Your First Kumoricon

[spindrift]

This is the 4th year of Kumoricon and I first heard about in it's second year via a posting someone made on a yahoo group.  I checked out the web site and I signed up to be a volunteer, registered, and booked one night at the Marriot.  

I was so excited I had never gone to an Anime con before and I had never gone by myself.  I arived to see something amazing... Cosplay!  I could not believe all of these amazing costums that people made and were wearing!  I was need suprized at how friendly and how close everyone was it was hard to believe that anyone was a stranger.  

I stayed mostly in the dealers room drooling over anime I wanted to own but could not buy.  I had yet to know the joy of Manga sadly.  I ended up getting Plushy and Lain 1,2,3 DVDs.  Oh I also got a rice bowl set=^.^= along with ordering a hat to be made with kitty ears.  I also lived off of Pocky and Ramune..... Note Ramune is one of the most violet drinks I have ever known always drink it luke warm so that it tries to explode as you uncork the marble =^_^=

I didn't have a room to stay in for the second night so in my making of friends I found some people whom let me crash in there room for a few hours.

I volunteered watching the video rooms mostly and talked with new friends.  Became a fan of Invader ZIM and all of the insaine people whom enjoyed it as well.  

I met a great deal of people that I have since become friends with and  adore.  



So I want to hear how people first heard about Kumoricon!!!

[Neko_Chan]

I first heard about Kumoricon... Two Cons ago, but my parent's did'nt let me go. THere was a little section on Newtype USA devoted to US Cons and there was one in Portland. My friends and I really wanted to go, but we couldn't, so Kumoricon 2004 was a no-go... But we got to go to Kumoricon 2005 and it was the coolest thing I've ever been to. x_x I agre with you when you say that everyone is really close, like old best friends... maybe a little too close, ha ha.

[BigGuy]

I've been going since it started and was part of the anime group that grew up into Kumoricon, so now I help out as needed and hope to see the con continue to get better year after year.

[snakeling]

I heard about it when my sister called me and said Mike, that’s me, “I have this anime convention that were doing in Eugene and we have this dance going one of the nights, would you like to do lighting for it?”  Then I was called back about doing lighting for the main stage of the con, shining a couple of par cans on the main stage, to make it look more impressive.  Then I was called and asked “Can you run sound for the con they’re going to charge us a lot if we rent from the Hotel?”  Then I made three trips down to Eugene hauling lighting and sound equipment in a ford escort.  For a sound system I brought my dipole home theater speakers and a subwoofer and hooked it up to a ten channel mixer that I just bought, ran a bunch of xlr cables from my lighting rig and preyed everything worked well enough that they wouldn’t sue me.  I slept on my sister’s couch or under tables at the con worked about 15 hours a day and I’ve been involved with k con ever sense.  I liked the fact that they moved the whole thing to my home town of Portland.  It’s a lot less of a drive if I need to pick up some lamps at the last minute.

[sumomo_san]

I learned about it in the 2nd year by an article in the newspaper. My sister, best friend and I rushed to get a cosplay together in only 3 days. My friend and I ended up being Yoh and Anna from Shaman King. All the people and the giant dealers room were overwhelming. We were too shy to talk to anyone, but we had our pictures taken a few times. My mom fell in love with the AMV's so we watched almost the entire competition. We knew we HAD to go back next year, and we did, as more-social glomp-oriented too-tall Ed Elric T^T and Mew Ichigo.

[superjaz]

ah so long ago i had been randomly looking up anime convetion online and was like in oregon in oergon that was in 2003 the very first i made my younger bro a link costume and my self a pikachue costume met people i still talk to today had a blast and have spent every birthday there since

[kylite]

My first con was sakuracon, I was taken by a friend. It was a real blast but I had no costume and felt so very out of place. Shortly after I heard of kumoricon 2004. I ran over the night before to see if I could help in some way, got drafted as con setup and then security.  Fell in love with the role and have been a faithful con-goer ever since.

YOJIMBO RULES!

