MechaCon
MechaCon was an annual three-day anime convention held during the summer at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the oldest active anime convention in Louisiana.
| MechaCon | |
|---|---|
 MechaCon mascots: Jett and Zee | |
| Status | Defunct |
| Genre | Anime, Manga, Transformers, and Japanese culture.[1][2] |
| Venue | Hyatt Regency New Orleans |
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 2005 |
| Attendance | 18,645 turnstile in 2021[3] |
| Organized by | Sennin Productions, LLC[4] |
MechaCon was an annual three-day anime convention held during the summer at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the oldest active anime convention in Louisiana.[2]
Programming
[edit]The convention typically offered an artist's alley, cosplay competition, dealer's room, gaming, and maid/host show.[2][5]
History
[edit]MechaCon's inaugural weekend in 2005 is unique because Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the coast of Louisiana hours after MechaCon closed its doors.[6] The dealers room closed early and all but one guest made their flight. In 2006, as a special part of MechaCon's 2006 programming, Harmony Gold USA provided fans of the Robotech franchise with the first-ever public screening of the film Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. 100% of the funds raised from the screening was donated to The Salvation Army’s ongoing Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita recovery efforts.[7]
A 2019 press release announced that the final Mechacon, dubbed "Mechacon Omega," would be held in July 2020.[8][9] MechaCon 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10][11] The final MechaCon was held from July 23-25, 2021.[12]
Event history
[edit]| Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 26–28, 2005 | Hilton Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana | 900 warm | Tiffany Grant, Limit Break Cosplay, Joshua Seth, Doug Smith, and Alec Willows.[13] |
| August 11–13, 2006 | Hilton Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana | 1,275 warm | Garry Chalk, Lisa Furukawa, Brittney Karbowski, Limit Break Cosplay, Kevin McKeever, Scott McNeil, Richard Newman, Doug Smith, Kira Vincent-Davis, Brett Weaver, and Alec Willows.[14] |
| August 3–5, 2007 | Hilton Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana | 1,700 warm | Michael Dobson, Richard Epcar, Lisa Furukawa, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Limit Break Cosplay, Mike McFarland, Kevin McKeever, Scott McNeil, Ellyn Stern, and Jonathan M. Thompson.[15] |
| August 1–3, 2008 | Hilton Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana | 2,200 warm | Greg Ayres, Beau Billingslea, Steve Blum, John Chambers, Francesco Forni, Lisa Furukawa, Ilaria Graziano, Carl Macek, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Tommy Yune.[16] |
| July 24–26, 2009 | Hilton Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana | 2,850 warm | Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Garry Chalk, Samantha Inoue-Harte, David Kaye, Kevin McKeever, Vic Mignogna, and Wendy Powell.[17] |
| July 16–18, 2010 | New Orleans Marriott New Orleans, Louisiana | 3,700 warm | Chris Cason, Richard Epcar, Todd Haberkorn, Mari Iijima,[18] Mike McFarland, Kevin McKeever, Vic Mignogna, Tony Oliver, Wendy Powell, Ellyn Stern, J. Michael Tatum, Dan Woren, Tommy Yune,[19] and Robotech Convention Tour.[4] |
| August 26–28, 2011 | Hilton New Orleans Riverside New Orleans, Louisiana | 4,500 warm | Amelie Belcher, Steve Blum, Johnny Yong Bosch, Clover, Eyeshine, Lisa Furukawa, Kyle Hebert, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jonathan Klein, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Kevin McKeever, Scott McNeil, and J. Michael Tatum.[20] |
| September 7–9, 2012 | Hilton New Orleans Riverside New Orleans, Louisiana | 5,000 warm | Amelie Belcher, Eien Strife, Richard Epcar, Jason David Frank, Todd Haberkorn, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jonathan Klein, Brian "Kuragiman" Navy, April Martin, Carl Martin, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Vic Mignogna, Robby Musso, Daran Norris, Wendy Powell, Ellyn Stern, Jonathan M. Thompson, and Steve Yun.[21] |
| August 23–25, 2013 | Hilton New Orleans Riverside New Orleans, Louisiana | 11,300 turnstile | Karan Ashley, Johnny Yong Bosch, Steve Cardenas, Daniel Coglan, Jillian Coglan, Eyeshine, Walter E. Jones, Jonathan Klein, Cyril Lumboy, Jason Narvy, Paul Schrier, Hynden Walch, Greg Weisman, David Yost, and Tommy Yune.[22] |
