For all my anxiety meeting people in context of a convention is easier for me to do, I think because everyone is there for a similar purpose.

That's awesome to hear! Which states would you be able to attend conventions in? I usually attend San Japan every year, which is in San Antonio, Texas, and Anime Midwest, although I've never been, isn't all that far from where I am right now.

I think that it would be cool if we got at least three people together to do a panel about online trans* communities or arrange a trans* meetup event. Wouldn't that be fun?

Holy crap, I love it!!! Good job! (And good god, you're handsome.)

I think that, if we do manage to arrange a real-life meet up, it would have to be somewhere in the south or midwest United States, mostly because I'm guessing the majority of members will be from the US. (Besides, everything's hella expensive in Japan, con prices or no, LOL)

On that note, Rivaaja, if you did end up having to fly in, we could probably arrange to meet you at the airport in a group, rather than leave you stranded in the middle of the country with taxi/hotel bills on the horizon. You probably wouldn't be the only one flying in, either.

Which season do you think we should aim for? Summer is infamous as being "con season", but there's cons all over the calendar. Perhaps something in autumn or winter would be more do-able? I'm also factoring in the way airline prices fluctuate. Of course, this is all theoretical until we get a large enough group together, but still, it's a good idea to plan these things waaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of time.

Holy crap, I did not see this post! I apologize!

While AnimeFEST sounds rather nice, I understand that the airport in Dallas is rather *ekh*. My roommate has had to use that airport before to get from Texas to Indiana and she swears by Chicago's O'Hare Airport instead. Exactly how bad is the drama? Is it contained among the staff and volunteers, or is it just a general vibe of nastiness? If so, does it interfere with inter-staff communication and con function?

San Antonio, Texas' San Japan, as I've mentioned before, is a great con for newcomers and, in my four years working and volunteering there, I don't think I've ever experienced or picked up on any drama. Rather, in the volunteer/staff panel on Thursday night, a lot of jokes were made about different mistakes and failures the con staff has overcome, and the RegIT staff at the door are marvelous people. Security will crack down on you if your outfit is out of line, but it's more of the convention center's rules than San Japan's rules and the worst they'll do is quietly ask you to go back to your hotel room and find something to cover your nipples with. On top of that, San Japan security is always very clearly identifiable, which makes the con a safer place.

The only downside is that it is in Texas, which is the southern-most state in the US and not exactly the most convenient meeting ground for people living in the north. It's also a summer con, and Texas summers are not for the weak of heart (or skin). However, the convention hotel is right next to the convention center, so you need only be outside for a few seconds.

The airport nearest the convention center is the San Antonio International Airport, and it's a 14min drive in a straight line to the convention center.

Thoughts? Other con suggestions? If you guys have any other conventions you think are better and more fairly located, please tell us. If this manages to happen at all, I think it should be during the summer of 2016.