[Waffles]

My first Kcon and cons in general was kcon 04. I heard from mushoku that yatta dante was getting some friends together to go to the convention and I was like " why not I will go". I was in california at the time i heard about this and it was like a week or two before the con, so I flew up and hit up the con. we got to the convention a day early which took us forever,  Yatta dante knows why hehehehe anywho when we get to the hotel were all so excited we just couldn't hide it! well that night mushoku and i see that the game room is getting  setup (the 1st attempt to help the con) and say " hey needs some help my buddy and I can get this done in 5 mins flat".  Sadly we were turned down and crushed. so next morning we all get up bright and early to  get inline to do the reg/pre reg well I sadly did not pre reg so i sat in line and got my badge wohoo! well  etc etc etc open cermony etc etc etc gaming tournments like ssbm and Soul cal 2 were I yell "thats how you play golf"  other things like the open mic and just tons of other things oh yeah I also spent alot of my first con telling kylite what he could do in his outfit hehehe like "hey man you would be a great bellhop!" anywho con is over i go home cry a little and wait tell the next con to happen. well this time at kcon 05 I get my dream of helping the con and helping the con is what i did ^.^ well to sum it all up the con is a great thing and well just help her out she is our child and we have to keep her alive yo!

[Negima]

I've been going to Kcon since it first started in '03.  I think I heard about it from Fate Ruins, who told me about Tunac, which allowed me to find the forum, which led me to finding out about Kcon.
I cosplayed as Seta (Love Hina) which was pretty easy to put together.  It's also my backup cosplay if I can't think of anything or need a break.  I've also been known to wear it in public for "fancy" occasions (minus the lab coat).  Anyway... I fell in love with AMVs, bought a couple of copies of Stellvia before they were dubbed (still have them in good condition ^_^), and loved every minute of it.

I don't know what it is but there is a connection between all of us when we go to Kcon.  I think it's because we all have so much in common as far as anime goes that we're bound to find something in common with someone there.  Mental example running through my head:
"Ranma?"
"What?"
"Escaflowne?"
"Who?"
"Kino's Journey?"
"YES!! Oh I loved that.  I thought I was the only one.  Remember the part where..."
And a friendship is formed.  ^_^

Another part of it may be the fact we "know" each other over the forums and it's fun to match a face with an avatar/username.

[Eternal Yamcha]

My first convention was GameStorm 2002 when I went like... 0 - 6 in the DBZ tournament ;_; I lost terribly.

My first ANIME convention was K-Con 2k4. I found out about the convention way back in like March of 2004 and was told by someone "If you don't go, I'll kill you." The irony was she didn't go to the convention.

I went there with my brother who was cosplaying Cloud Strife from Advent Children and hung out with a ton of friends like the guy who cosplayed Dan and uhm... The other character I can't think of (I know them personally.) E. Honda, met Bakazoku and shenanigans insued, the guy who played Vega and of course, the karaoke competition where E. Honda and Jeff lifted my brother up in the air and used him as a "lighter."

I had an insane amount of fun there... Hung out with Kylite a ton (we'd been friends for a couple years before that though) and spent most of my time on Dynasty Warriors 4 down in the game room (trying to "show off" by killing Lu Bu on hard with an under worked Xiahou Dun -_- Did NOT work like it does when I am home.)

The highlight of the K-Con 2k4 for me was, without a doubt, the T-Shirt Ninja gig that my friends Jeff, Brad and I did. We also joined up doing the sign line (two other girls we know personally started it and Jeff joined up, then I joined up, the Brad joined up etc.) I was the white t-shirt ninja. Ended up kissing a guy (with my mask on) and kissed Jeff (both of us had masks on.) That was beyond amazing.

We also did the 1 hour planned sketch of "There's No Such Thing as a White T-Shirt Ninja" (or something like that.) We decided to sign up for the cosplay competition 5 minutes before they closed registration for the event, we signed up and had NO CLUE what we were going to do. So that entire skit was finished in an hour. We didn't win awards though ;_; Understandable, we kinda pulled that outta no where.

K-Con 2k5 was well... Let's just say that I have those three days off reserved solely for K-Con 2k6. If I get a job and they don't let me have those days off, I quit. So yeah, 2k5 rocked hard core.

As for the so called "connection" random strangers have I'm not so sure. I think it's more-or-less us being who we are at the convention more so than in other places... I don't think we put on a face when we go to the convention, we're pretty much who we are underneath the masks we put on daily. Many people hide the fact that they're anime fans as if anime is taboo... But at a convention, they can allow themselves to open up as a fan and since there is one less restriction, for many many people a huge restriction, we are able to be who we are. It does help that we all have one thing in common that is held relatively close to our hearts.

