First Instant Anime Convention Gets 160 Attendees
This past weekend, 160 anime fans attended Anime-ZAP! in East Peoria, IL after less than 72 hours of planning. The convention, which was created to replace the cancelled Pokettokon, drew mainly from fans originally planning to attend that convention at Illinois Central College.
The weekend's activities consisted of several videogames, anime showings, and panels - many of which were improvised at the last moment. The entire convention had been planned quickly, as Pokettokon announced their cancellation on the Tuesday before the convention was scheduled.
"It was remarkably fast," said Kopf. "We got the location and announced what we were trying to do and the support was tremendous. People called wanting to provide equipment and games, I got an email from Anime Fan Zone asking about dealer space, and we even had an artist and two other conventions as exhibitors."
Anime-ZAP! was organized by the organizers of QC Anime-zing!, which will be held June 18-20, 2010 in Bettendorf, IA. Kopf is the chief editor of UpcomingCons.com.