Convention Chairman, Clayton Cavinder, nicknamed Moose by his friends and fellow staffers, remarks, "We have come a long way since our first event of three hundred people to expecting over three thousand new and returning members."
Members are welcome to attend various panels and workshops, purchase merchandise in the dealer's room, and be a part of main attractions like karaoke contests, art shows, and nightly dances. Saturday afternoons cosplay, a convention favorite, invites members to portray their favorite characters and perform skits or display their costume-making expertise.
One of the longest running traditions is the art show, featuring work from both amateur and professional artists showcasing anime, fantasy, and sci-fi inspired work. Convention attendees are encouraged to browse all art selections, as well as make bids on selected pieces that are currently up for sale. The art auction on Sunday, November 9, will allow conventioneers the opportunity to finalize or make any changes to their bids. There is no fee to display art.
Different from the art show and art auction is the artist alley, an area designed
to allow nonprofessional and semiprofessional artists to display, create, and commission their own traditional work in formats ranging from models, t-shirts, calendars, drawings, posters, and more. The artists are encouraged to display and sell their own merchandise. While fan art is not banned from the alley, the sale of fan art is restricted and will be strictly policed for copyright infringement. (An example of fan art would be an artist selling HIS/HER rendering of Wolverine though the artist did not create Wolverine).
Other major highlights of NekoCon XI include an AMV contest; as well as a dealer’s room where fans can purchase DVDs’ CDs, posters, wallscrolls, 00004000 manga, idol cards, and more. This year will also feature an even larger game room than in year’s past.
NekoCon XI will include guest appearances by:
Greg Ayers- Voice Actor and Disc Jockey
Chris Ayers- Voice Actor and Broadway Veteran
Troy Baker- Voice Actor (a fan favorite with roles such as Abel Nightroad in Trinity Blood, Gennosuke in Basilisk, Action Bastard in Shin Chan, and Archer in Full Metal Alchemist)
Aaron Dismuke- Voice Actor (best known for his role as Alphonse Elric from the series Full Metal Alchemist)
Dave Lister- Artist and Creator of Paradox Lost (www.paradox-lost.com)
Mohammad “Hawk” Haque & Ananth Panagariya- Creators of the popular web comic Apple Geeks (www.AppleGeeks.com)
Bettina M. Kurkoski- Comic Artist and Creator of My Cat Loki
Bob and Emily DeJesus – Comic Artist and Owners of Studio Capsule and creator of the web comic How to Loathe Drawing in the Manga Style
Jerry Jewell – Voice Actor (another fan favorite with such rolls as Nam in Dragonball, Suzaku in Yu Yu Hakusho, Jin in Yu Yu Hakusho, Barry the Chopper/Number 66 in Full Metal Alchemist and Count Memling in Trinity Blood to name a few)
Christy Lijewski – Comic Artist and Creator of RE:Play
GPKISM – J-POP Band made up of GPK (vocals) and Kiwamu (guitar). GPKISM musical style has been described as the manifestation of baroque essence fused with electro/industrial sound. NekoCon will be their US Debut.
Echostream – J-POP band who’s members include Ryoko (vocal), Tomo (guitar), Tony (keys, production), Jen (acoustic drums) and CJ (electronic drums). Echostream’s music is a dark and brooding film for your ears. Mixing electronica textures and guitar-driven riffs, the band works hard to occupy two worlds at once: angst and beauty
Friday and Saturday’s festivities will include concerts from both GPKISM and
Echostream and will conclude with dances: The Giant Robot Dance featuring DJ Ayres at 10:30 p.m. on Friday November 7, and Catseye with Rob Lantz and Andrew Iwancio at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday November 8.
NekoCon XI Hours:
Friday, November 7: 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.
Saturday, November 8: 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sunday, November 9: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Artist Alley Hours:
Friday, November 7: Noon- 12:00 a.m.
Saturday, November 8:10:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.
Sunday, November 9: 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
NekoCon XI Memberships:
Adult/Teen Youth Child
(13 yrs. And up) (7-12 years) (6yrs. & under)
At the door
(full membership) $45 $20 FREE
At the door (One Day Trial Memberships)
(Friday Nov. 7 only) $30 n/a FREE
At the door
(Saturday Nov. 8 only) $35 n/a FREE
At the door
(Sunday Nov. 9 only) $25 n/a FREE
Entrance is good for a one- year membership to NekoCon. Everyone who pays admission to NekoCon will receive this membership, entitling them to newsletters and announcements regarding future events and activities.
For more information on NekoCon XI, check out www.nekocon.com or email info@nekocon.com.
Partially bordered by the Hampton Roads harbor and Chesapeake Bay, Hampton, with the 344,000 sq. ft. Hampton Roads Convention Center, is located in the center of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. Hampton is the site of America's first continuous English-speaking settlement and is home to such visitor attractions as the Virginia Air & Space Center and Riverside IMAX ® Theater, the Cousteau Society, Hampton History Museum, harbor tours and cruises, Hampton University Museum, Fort Monroe, award-winning Hampton Coliseum, The American Theatre, among others. Hampton was twice-named All-America City, the nation's oldest and most prominent community recognition award.
Author Information
Ryan LaFata
City of Hampton