Okay, I'm done. Time to eat an entire box of Rice-A-Roni!

[the_wind_the_sea]

I was asked to join Miracle Senshi in July 2003, and be part of their performance for Kumori-Con 2003. I had already atteneded two Sakura-Cons, so I was like, why not? So, I went to Kumori-Con. Had a blast!  Started going with my ex-boyfriend that weekend, and just overall had a great time! I'm now hooked on Kumori-Con. I like it a lot. ^_^

[makichan]

ah, I remember it as if it yesterday. We were hanging out at a friend's house and when she just randomly brought it up we were all like, "let's go!" it was the day before the con, and we didn't get in the first or second day, but the last day we got in.

[Kimiski]

I first heard of Kumoircon when i was talking about anime conventions and how it was my dream to go and Oregon didnt have any. Then my sister told me her friend went to a convention called Kumoricon. This was before it was considered Portlands Convention. So we did some reserach and found out it was coming to Portland so we went. I think it was in 2003.
I remember how awed I was when I saw people just like me with the same interest dressed as their favorite anime charatcers. I also remember that they had no idea how big they turned out to be, so everyone that didnt pre-register couldnt get in no matter how far they travled. Luckily me and my friend had pre-registered but my sister and her friend didnt!!! So we could get in but they couldnt and they were our guardians since we were only 13 at the time! Luckily she was allowed only in the dealers room and she was nice and let us go on ahead and go about the con while she was stuck in that one room for hours. So we went all the way back to Salem and ended up going back for another day,(We didnt know that pre-reg got us a ticket for all three days back than, so we were pretty happy when we found that out so we could go again without paying again.) the guy at the door said they would let her in guaranteed if she came back the next time.
Now everytime we pass that hotel we all reminese. It was an awesome experience and we've been going ever since!! Last Kumoricon for 2005, we finally got to stay all three days at a hotel since im older now. ^___^
LONG LIVE KUMORICON!! PORTLANDS ETERNAL ANIME CON!!!!

[rarnom]

I heard about Kumoricon just by chance.  I was doing some google searching for 'anime conventions' and 'oregon' and I found it.  This was a while ago and it was for the first one.  I think the search took me to the old TUNAC UofO anime club forums and that is how I found it.  I really enjoyed the first Kumoricon.  I still think that the first Kumoricon had the best dealer room BY FAR of all of the Kumoricons.

[Kimiski]

I heard about Kumoricon just by chance.  I was doing some google searching for 'anime conventions' and 'oregon' and I found it.  This was a while ago and it was for the first one.  I think the search took me to the old TUNAC UofO anime club forums and that is how I found it.  I really enjoyed the first Kumoricon.  I still think that the first Kumoricon had the best dealer room BY FAR of all of the Kumoricons.

Yeah I agree with you on that one.

[BlackjackGabbiani]

My first Kcon was the first Kcon. I had sprained my knee the week before, so I was on crutches most of the time. If anyone remembers a lame Hojo, that was me.

[Catgirl Rin Rin]

Minna-Chan, this will be my first Kumoricon and the first ever convention I've ever been too! I REALLY hope I can go! Transportation to the con will be hard though ^^; I live in Gold River, on Vancouver Island, B.C!



 My sister lives in Vancouver, and I may have a parent drive me there. Or, I've heard I could take a bus down the island to Nanaimo and take the ferry to Vancouver. But from Vancouver on, I'm not sure how I can get there.. Can I go by plane to Portland? Or, eto, is there another way? Is anyone going from Vancouver to the con and could possibly pick up a needy pikachu? XD I'm gonna do my best to make a Pikachu mascot-style costume like this one!



 It'll be lots of work, but I'm starting to sketch and plan, and figure out what I need! I've got some mattress (the funny bumpy kind) and I've got access to more from thrift shops, and have chicken wire and everything. I'm, going to make a "bowling pin" shape frame, and add on from there. I hope I can get into it somehow, I'm kinda chubby/pudgy, maybe a bit more than that, but the extra is mostly around my waist ^^; I'm hoping to work it off lately!

 Anyways, I have a question! *raises a hand* Are there many doors to walk through? Are they double doors? I'm just concerned about the size of the mascot costume, and what kind of problems I may run into. I don't want to go to the con in costume and find I can't through the door because I made pikachu as rolly/polly/roundy as he is ^^; She?


