Apr 12 2009
News Blurbs: Convention Tactics, What You Need to Know About Cons, and a Blade Runner Blaster for Sale
I’ve got a great collection of convention news links for all of you today! We are definitely in the full swing of convention season, which means more news, more announcements, and more coverage in the media. Here’s what I’ve got for you:
I found an interesting article about anime conventions, and their guest lists. The article is called “Convention Tactics - Cheaper Guests.” It discusses the different types of guests that appear at anime cons, namely the differences between US based voice actor guests, and Japanese anime guests. It also provides some commentary on the big anime conventions, versus the smaller “no-name” cons that have really sprouted up over the past few years.
The second article is from Liz Ohanesian, one of my favorite bloggers over at LA Weekly. She has an article out called “Shocking Bloom: American Dreams Filtered Throught Eastern Themes at Electric Cherry Blossom.” It’s about J-Pop and J-Rock music, and the Electric Cherry Blossom event (which is an “after-party” for Little Tokyo’s Cherry Blossom Festival in Los Angeles). It also discusses the influence that anime conventions have had on J-Pop and J-Rock music. I definitely recommend taking a look at the article (it has great photos too).
The third article comes from the Media Freaks Blog. It’s an announcement regarding the New York Anime Festival. Apparently online registration is now open for this September anime convention. There’s additional info about the con available in the article.
I found an article called “An Introduction to Conventions” from Exfanding Your Horizons. It’s everything a convention virgin needs to know about the convention world, including the all too important advice of “Don’t Be That Guy.” Definitely a funny and informative read.
One of my readers sent me this story yesterday. It’s from a local Seattle news outlet, and it’s called “Anime convention a boon to Seattle economy.” The article is about Sakura-Con, a Seattle anime convention happening this weekend. The convention is so big, it’s expected to bring about $13 million into the local economy. I can only imagine how much a convention like Dragon*con or San Diego Comic Con pump into their cities. Sakura-Con’s attendance is expected to be around 20,000 people, and D*C and Comic Con are double that or more.
Finally, MSNBC.com has an article about the “‘Holy grail’ of sci-fi weapons” - the blaster gun from Blade Runner. Apparently it is up for auction, and is expected to fetch at least $100,000. If you’ve been looking for ways to make your Blade Runner costume that much more screen accurate…well there you go. Happy bidding.
Do you have some convention news to share? Feel free to contact Convention Fans with a link! You can read about more convention news by clicking here.
