Matthew Reports: SacCon March 2013

It's been awhile since I last wrote a solo report, let alone a report period. I've been mostly working behind the scenes ensuring that we had coverage for SacAnime as well as ALA and AOD. With these smaller conventions coming up between now and July (Anime Expo), I thought it would be nice to get back into reporting at the one place where I started: SacCon.

The big draw for the March 2013 edition of SacCon was D.C. Douglas, who voiced Wesker in the Resident Evil series and Legion on Mass Effect 2 & 3, and John DiMaggio, who voiced Bender from Futurama and Jake the Dog from Adventure Time.

Naturally, there would be big demand for these two voice actors. It was so big, the line just for the 9am Early Bird entry winded longer than any SacCons in my memory.

Yes, the line went into the parking lot, a first for me.

With this huge line, you would expect that it would be jammed pack inside, people trying to shop and interact with the artists while people were already waiting in line for both D.C. Douglas and John DiMaggio. It got crowded and stuffy very quickly, so most of the time I spent outside where the air was fresh.

One thing I was able to experience this year was the Smoothie Patrol food truck, parked across the way from the Scottish Rite Center. As usual, food truck prices are a tad bit more than a standard eatery, but I enjoyed both the Monster's Revenge and the Chocolate Addiction. Very worth it to experience a smoothie on the go.

Around 9:20am, a camera crew from Good Day Sacramento came to SacCon to get a live footage and an interview with one of the staff. I actually got on camera because I was taking a photo of said staff member getting interviewed as you can see on this screencap below:

They were supposed to be there for the 10am hour to do another live shot, but then the cameraman got dispatched to a robbery at a North Highlands bank.

Cosplay-wise, there was a lot of Adventure Time, more than usual because of Mr. DiMaggio's presence, and Homestuck, which is now expected around the Sacramento convention scene. Then again, this is SacCon so there's the typical 50-50 mix between Japanese media cosplay and American media cosplay. At SacAnime, the ratio is about 60-40.

I found myself hanging around the Homestuck cosplayers the majority of the time I was outside, mostly because they're chill and not the crazy fans that you hear about on the internet.

But they did want to film a Harlem Shake video.


Inside, I got some shots of the Dealers Hall, people playing video & card games, and Guests of Honor autographing.

You also got to experience standing in line for both Mr. Douglas and Mr. DiMaggio, which for the first time in my memory went into the courtyard.

Despite the foot traffic, I was able to get through those narrow hallways in route to catch a bit of Mr. Douglas's Q&A Panel.

At 3pm, the drawing for the Charity Raffle occured, and everyone crowded around the front waiting for their number to be called to win some amazing prizes, including three three-day passes to SacAnime Summer 2013.

The big kicker for the convention was the Masquerade, which consisted of rapping Links, Max from the Sam & Max series, and much more.

Well, it was time to go home. But not before I got one last picture of a car that had all these cellphone cases glued to his car. I thought it was a very clever way to market himself, probably selling cellphone cases I'm assuming.

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According to a report from Fox 40, the attendance for SacCon March 2013 exceeded 2,500, the highest in almost 20+ years of the convention's run. You could tell that easily because of how crowded the place was, no matter what you wanted to do. With SacAnime's move to the Sacramento Convention Center, I hope SacCon makes the same move pretty soon. While the June edition is only slated for one day, there is a "Super SacCon" coming in September. Whether that's a move to the SCC or a hotel in the area or just two days at the Scottish Rite, we will wait to see how that plays out.

I always loved SacCon for just being that kick-back convention where I can just chill and enjoy myself. Coventions like Fanime, AX, and now SacAnime carry higher stakes, so it's good to go to one of these conventions, especially when you're experimenting with cosplay that'll eventually go live at a bigger convention.

My next report will be at DAiCon in Davis on May 4th at the UC Davis Memorial Union. They're back for a second year after the successful first year, and I can't wait to head back there!

Until then, thank you all for reading my report!