Like I mentioned before, there were high expectations going into the Summer 2009 con. The new venue was the headliner, with both its benefits and drawbacks.
If there was one word that people were throwing around Sac-Anime, it would be "cluster fuck." It was really crowded, especially between Artists Alley were the hallways were narrow due to the tables. Now I don't think the con expected this amount of traffic (remember that the lines for Saturday and Sunday were going snaking through the interior of the hotel out the lobby) and/or the success of that layout. With the January dates set (Jan 9-10), it does feel like the con will be returning to the Radisson and by then a new layout will be in place...I hope. Either than that, it was a good place with big rooms for panels, the Masquerade, the rave, and console gaming. The Grove was a nice area for both the concerts and the Rock Band Freestyle. The staff were friendly and were catering to the request of everyone.
I must mention one thing. If you haven't heard already, Imari Chan announced her resignation from head of the Cosplay department at Sac-Anime at the end of the Masquerade around 9pm. Word didn't come out until later in the night and into Sunday when word really got out, and she did announce it again at the end of Fashion Show. First off, I told her how bad I felt that I mentioned her in my preview piece for the con without knowing that this would be her last. She's not quitting the con circuit though, and I wished her luck on her future endeavors. Now what got me is all the rumors surrounding this - I heard there was infighting with staff, infighting with the higher-ups like Dan, she's taking half her staff with her, and much much more - I haven't heard an "official" reason why all of this went down and I hope we can get some explanation soon. But seriously, I wish you luck Imari for your future, and odds are I'll be seeing you at FanimeCon 2010, or ALA if both of us go.
In all, it was a good con for a first-time location. Everyone seems to be working as well, but of course there's always problems and we can't avoid that.
Anyways, that concludes my Sac-Anime Summer 2009 Review. Big thanks to Wendell from FanimeCon for making my Rock Band experience much more awesome and Tom Tonthat from Traveling Valentine for the company (you can read his review of the con here). See you all soon!
- Matthew Miranda, California Conventions Blog
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