Kintoki-Con 2011 Report: Part 4 - Epilogue

I talked to a lot of attendees, staff members, and guest of honors over that weekend, and all of them agreed with me: for a first-year convention with this amount of expectations, this convention really came through. Some people were comparing it to a Northern California version of Anime Los Angeles and the start that ALA had. The only problem with that analogy is that ALA is opposite of AX (January-July) while Kintoki-Con is right after FanimeCon and right before AX, but I can see the future success if the parallels hold true given how popular ALA is now.

Like the other start-up convention this year in Sacramento, the key to future growth is correct any and all mistakes and hammer out what you did best. Bringing back guests like Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and Richard Epcar, who also shared a positive opinion on Kintoki-Con, is a great way to build for 2012. There have been discussions on what rates are being raised and what is staying put on Facebook through their account this early and this quick after the convention, which is another positive move.

I had a running dialogue with Co-chair Eric over the weekend, letting him know what was working and what needed to be fixed and improved. As press, I like this dialogue and he really seemed to take notice. We need more convention chairs like that, someone is genuinely listening and wants constant feedback to improve the product they have put out over the weekend. With the amount of feedback that they have been receiving over the weeks, this convention is bound to improve by leaps and bounds, and for us Northern California cosplayers, conventioneers, and members of the press such as myself, this is a convention that we would love to see flourish.

I would like to thank both convention chairs, Eric San Gregorio and Nicole Stockel, for inviting me to cover this convention. I was very honored to cover this convention and I look forward to covering it again next year. Special shout-outs to go the Maid Cafe and Gaming Room staff for giving me an insider's look for unique angles and views of their work in progress. And a special thanks to all my readers who have been reading this report and past reports - you are the lifeblood of this blog. Without you, we'd be telling our stories and experiences to a bunch of tubes.

That concludes my report of Kintoki-Con 2011. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to Anime Expo due to financial reasons but you can find the rest of my staff there for their coverage. If you see any of them out and about this weekend, say hi to them for me.

私のレポートを 読むためにありがとう。
Thank you for reading my report.

-Kintoki-Con 2011 Report End-