Fast Review of the 2024 Conventions I Attended
- F.C. Boonstra
- Dec 15, 2024
- 8 min read
The con season for me is over for 2024. This year, I've attended seventeen cons across six states. For most, I was an attendee, but I also got the experience to vend at a couple as well with the anime-based plushies I create. For this post, I'll write a short paragraph recap of the cons. Go!
First up was Garden State Winterfest in Sussex, New Jersey. This had a couple cosplayers and was mostly focused on the vendors. Not a bad thing overall as it kind of reminded me of going to a street fair.
This year was my first time at Katsucon, and for someone who has handled Anime NYC, this con overwhelmed me with its layout and amount of people. The Gaylord though is a beautiful location, and I was able to find some fun panels, do some shopping and One Piece meetups, but it's clear that this con is for the people who want the photos. I was able to get some amazing photos from Felix Wong Photography here, and they quickly became some of my favorites.
I will admit that I did attend Puchicon. On the attendee side, it wasn't the worst thing. There were decent panels, the dealer's room was good, and I had a nice photo experience with Crystall Clear Comps. But, upon hearing the problems, mostly among what the artists and dealers have experienced, I'm debating about going back.
Zenkaikon was another con that I was a first-time attendee at. For this one, I think the space was quite good and was able to meet some new friends. This con did everything that I would expect a mid-sized con to do. They also had a really nice main stage where they held the Masquerade. The only downside was that the games were in another building that was a long walk away, and it was already quite cold and windy for March.
Garden State Anime Fest had its debut this year, and this is where my sister and I started vending. Being a vendor gave me a different experience as a whole. It showed how much work you have to do to for set-up, break-down, and just being at the table ready to sell. We were able to make our table price back at the con too which was good. For the little bit of the con that I was able to see, it was a good amount of venders, some good guests to start with, and a couple panels and the maid cafe. We'll have to see what next year brings as my sister and I are already signed up to vend again.
Castle Point Anime Convention (CPAC) is a con I discovered last year, and its turned into one of my personal favorite mid-sized cons. Everything about the space they chose seems to be perfectly laid out with nothing being overwhelming. Since it's run by college students, I do have to give them some leniency on this, but I really wish that they would release the schedule faster! And, since it did get a bit crowded this year, I would recommend about putting a cap on the tickets. I was able to get some amazing tunnel pics this year too (I finally found the tunnel) with Squidlyuwu Photography.
Thy Geekdom Con was another con that my sister and I vended at this year. This con has a ton of space is a beautiful area, and they do get some decent guests too. I do think they need some better equipment for some of the smaller panels they hosts. Vending at this con went well for us, and we were able to meet some of the guests too. The biggest challenge for this con is their biggest competition, Fan Expo Philly. They were lucky that the two cons were almost a month apart, but next year does not seem to be the case. Especially since Anime Boston will be happening on the exact same weekend.
Undiscovered Realm reminded me of Winterfest. Lots of shopping. A good thing though was they were able to get a lot of big named guests. Even though I didn't go up to meet them, they had a good chunk of the Hazbin Hotel voice cast which is pretty impressive. It seemed like a con more geared for families as there were events more for younger kids, although having an adult oriented cartoon's voice actors as guests and kid-based activities seems very contradictory. It was better than Winterfest in terms of cosplay. There were a lot more cosplayers here. Definitely a con for a single day.
Too Many Games was my debut of video game cosplays. I only had the opportunity to go for one day, but being in the same venue as Thy Geekdom Con gave them a lot of space for vendors, big-named guests, panels, and of course, plenty of games. For only spending a single day here, I want to come back to be able to play more of the games from independent creators and enter their cosplay contest. I also managed to convince my boyfriend to do a portable escape room here, so that was a big highlight.