- I mean, look, Pikachu has hips! XD

 Anyways, yar, info on the doors at the con will be much much appreciated! =]

 Any tips to give a new conventioner?

Aww, Black Jack-San, at least you pulled through and went! Admirable, you going even though you were lame =D I commend you! I'm Victoria, by the way, it's nice to meet you! *shakes your hand*

[BlackjackGabbiani]

Oooh, a fellow Poké-fan. Anyway, pleased to meet you, I'm Blackjack.

[Catgirl Rin Rin]

^^ I hope we can be friends, BlackJack-San! I'd love to talk to an "already been to cosplayer!" Maybe, could we chat on MSN or something, some time?

 Eto, how did you find the experience at the convention?

[superjaz]

wow that brings me back, i went to my very first kumoricon dressed as a pikachu

[Nyco27]

I can't remember how I heard about it, some mailing list or something mentioned the idea of an anime convention in Oregon, specificly in Eugene. I'd been trying to make it to sakuracon for years but never had the transport or money so I emailed Peter (our first con chair) and asked where to sign up. That was summer of 2003, and I've been neck deep with the con ever since.

Nyco

[Negima]

@Catgirl Rin Rin
I could be wrong, but I think the Amtrak train goes through Vancouver.  You could take that down to Portland.  Then you would just have to find out how to get there from the station (taxi, the MAX)

[Catgirl Rin Rin]

Hai! ^^ Thank you, Negima-San! I did a search and found the Amtrak train website. I've found a package that will get me from Vancouver to Seattle, and a train switch from Seattle to Portland in one day. It's perfect, I just need to get to Vancouver ^^; My sister lives there, so maybe I can get a parent to take me there and then send me on my way =D

 The problem is getting my costume there... It's going to be pretty big, not too much, but big enough to be a problem. I did a pattern test on my little brother Matthew XD It looked hilarious! I did the pattern on fabrics I'd never use nor anyone with eyes, and superglued them in the right places. Superglued with 2 small sticks - It wasn't made to last, only to see where I needed work, and what worked and didn't.

 I had him wear it, glued cardboard ears on the top of his stuffed head, and had him do things in it. He could get through a door fine, could jump and I'll have to work on the arms and legs sometimes because I just let holes there.

 XD He waddled everywhere...

 So thanks for the info, Negima-San! What's your name, may I ask? =]

[superjaz]

Negima-San rocks he told me about a store i could go to in Japan that was loaded with anime stuff called animeta drool wahhhh my wallet was stollen 2 weeks ago and thsts one of the things i lost was my animeta punch card

[Pie Row Maniac]

I was at SakuraCon a couple years back and a guy me and my friends were talking to mentioned a con in Oregon. My ears perked up and searched for anime cons in Oregon and luck would have it that it was in Portland. Woot.

[Barb]

last year, 2005 kumoricon was my first anime con ever and I first heard about it in my 2D animation class there were small cards with the info on the con in my class and I picked up one, and turned to my class mate and asked what's this? then she explained me  and I disappeared to find a computer so I can register before it was too late. I grabbed my roommate and her boyfriend and we were there. it was grrreat last year ^_^
looking forward to this years ehheh

[Kimiski]

OMG.. Does anyone from Kcon03 remember the Trigun AMV to "Walk 500 miles" and during the closing ceremoney everyone who was at the AMV contest demand he play it again and EVERYONE started singing and clapping and cheering along? THAT WAS SO AWESOME!

I knew right then these were my kinda of people.. crazy and fun, LOL.

[Wolf Wood]

i heard it from Sakura con this year

[Catgirl Rin Rin]

Awesome! Man, I can't wait for this convention! Although I wish it'd slow a bit more in coming - I haven't made much of anything this week XP

 Ah well, the door question - does anyone know about the doors? Are there alot of them? Or what are the halls like? Are there just double doors that are open like that, because I've seen many cosplayers large in width from wings and such - I need to know the size limit for my Pikachu ^^;

 Any word on this is muchly appreciated! *Pockys everyone*

[Wolf Wood]

where is it going to be at jantzen beach (if thats how you spell jantzen) Im gonna try and glomp you cat girl rin rin-san

[Eternal Yamcha]

From what I have heard, it's going to be at the NEW Red Lion Hotel in Jantzen Beach (NOT to be comfused with the Red Lion at the Quay... Which is almost a stone's throw away in Vancouver.) It use to be a Double Tree Hotel and I went there for a couple conventions a few years ago. Very nice place (if they hadn't changed much of the insides.)

