NatsuCon 2009 Packs The House
Several hundred fans found their way to the first ever NatsuCon, held last weekend in St. Louis, packing the venue. Attendees interviewed said they enjoyed the first-year convention and were kept happy throughout the weekend.
Convention staff had been expecting only a couple hundred attendees, but the registration cap of 500 was quickly reached on Saturday morning, and dozens of disappointed people had to be turned away. Attendance caps are usually set at conventions as a result of occupancy limits of function space, which are set by city officials to prevent an unsafe number of people in a building in case of fire.
Crowds of cosplayers filled the hallways and lobby, and by Saturday evening hotel staff started asking attendees to stay out of public space. Several attendees reported that the hotel had been aggressively keeping attendees from congregating in the public lobby and main hallways. NatsuCon function space, in the St. Louis Best Western Airport Plaza, was split between two separate areas of the hotel, accessed by elevators on opposite sides of the venue.
Despite a few hiccups, including delays in starting the big events along with some miscommunication, the convention was run smoothly. NatsuCon's organizers had done a surprisingly excellent job of running the convention, even though they were outnumbered by nearly 100 to 1. Several interesting panels and events took place, mostly on time and well rehearsed.
Convention events included a panel for the new animation company Anime Midstream based in St. Louis, along with panels on topics ranging from the popular Who Wants to be a Voice Actor done by 'Voice Acting Ninja' Lucas Schuneman to a packed Lolita Tea Party.
A favorite activity had been Sleeping Samurai, in which participants could charge into the arena with a padded sword, competing for some really cool free stuff, like swords to take home. The dance Saturday night began reasonably full as well, and attendees enjoyed the start with a Kingdom Hearts song.
Guest voice actor and voice actress, Chris Patton and Cristina Vee, answered questions for a packed ballroom Saturday afternoon before taking autographs. The NatsuCon masquerade also gathered a full house, with several entertaining cosplay skits and costumes. Visit our YouTube channel for video.
After a Friday and Saturday filled beyond capacity, Sunday became extraordinarily quiet. The remaining attendees were generally relaxed and enjoying the company of many new friends met during the convention.
NatsuCon's first year was riddled with success and fun for attendees, excluding some hotel trouble and the typical first year convention delays. Problems were handled cordially, and the staff remained extraordinarily friendly throughout the weekend. NatsuCon 2009 was great, and NatsuCon 2010 can be expected to be fun and exciting.