Hurricane Sandy didn't deter anime enthusiasts from having a weekend of fun at Nekocon. Over the course of the weekend of November 2nd thru the 4th, fans of all ages came and enjoyed the sights and sounds that was Hampton Road's yearly convention.
The attendance for the convention was up from last year despite the monster storms influence on the area. Over 4,500 people came out to the Hampton Roads Convention Center to see the costumes, meet the voice actors, watch the bands and just generally have fun. Some of the guests included voice actors Tony Oliver and Chris Cason, illustrator Hiro Usuda, singer Mikako Joho, and VocaNoIro.
On Saturday night VocaNoIro brought fans of the Vocaloid series a concert featuring a holographic Miku Hatsune. Fans of Vocaloid lined up in the halls early for a chance to watch this unique concert and packed inside the main event room to be witness to her singing some of their favorite songs.
Sandy did have an impact on vendors and artists, as both the Dealer's Hall and Artist Alley had empty booths scattered along the aisles. The weather was to blame, leaving several unable to get away from the disaster in order to come and enjoy the convention. The convention's theme was "Space" and within the dealer's hall there was an interactive booth put on by the Virginia Air and Space Center that gave people opportunities to see space gear.
What wasn't harmed was the attendance for the Saturday evening Masquerade. Attendees packed the room to standing room only capacity to watch cosplay groups come out and perform on the main stage. The show started off with the Mascots of the convention doing a skit to warm up the audience. This was then followed by the winners of the hall cosplay contest. Everything from anime costumes, to video games to the Sesame Street Yip Yip aliens paraded across the stage. Once that was complete, Last Minute Cosplay performed an exhibition skit of "Tsubasa" for the Nekocon audience. Winner of Best In Show for the last three years at the convention, the group decided to step back from competing while still enjoying a chance on the stage. After that it was on to the skits that were vying for the various prizes of the masquerade.
Skits ranged from funny, to serious, to creepy with costumes featured from series like "Black Butler", "Fairy Tale", "Hetalia" and others. The top prize of Best in Show went to Shattering Reality Cosplay performing "Something Wicked This Way Comes" which presented the Disney princesses in a dark way much to the gasps and cheers of the audience. A "Gundam Wing" skit took home top performance honors. Ghetto But Sturdy cosplay was dressed in costumes from the "Power Puff Girls" and won both awards in the Journeyman category, winning for performance and craftsmanship.
Bright skies and cool temperatures greeted the attendees of Nekocon and spirits were high throughout the convention center. Another successful year for the convention gets marked into the history books. For more information go to their website at http://www.nekocon.com
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