Nekocon

Nekocon is an annual three-day anime convention held traditionally on the first weekend in November at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Virginia. It is Virginia's oldest anime convention.[4] The convention's name comes from the Japanese word "neko", meaning "cat".[5]

Nekocon
Cosplayers at Nekocon, 2014
StatusActive
GenreAnime, Asian culture[1][2]
VenueHampton Roads Convention Center
Location(s)Hampton, Virginia
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated1998
Attendance6,900 in 2014[3]
Websitehttp://www.nekocon.com/

Programming

The convention typically offers art shows, artist's alley, autograph sessions, card game tournaments, charity auction, concerts, costume competition, dances, dealer's room, fashion show, karaoke contests, kimono/tea ceremony workshop, maid cafe, music video contest, panels, Q&A sessions, role playing, tabletop games, vendors, video game tournaments, video rooms, and workshops.[5][6][7][8][9] Nekocon's 2015 charity events benefited Be The Match.[9]

History

An attendance cap of 1,600 passes was instituted in 2003 due to fire code regulations.[10] The convention held its first J-rock concert in 2009, hosting Suicide Ali.[11] Virginia Air and Space Center provided content during the 2012 convention.[1] Nekocon in 2017 had an Anime style cooking challenge with students from the Culinary Institute of Virginia.[12] Nekocon 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13][14]

Event history
DatesLocationAtten.Guests
October 2–4, 1998 Holiday Inn Executive Center
Virginia Beach, Virginia		506Tristan MacAvery and Jan Scott-Frazier.[15]
November 5–7, 1999 Holiday Inn Executive Center
Virginia Beach, Virginia		1,048Steve Bennett, Michael Brady, Colleen Doran, Pat Duke, Kuni Kimura, Hiroyuki Kitazume, Tristan MacAvery, Steve Pearl, Jan Scott-Frazier, Elin Winkler, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[16]
October 27–29, 2000 Holiday Inn / Chesapeake Conference Center
Chesapeake, Virginia		1,100Steve Bennett, Michael Brady, Robert DeJesus, Colleen Doran, Nickey Froberg, Elizabeth Kirkindall, Shin Kurokawa, Rachael Lillis, Tristan MacAvery, and Jan Scott-Frazier.[17]
October 26–28, 2001 Holiday Inn Executive Center
Virginia Beach, Virginia		1,450Nickey Froberg.[18]
November 8–10, 2002 Holiday Inn Executive Center
Virginia Beach, Virginia		John Barrett, Steve Bennett, T. Campbell, Robert DeJesus, Kara Dennison, Colleen Doran, Brian Drummond, Fred Perry, Deb Rabbai, Jan Scott-Frazier, Rikki Simons, Jeff Thompson, Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[19]
November 7–9, 2003 Holiday Inn Executive Center
Virginia Beach, Virginia		1,600Greg Ayres, John Barrett, Steve Bennett, Tim Buckley, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Christy Lijewski, Chris Patton, Fred Perry, Deb Rabbai, Monica Rial, and Jan Scott-Frazier.[20]
November 5–7, 2004 Chesapeake Convention Center
Chesapeake, Virginia		2,368Greg Ayres, Steve Bennett, Tim Buckley, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Dizzy, Tiffany Grant, Trish Ledoux, Fred Perry, Monica Rial, Carrie Savage, Jan Scott-Frazier, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, Shawn the Touched, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[21]
November 4–6, 2005 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		Greg Ayres, Laura Bailey, Steve Bennett, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Jason Cumberledge, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Dizzy, Jerry Jewell, Mike McFarland, Novablade Studios, Jen Starling, Renee Starling, Sonny Strait, Donnie Sturges, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, and Danny Valentini.[22]
November 3–5, 2006 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		2,500+
(est)[7]		Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, JL Brown, Luci Christian, Jason Cumberledge, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Brian Godwin, Tiffany Grant, Mike Hall, Brittney Karbowski, Bettina M. Kurkoski, Dave Lister, Monica Rial, Doug Smith, Jen Starling, Renee Starling, Donnie Sturges, and Danny Valentini.[23]
November 2–4, 2007 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		3,249Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Troy Baker, Eirik Blackwolf, Ron Chiu, Emily DeJesus, Aaron Dismuke, Daniel Kevin Harrison, Jerry Jewell, Michele Knotz, Bettina M. Kurkoski, Christy Lijewski, Dave Lister, Chris "Kilika" Malone, Bill Rogers, Leo Saunders, Joe Silver, Donnie Sturges, Jamie Sturges, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, Danny Valentini, and Travis Willingham.[24]
November 7–9, 2008 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		Nearly 3,500[25]Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Troy Baker, Emily DeJesus, Robert DeJesus, Aaron Dismuke, echostream, GPKISM, Mohammad "Hawk" Haque, Jerry Jewell, Bettina M. Kurkoski, Dave Lister, Steven Napierski, and Ananth Panagariya.[26]
November 6–8, 2009 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		3,429Greg Ayres, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Richard Epcar, Newton Ewell, Caitlin Glass, Mike Hall, Kyle Hebert, Steve Napierski, Tony Oliver, Fred Perry, Ellyn Stern, Donnie Sturges, Jamie Sturges, Suicide Ali, Tainted Reality, and Danny Valentini.[27]
November 5–7, 2010 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		3,788501st Legion, Greg Ayres, Richard Ian Cox, Lar DeSouza, Newton Ewell, Yan "Kern" Gagne, Mary "Kite" Garren, Garth Graham, Mike Hall, Bettina M. Kurkoski, Chris Rager, Ryan Sohmer, Akemi Solloway, The Sound Bee HD, Donnie Sturges, Ryan Thompson, Danny Valentini, and Cristina Vee.[28]
November 4–6, 2011 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		4,487Takuya Angel, Born, Leah Clark, MC Frontalot, Kyle Hebert, DJ Hip*Starr, Jerry Jewell, Donald Kinney, Taku Otsuka, Chris Rager, Akemi Solloway, Tainted Reality, VJ ValuJet, and David L. William.[29]
November 2–4, 2012 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		Chris Cason, Chin Hamaya Culture Center, Mikako Joho, DJ KaKuMeI X, DJ Midget, Tony Oliver, The OneUps, Brina Palencia, Re:VB-P, Jan Scott-Frazier, The Slants, J. Michael Tatum, and Hiro Usuda.[30]
November 1–3, 2013 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		Steven Blum, Anthony Burch, Ashly Burch, Chin Hamaya Culture Center, Jonathan Coulton, Yan "Kern" Gagne, Mary "Kite" Garren, DJ HeavyGrinder, Cherami Leigh, Mike McFarland, Chris Rager, and John Swasey.[31]
November 7-9, 2014 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		7,100[32]Dr. Awkward, Josh Grelle, Todd Haberkorn, Kyle Hebert, KristyBee!, Lauren Landa, Jason Charles Miller, Jez Roth, Sayaka Sasaki, Schäffer the Darklord, Tribe One, and Adam WarRock.[32]
November 6-8, 2015 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		Dr. Awkward, Breathlessaire, Kira Buckland, Erik Scott Kimerer, Hiroshi Kitadani, Erica Lindbeck, Erica Mendez, Professor Shyguy, RinRin, Starlighthoney, Tribe One, David Vincent, and Sarah Anne Williams.[33]
November 4-6, 2016 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		Akinori Isobe, Masumi Kano, Lauren Landa, Cherami Leigh, Mike McFarland, Bryce Papenbrook, Vocamerica, and Lisle Wilkerson.[34]
November 3-5, 2017 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		6,900[3]Aimee Blackschleger, Kira Buckland, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Diana Garnet, Kyle Hebert, Joe Inoue, Kyle McCarley, and Jez Roth.[3]
November 2-3, 2018 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		Greg Ayres, Caitlin Glass, haru, Lauren Landa, Amanda C. Miller, Tyson Rinehart, Michelle Ruff, Tara Sands, and Eric Stuart.[35]
November 1-3, 2019 Hampton Roads Convention Center
Hampton, Virginia		Ray Chase, Robbie Daymond, Charles Dunbar, John Gremillion, Hollow Mellow, Mela Lee, Max Mittelman, Mike Sinterniklaas, and Paul St. Peter.[36]

