On January 26 Loelle and I headed out to our first con of the new year, Setsucon 2013. This was our third year attending this convention run by Penn State University's anime club, so we expected it to be smooth sailing; and for the most part it was! However, it would not be a true con experience if there weren't a couple mishaps along the way. Or first hiccup came about during our arrival. We had been schedule to host our panel, Shoujou Slumber Party at 8:30pm on Saturday,
We got that prime-time slot
and our bus was slated to arrive in State College (the location of the con) at about 5:00 pm. That only gave us about 3 hours to make it down to the convention center, check into the hotel, and get settled before our panel. Plus, if anything went wrong, we would be cutting it really close. When we arrived, we took what was supposed to be a quick detour down to the local Wal-mart to pick up a few things for the panel and finally got into a taxi to the convention center at about 6:30 pm. We checked into the hotel and hit the con to see what was popping!
It's really awesome seeing a small con like Setsucon grow each year. I remember going in 2011 and thinking the Penn Stater Conference Center was way too big for such a small gathering. However this year, you could find con-goers relaxing and hanging out in every nook and cranny! And I definitely saw an upgrade in the cosplay this year! I really love when a con has not only quality cosplay, but cosplay from a variety of different media, whether it's anime, webcomics or cartoons!
After checking out the con a bit, we headed back up to our room to gather ourselves before our panel. This was the first year we actually had to anticipate the possibility of big numbers at our event; in 2011 our panel coincided with the rave, and in 2012 it was pitted against the masquerade. So,we were a bit nervous and weren't sure what to expect. It didn't help that we arrived late! Fortunately, it went really well, which I am fully attributing to the awesomeness of the attendees! Their enthusiasm and willingness to participate in every crazy event through the whole workshop kept the party alive!
On Sunday, the big event for me was the Little Kuriboh panel! I am a huge fan of his Yu-gi-oh abridged series and this would mark the first time I would be meeting him in person, so I delighted to snag a seat in the first row! He was even more charming than I had expected. You could tell how much he appreciated his fans; he never showed even a hint of annoyance with any request, and he even let us hit him with snowballs!
After his panel, we kind of just chilled in the game room and took pictures of cosplayers until the end of the con. The overall experience was really fun, and I can't wait to come back and see how they improve next year! There is one complaint I have however. While the location of the Penn Stater is beautiful (especially when it snows) it is kind of in the middle of nowhere! Unlike a con in the city, you can't just walk down the street and grab lunch at McDonalds. If you are hungry, or want a small break from the con, you have to DRIVE! This can get a little tedious, but as the con grows, it will probably be looking for new locations anyway. Overall though, I think Setsucon is a great con to bring a group of friends to for a fun weekend! And for those of you thinking of going next year, I leave you will a little con tour!
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