| August 1–3, 2014 | Hilton New Orleans Riverside New Orleans, Louisiana | 13,953 turnstile | Amelie Belcher, Greg Cipes, Eien Strife, Tiffany Grant, Jonathan Klein, Brian "Kuragiman" Navy, Scott Menville, Jessica Nova, Khary Payton, Jessie Pridemore, Andrea Romano, Kelli Sarré, Spike Spencer, Tara Strong, Twinfools, Hynden Walch, and Greg Weisman.[23] |
| July 17–19, 2015 | Hilton New Orleans Riverside New Orleans, Louisiana | 15,180 turnstile | Steven Blum, Steve Kenson, Jonathan Klein, Kyle "Ex-Shadow" Mathis, Malinda "Malindachan" Mathis, Mike McFarland, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Courtney "Courtoon" Morelock, Nylon Pink, Brina Palencia, Austin Tindle, Greg Weisman, and Tommy Yun.[24] |
| July 29–31, 2016 | Hilton New Orleans Riverside New Orleans, Louisiana | 16,567 turnstile | Amelie Belcher, Caleb Hyles, Kazha, Courtney "Courtoon" Morelock, Jason Narvy, Khary Payton, Wendy Powell, Paul Schrier, and Steve Yun.[25] |
| July 28–30, 2017 | Hyatt Regency New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana | 14,808 turnstile | Aaron Dismuke, Richard Epcar, Caitlin Glass, Kyle Hebert, Caleb Hyles, Jonathan Klein, MeltingMirror, The Slants, Ellyn Stern, J. Michael Tatum, and Kimura U.[26] |
| July 27–29, 2018 | Hyatt Regency New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana | 16,495 turnstile | Anjali Bhimani, Beau Billingslea, Fighting Dreamers Productions, Erika Harlacher, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Brina Palencia, Bill Rogers, and Marc Swint.[27] |
| July 26–28, 2019 | Hyatt Regency New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana | 15,897 turnstile | Leah Clark, Kara Eberle, Kohei Hattori, Lindsay Jones, Jonathan Klein, Mela Lee, Keith Silverstein, TiA, Twinzik, and Hynden Walch.[28] |
| July 23-25, 2021 | Hyatt Regency New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana | 18,645 turnstile | Dani Chambers, Cynthia Cranz, Lisa Furukawa, Daman Mills, and Wendy Powell.[3] |
References
[edit]- ^ "MechaCon returns to Lafayette, LA in August" (Press release). AnimeCons.com. 2006-01-17. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
- ^ a b c Stromquist, Kat (July 31, 2016). "Androids and anime: a day at MechaCon (slideshow)". Gambit. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ a b "MechaCon 2021 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ a b "MechaCon Celebrates a Quarter Century of Robotech!" (Press release). Robotech. 2010-07-07. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ Cannon, Adam (September 12, 2013). "An Inside Look at the World of Mechacon". The Paper Wolf. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ Katrina's effects on the anime community, AnimeCons.com, 2005-09-05, retrieved 2018-07-30
- ^ Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles Charity Screening at MechaCon!!!, Harmony Gold USA, 2006-06-02, archived from the original on April 1, 2015, retrieved 2008-08-19
- ^ "Final MechaCon Anime Convention to Be Held in 2020". MechaCon. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
- ^ Sampey, Morri (January 15, 2020). "Mechacon is irreplaceable, but Wizard World can fulfill Louisiana con-goers". The Vermilion. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "MechaCon Omega postponed until 2021". MechaCon. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ "MechaCon 2020 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ^ "MECHACON OMEGA: REDUX July 23-25, 2021". MechaCon. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "MechaCon 2005 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "MechaCon 2006 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "MechaCon 2007 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "MechaCon 2008 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "MechaCon 2009 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "Louisiana's MechaCon Hosts Singer/Actress Mari Iijima". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ "MechaCon 2010 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "MechaCon 2011 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ^ "MechaCon 2012 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ "MechaCon 2013 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "MechaCon 2014 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ "MechaCon 2015 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "MechaCon 2016 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "MechaCon 2017 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
- ^ "MechaCon 2018 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "MechaCon 2019 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
Other Related News Articles
[edit]- WGNO’s Adam Bowles showcases all of the crazy costumes at Mechacon! WGNO, Retrieved 2018-08-07