References
  1. McDonald, Sam (November 2, 2012). "NekoCon anime festival launches fans into outer space". Daily Press. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  2. Joseph, Natalie (November 4, 2016). "NekoCon 2016 returns to Hampton Convention Center". Daily Press. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  3. "NekoCon 2017 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  4. McDonald, Sam (2011-10-03). "NekoCon, a Japanese animation festival, brings colorful characters to Hampton". Daily Press. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  5. "After Action Report". The Virginian-Pilot. 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  6. Tennant, Diane (2011-10-03). "NekoCon, a gathering of anime aficionados". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  7. Forster, Dave (2006-10-05). "Fans of Japanese animation, or anime, convene in Hampton". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  8. "Audience: Nekocon 16". WAVY. 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
  9. Reckling, Chris (October 30, 2015). "Audience: NekoCon 18". WAVY. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  10. "Nekocon Announces Attendance Cap". AnimeCons.com. 2003-11-02. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  11. McDonald, Sam (2009-10-06). "This Year's Nekocon A Treat For Eyes And Ears". Daily Press. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  12. Smith, Hillary (November 2, 2017). "Thousands expected to attend 20th annual Japanese anime convention NekoCon". Daily Press. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  13. "Sad News – Nekocon Has Been Postponed to 2021". NekoCon. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  14. "NekoCon 2020 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  15. "Nekocon 1998 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  16. "Nekocon 1999 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  17. "Nekocon 2000 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  18. "Nekocon 2001 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  19. "Nekocon 2002 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  20. "Nekocon 2003 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2012-11-08.
  21. "Nekocon 2004 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  22. "Nekocon 2005 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  23. "Nekocon 2006 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  24. "Nekocon 2007 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  25. McDonald, Sam (November 16, 2008). "Heroes, Villains And Glomps". Daily Press. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  26. "Nekocon 2008 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  27. "Nekocon 2009 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  28. "Nekocon 2010 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
  29. "Nekocon 2011 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2011-11-07.
  30. "Nekocon 2012 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  31. "Nekocon 2013 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  32. "Nekocon 2014 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
  33. "Nekocon 2015 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  34. "NekoCon 2016 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  35. "NekoCon 2018 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  36. "NekoCon 2019 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2019-11-19.

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