Connecticon is one of favorite large cons to return to. I'm extremely grateful that they did mail-in badges this year. I enjoy their workshop panels the most because they include creating things. I mostly did the ones in terms of writing this year and walked away with some new ideas. I love doing the meetups here, the food truck festival at the same time is a huge advantage for this con, and they have a lot of guests. I also learned what Death Match actually is and was able to watch it this year. While I enjoyed it, once the group I was rooting for was booted out, I didn't know who to cheer for (One Piece, I'm still a little salty at you when I think about this event).
I have to relay a big thank you to Chris and Hannah of the Resident Evil Cosplay Troop for the invitation to come to Mid-Hudson Con. Hanging with you both, Tegan and Ashley made me really enjoy my time. The con itself had some nice vendors too. I didn't get to see the panels, but making silly videos with the troop was the day trip up there. Here is one that made it onto Instagram! (Be logged in to view)
Anime NYC is my main big con of the year. It's mostly nostalgic for me at this point, but I know how to make the most out of it. Panels in my eyes haven't been the best these past couple years as most of them are industry announcements, and I'm not fond of those because those announcements will wind up online just a short time later. There are a few panels though that still peek my interest that I make an effort to go to. While I wish I got to spend a little more time seeing the independent game creators (which were new this year), my highlights included making and wearing my Orin cosplay at this con, meeting Matt Mercer and seeing Creepy Nuts live.
There are two things I learned about New York Comic Con. One, buy the tickets yourself because you get screwed for panels and a lot of other things otherwise. I still appreciate that someone bought them for me, but not being able to do as much damped the experience. My sister and I did make it into the Baldur's Gate Voice Actor panel at least. And two, my mom is amazing because she somehow managed to get Alex Hirsch's autograph on the day I wasn't there. Thank you mom! I think I'll do what I did for the Thursday and work the con again next year instead of going as an attendee. I had a lot more fun working at the Dragon Ball DAIMA Panel. But, I was also able to have a little fun guessing anime from emoji. You can check out that video here. (Be logged into Instagram to view)
One year I'll get to Derpycon for the entire weekend. They are a con that is loaded with a lot of interesting panels, but because other aspects of it are very small, it might just be okay to go for one day. Their dealer's room is one of the tiniest I've experienced at a con. Having a lot of panels is their strongest attribute, but I think they also need to watch their timing. Starting at 10am on a Friday could be good, but they do need to consider people's work schedules. I also heard some people complaining about the noise late into the night. Being located in a hotel, that is something that needs to be taken into consideration.
While I went to Rhode Island Comic Con last year for a day, I attended for the entire weekend this year. The main draw for this con is the guests. They've gotten a lot of big names, and the sheer volume of those big names can rival other large cons. I learned about the arena section of the con as well this year and just how crowded this con gets on Saturday. I do wish I got to do some more panels, but hanging with friends and trying out my first afterparty made it fun. The afterparty didn't feel as overwhelming, but I don't think I'll stay out that late again for an afterparty anytime soon.
Anime NJ++ is a one day con in my eyes, but it's a good one day con. They've improved in the quality of what they have to offer since last year, and I like that it's a small con. I was able to experience almost everything they had from guests, to the dealer's room and artist's alley, to doing a panel, and playing games. There are a couple of kinks with the layout of the hotel and with their Discord (although I didn't see much on the Discord end, only heard), but I'm excited for the future of this con. I hope it will be worth it to buy the weekend badge soon.
Now, for the final con I attended of 2024, Saratoga Comic Con. Overall, lots of shopping, good guests, and a decent variety of panels despite not being able to go to all of them. They were hosted in an odd section because the layout of the City Center in Saratoga is a bit awkward. This was another con where most people would come for just the one day. I found some unique items to buy that I haven't seen at other cons, and also enjoyed the food they offered. Best part of being at this con though was hanging with friends and being surprised by my family for the Saturday when I didn't know they were coming up.
Overall, I had a lot of fun in different ways going to a variety of cons this year. They gave me a break from my daily life for a few days. I will try to scale back for 2025 due to budgeting, but it also might not be the case either. Either way, I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I'm excited for the 2025 con season!
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