Conventions

[kagra280]

Im young and I cant travel far for conventions and I feel really bad cause' every one is talking about how much fun they had at conventions. I was wondering if their were any conventions near where I live. I live in the Memphis, Tennessee area and I have no idea where and when conventions are held here. Ive heard of Anime Addicts but i couldnt find when or where its gonna be held. Also theres this mall, Wolfchase mall, near me and I found out there was a small convention held there about a month ago and i cant find anything about it or when its next held. Im confused. Anybody dealing with the same thing? If anyone know about the memphis conventions or if their confused about conventions near them please comment.

[TehScribbles]

http://www.cosplay.com/calendar/us/

Here are a list of some, the closet would be 'MidSouthCon' in Whispering Woods Convention center Memphis, Tennessee.

[kagra280]

Kool thanx thats coming up soon march 25 woa THANX :D ill see if can go

Nah the one isnt on march 25 but Kami-Con is in april im practically begginh my mom to take me :D

If your parents are giving you a difficult time with going to convention it's pretty understandable (bare in mind I'm guessing you between 12 and 16). While it is all fun and games but theres also exhaustion (walking), money guzzling vendors and a lot of perverted older guys who are closet lolicon addicts.

So if you wanna convince your parents to allow you to go to these conventions, I bestow upon you some tips/guidelines for first timing:

Considering your age, it would be a good idea to include your parents or guardians or older siblings/cousins to partake in the event, even if it's just for one day.
Tell them to think of it as "time get get to know Kagra's hobbies"
If they are friends of Star Trek or Sci-Fi never fret, they tend to play Sci-Fi related shows that aren't anime.
Its always good to go in a group with friends and take precautions by having cell phones on at all times. While I've never seen a problem arise at conventions (yet), it's still full of large desperate lonely guys like myself -bawls-
It is also a good idea to check out the forums of the convention, asking questions, look at past convention photos, make sure you won't be bored there, you need to find something to amuse yourself for 8-10 hours.
Like me, I always set up a schedule for the day.
Let me show you an example from last year's Saturday at ConnectiCon (copied from my guide from last year)
Saturday:
- 8am to 9am "Sonic X" Screen Room 3
- 9am to 10am Dealers Room or Game Room (I wrote this because this was when my friends should have been arriving)
- 10am to 11am Smash Brothers Brawl Tournament 1
- 11am to 1pm Magic the Gathering booster draft
- 1pm to 2pm lunch at Tanoochi's
- 2pm to 4pm "Gundam SEED"
- 4pm to 6pm Board Game Room
- 6pm to 8pm Smash Brothers Brawl Tournament 2
- 8pm to 9pm Shoujoai Hour
- 9pm to 10pm Shonen-Ai Hour
- 10pm to 11pm Dinner (Burger King, YAY!)
- 11pm to Midnight drive around with friends
- Midnight to 1am H-Hour

ER HEM! But you don't need to worry about H-Hour >_>

But yeah try following these guidelines and you'll be golden, remember to bring a partner, never go by yourself when your young (or at all, it ruins the fun to be alone)

[helixD]

Originally Posted by kagra280 Nah the one isnt on march 25 but Kami-Con is in april im practically begginh my mom to take me :D

*looks at banner*

Wonder why... lol

[TehScribbles]

Originally Posted by Zero Gravity ER HEM! But you don't need to worry about H-Hour >_>

But that's the best part! lol

But yes, if it is your first convention, you might want to bring a parent/brother/sister/etc. Alot of walking, and don't forget to eat or drink! Many people forget to eat and drink at cons...
Be careful of creepers, oh the creepers. But the most important thing is to have fun!

If it's your first con, you won't cosplay, but you'll wish you did. Then, when you finally do, you'll realize your costume isn't nearly as good as the other costumes out there, and you'll lose some -- but not all -- of your nerve. XP. That's the experience all of my friends went through during their first and second cons at least.

Scribbles is totally right about eating and drinking. I recommend bringing your own food because everything is INCREDIBLY expensive or out of reach. Normally during conventions I subsist on breakfast bars, trail mix bars, and pretzels. Not very healthy, but it's only a few times a year. There are no microwaves ready, and hot water can be hard to come by, so I don't recommend bringing anything that requires cooking or refrigeration.

Also, if you room with other people, they may have food as well. That's always fun. (It's so sweet because my typical roomies know I'm vegetarian, so they bring me vegetarian food. <3)

Also also, be crazy and do your own thing. =B I rarely hang out with my typical group of friends and instead search the con for other people cosplaying from the same series as me. It's a great way to meet people and free yourself entirely from your typical day-to-day life. X3

Aaaaand, the last day of the con is depressing. *nods* I cry. Most people don't even cosplay on the last day, and everything feels sluggish. You're thrust back into normal life, after having spent three days in an anime world closed off from the rest of society, and it's a difficult adjustment. But it's so worth it.

[Elc1247]

Originally Posted by Tempest Wind   If it's your first con, you won't cosplay, but you'll wish you did. Then, when you finally do, you'll realize your costume isn't nearly as good as the other costumes out there, and you'll lose some -- but not all -- of your nerve. XP. That's the experience all of my friends went through during their first and second cons at least. Scribbles is totally right about eating and drinking. I recommend bringing your own food because everything is INCREDIBLY expensive or out of reach. Normally during conventions I subsist on breakfast bars, trail mix bars, and pretzels. Not very healthy, but it's only a few times a year. There are no microwaves ready, and hot water can be hard to come by, so I don't recommend bringing anything that requires cooking or refrigeration. Also, if you room with other people, they may have food as well. That's always fun. (It's so sweet because my typical roomies know I'm vegetarian, so they bring me vegetarian food. <3) Also also, be crazy and do your own thing. =B I rarely hang out with my typical group of friends and instead search the con for other people cosplaying from the same series as me. It's a great way to meet people and free yourself entirely from your typical day-to-day life. X3 Aaaaand, the last day of the con is depressing. *nods* I cry. Most people don't even cosplay on the last day, and everything feels sluggish. You're thrust back into normal life, after having spent three days in an anime world closed off from the rest of society, and it's a difficult adjustment. But it's so worth it.

in general, i would say that its best to start planning at least a few months ahead for cons anyways, most likely cons wont be very close to most people, its most often that you travel and stay in the area for the duration. going to cons is expensive, but we at 918 are gonna be there to cover what cons we can. you can look forward to us being at Anime Expo this year at least!

for cosplaying, if you felt like you made your costume well, theres a good chance it is actually a pretty good one, if you find us at a con, we take tons of pictures of cosplayers, not just the amazing ones wearing costumes that might have taken months and hundreds of dollars to make. i remember taking a ton of pics last year at AX, drained more than 1 battery every day i was at AX last year, thank goodness I had 3 batteries with me, I just stopped random cosplayers with interesting costumes and took pics. ah there were some epic ones, and some simple yet great costumes too. if you are going to cosplay, i say go for it, its to enjoy the experience more.

for food, i recommend going out for meals, yes things are VERY expensive at the con. if theres a fast food place down the street, i say go for it, thats what i did when i went to both AX and Fanime to save on food costs. or bring your own food to the con, dont forget to bring a bag or backpack to carry your stuff: food, water, shwag, stuff you buy, costume stuff, etc. cell phones are essential when you are going with a group too, though it is usually too busy or loud for you to notice your cell ringing, so make sure to turn on the vibrate...

oh man... theres just allot of things to keep in mind when going to a con, the main thing is just to plan ahead, it will help to no end.