If I remember correctly *fuzzy memory warning* the main entrance's doors (I entered the hotel through the western doors) were quite large and the hallway up on the second floor (taking the stairs to your right) were fairly wide (I didn't have to scoot over to the side to let someone else through.) But again, it may have changed.

If your suit isn't more than 5' in width you should be good.

[Catgirl Rin Rin]

OH wow, thank you so much Yamcha-San! ^____^ I've been worried that my costume wouldn't fit through the doors and I'd be manga-style crying, trying to wiggle through the frame like Winnie the Pooh when he was stuck in Rabbit's door.
 
 5'? That's *feet*? That's great! I was so afraid I couldn't go further than 3', and that'd make a skinny Pikachu, ne?


 Awww XD I'd so glomp you too, W-W! Ahaha, I'll call you Double-U, or W-Chan!

 *glomps* ^^

[Eternal Yamcha]

Well... Don't get all lovey-dovey with me, the information I provided you is speculative at best... I haven't been inside of the building since March of 2004 and haven't been near it since the remodeling, so things may have changed, they may not have. When I went to the regional tournaments in it, I was pretty much secluded to one large room for about 10 hours, so I never really got a chance to explore the hotel.

[makichan]

Well... Don't get all lovey-dovey with me, the information I provided you is speculative at best... I haven't been inside of the building since March of 2004 and haven't been near it since the remodeling, so things may have changed, they may not have. When I went to the regional tournaments in it, I was pretty much secluded to one large room for about 10 hours, so I never really got a chance to explore the hotel.

hhhhmmmm makes me wanna check it out for funzies....... arg stupid procrastinated self and not getting my liscense sooner..... pahaha there's always tseng to give free car trips.... mmmmyes

[rosaryblue]

I heard of the first Kumoricon back in November 2002.  It was a week before the convention and thought, wow, a convention in Oregon.

  That night before the convention, I packed and went to bed.  I was so excited I could not sleep!  Hours pass and still no sleep.  With only thirty minutes of sleep, I began driving to Eugene,  sight of the first year Kumoricon.  

  It was a four hour drive from Seattle.  I was okay the first hour but the following hours, pure driving hell.  In the driving rain.  Mileage driving me crazy.  Fun and memories as I arrived after a legendary drive.

Fourth year and going strong.  This time, I have a few days in the hotel before and after the convention.  The drive from Seattle is still there but now I have plenty of time to rest.

Go 'four' Kumoricon!

____________________

"Coffee for the driver, gas for the vehicle."

[leashy]

Rin Rin don't worry, Janzten Beach is like right over the bridge from my house so we will be fine!  It'll be fun!

[Catgirl Rin Rin]

X_X Woooooah! I didn't know you lived THAT close!

 Thanks for the "no worries" and thinking about me, just in case if I was worry, which I haven't had time to do so yet ^^;

It'll be fun is right! *throws celery sticks with cheese whiz everywhere*

 

By Rosaryblue:

I was so excited I could not sleep! Hours pass and still no sleep.

 That's gonna be me! Leashy-Chan, I'll probably be too excited to sleep!

[Miss Faye]

kcon 05 was my first con ever and i cosplayed and everything. it was pretty freakin awesome dude...let me tell you.

[Waffles]

oh I bet it was probally because you met the goggle squad!

[kylite]

a note to yamcha: everything seems big to u man, ur TINY!

[leashy]

oh I bet it was probally because you met the goggle squad!

More likely because she was wearing hot pants, i can imagine that would make quite a few men drool.

[Eternal Yamcha]

Kylite: Bah! I'm short and thin, but not tiny >.< It just so happens that many of my friends are taller than me... Look at Jeff/Zhalfirin/Bishi Catboy Ninja/etc. He's like 6'5" or something. Not like height means anything, if you're taller than me cool, make fun of me for being small and I swear I'll bite your knee caps off.

[Waffles]

Well don't worry I am 6ft 5 and I wont call youu shorty

[Miss Faye]

wait... was the hot pants comment about me...or someone else?

[Waffles]

you sweetie

[Kimiski]

Also about my first kumoricon (2003) was also my first convention ever. So I was scared to cosplay because I was scared I would be one of the only people in costume and feel dumb. My sister kept teling me over and over this wasnt like a book release or movie release or anything, this was differnt. But I was terrified. I was such a noob, lol. Luckily I went through with it and it was AWESOME. Now I have no fear, lol.

[leashy]

wait... was the hot pants comment about me...or someone else?

Yes about you ^^ not making fun of you though so don't take it negatively <3

[Krn Doxy]

I first heard about Kumoricon at Sakuracon 2006.  I will be coming down from Washington- hope to meet some cool Portland people!

I've been to Portland several times before actually- I met a guy named Kirk (Curt?) who said he was going to Sakuracon, but I didn't see him.  I was there because of the Mt. Hood Orchestra Festival.

I will be a short Asian girl cosplaying as Kimihiro from xxxholic and both Tifas.  

I'm really excited, as I'm sure everyone else is.  Catch y'all later!

The name's Jenny Kim, by the way.

[Hell_Kitty]

My Gf and me were in a suncoast and there was this man that just wouldn't stop pestering us then he eventually brought up kumoricon which was going to be in 2 days were we like O_O anime con in portland O_O long storie short she made a costume in 4 hours and we had to have my parental come down to the hotel 3 times and still ended up going saturday instead of friday (thank god)

[the_wind_the_sea]

wait... was the hot pants comment about me...or someone else?

If anyone remembers my first Kumori-Con cosplay, it could have been about me. I was Sailor Star Maker.... Eugene Thanksgiving Day Weekend + Hotpants = Sick me... Yeah, hotpants in Eugene don't go over well.

[Misuteru]

First time I went was at the second con... I went with a friend on saturday and we were the last people allowed in at the time....we stayed for three hours and when we left we realised there was an upstairs...

Then I went last year with three friends, we all pre-registered and were there for all three days...great fun....

I'll still never forget Naruto duck duck goose or Butternut...some of the greatest times of my life....

[Hawkeye]

My first con was Kumoricon 2005.  I have always enjoyed anime, and got politely dragged along to a couple of meetings that year by kylite and darkerlight.  After the first few, I decided what the heck and volunteered to do yojimbo for my first con.  Ended up being one of the best decisions I made, as I had an absolute blast last year.  Lots of awesome costumes and cool people to stay up all night with.

[Hawkeye]

butternut kicked major ass.  another good memory for me was the night before the con started when kylite and I got stationed at the pre reg desk and the goggle squad boys came up looking forlorn and bored because it was past midnight and they didn't want to go to bed, so we put them to work helping string up lanyards.  amusing how much work 5 teenage boys can get done when they actually put their minds to it, LOL

[Vondan]

This next Kumoricon will be my first even though I was there when it all began.  

Dream sequence flashback dissolve to:

I was a non-student member of TUNAC.  The kids had been kicking around the idea of a convention aiming toured November (Maybe 10 months away).   I was jazzed by the idea as there are Zero conventions in Eugene with fan participation, IE the so called Comic Convention is more of a trade show and swap meet, you Look, you buy, you go home.   It was the inner circle of the TUNAC leadership who were working on the idea and I was the creepy old guy out so I did not have all the details.   In hindsight I should have mentioned that I majored in technical theater and had experience in setting up and staging event locations and managing the circus behind stage, and my brother Un-Law has a company that puts together national trade shows and CONVENTIONS.  As it went I had work or school that kept me away from campus on Thursdays so I dropped going to TUNAC and still went to the other club on Fridays.   Next thing I know it was November and the con was a few days away.   So I reached in my closet and pulled out the outfit I wore to the MIB premiere and was going to go as a Sodat Gunman from Noir or a Turk from FF7.  I had work on the Friday and Saturday and had my outfit laid out to go Sunday and attend some of the writing seminars (this was a year or so after I started my Epic JEDI CHICKS fan fiction that has shown up in printouts at LFL/ILM security meetings).   Of course being as old as I was I slept though Sunday and missed it.      

This is Uma and I in the outfits we were going to ware to K Con 01

http://vondan.com/dan/studio/fiction.jpg

[Xaam]

My first Kumoricon was very...oh wait....I haven't gone yet.