Kabochacon Anime Convention Bringing Japanese Culture Experience To Dayton
Kabochacon Anime Convention Bringing Japanese Culture Experience To Dayton
Fans of anime and gaming from all over expected to attend.
Dayton, OH -September 23, 2015: On October 23-24, 2015, Kabochacon will hold its first annual convention at The Hope Hotel & Richard C. Holbrooke Convention Center just outside of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This will be the first location for Kabochacon and should provide a warm environment for fans of Japanese animation (anime), comics (manga), tabletop gaming, and retro console gaming at the publicly accessible Hope Hotel in Fairborn. Kabochacon is working hard to create an experience that will have attendees coming back year after year.
Many anime convention attendees don costumes of their favorite characters when attending these conventions. Planned convention events include a variety of educational panels and workshops hosted by volunteers and guests; anime screenings; a costume and skit competition (the "Masquerade"); a talent show; performances by musical guests; an anime music video (AMV) contest; retro video game consoles and tabletop gaming; a micro-rave; and an exhibit hall of anime-themed merchandise and handmade creations from artists.
A number of Guests of Honor have already been announced for Kabochacon 2015. Voice Actress Madeline Actrice, known for her YouTube channel (Peepsiboo), where she dubs fan- comics of popular shows and webcomics; and Mogchelle, known for her cosplaying, will be hosting panels and meeting attendees. Pittsburgh Retro Gaming, known for their extensive collection of retro video gaming consoles; and The Otaku Clubhouse, a gaming group with an equally extensinve collection of tabletop games, will be providing an all inlcusive gaming experience. The full list of currently-announced guests is available at the convention's website.
Kabochacon admission will be $35 at the door. Admission includes entrance to the convention for both days. or $20 for each single day. More information regarding guests, location, programming and events is available at www.kabochacon.org.
About Kabochacon LLC: Kabochacon (www.kabochacon.org) is run by Kabochacon LLC, an organization dedicated to promoting knowledge and enjoyment of Japanese art, animation, and culture. The organization is run almost completely by volunteers and the Kabochacon convention is their primary annual event.
KABOCHACON 2015 ANNOUNCED GUESTS
The Otaku Clubhouse [Gaming Group]
Welcome to the
Clubhouse, where
new experiences
await. The Otaku
Clubhouse is a
cosplaying troupe who
bring their varied
talents to create fun
and unique anime
based events. For
Kabochacon 2015, we are running a maid/butler café style event in which we will
showcase several anime themed card, board, and role-playing
games for your enjoyment. From smaller “Appetizers” like Seven
Samurai, to “Entrees” like Legend of the Five Rings or Super
Dungeon Explore, to sweet “Dessert” party games. If those aren't
to your taste, we have several off menu options like Settlers of
Catan or Boss Monster. Everyone is welcome and it would be our
pleasure to serve you at Kabochacon 2015!
Jennifer Taylor [Cosplay Guest]
Jennifer Taylor
has 12 years of
experience in
cosplaying and 10
years in making
costumes. Like
most cosplayers,
she first shared
her love of the
fandom through
store-bought or
thrifted costumes
until becoming
ambitious, like most villains, to make her own. She credits her
husband Jason who first showed her how to use a sewing
machine and how to plan and envision the creation process.
Her first costume creation was ‘Sugar’ from A Little Snow Fairy Sugar, and subsequent costumes included various “couples cosplays” with her husband. Jennifer has also worked with making costumes for small productions, and is one of the creative minds behind the concepts of the musicals that headline at Animation and Gaming Convention. Since that time she has worked to expand her skills to props and plushies; such as an 8' long Appa plushie from Avatar: The Last Air Bender, Puppets of Zorn and Thorn from Final Fantasy 9, and her genderbent Loki costume with a horned helmet. Look for her upcoming costumes of ‘The Creator God of Light Horakthy’ from Yu-Gi-Oh! and ‘Ronan The Accuser’ from Guardians of the Galaxy. You can see more of her work at I Am The Villain Cosplay on Facebook.
Website: facebook.com/IAmTheVillianCosplay
Pittsburgh Retro Gaming [Gaming Group]
Pittsburgh Retro Gaming* will be bringing your childhood gaming
memories back from the past with an assortment of games and
systems (Nintendo, Sega, etc.) complete with old CRT monitors
for the full effect! Sitting on the floor eating cereal in pajamas not
included.
*PRG is a Facebook group for retro gaming enthusiasts in the Pittsburgh area, not to be confused with the Pittsburgh Retro Gaming Expo
Website: facebook.com/groups/PittsburghRetroGamingGuild/
CJ Bocchan [Cosplay Guest]
CJ began his
cosplaying at a young
age learning from
scratch about the
convention scene with
family. At the age of
fifteen was the
beginning of his
Performance career in
masquerades allover
the USA. Making lots of
costumes, advocating
for cosplayers against
bullying, doing panels,
and general fun hoopla
have become the
staple of this
cosplayer's fun and
dreams. "As a part of
Kangyaru Cosplay I am
afforded the opportunity
to enjoy performance
with my friends
exploring all that
nerdom has with antics, if I have learned one thing is that cosplay
continues to grow and adapt and I'm sailing along with it."
Website: facebook.com/BocchanthePrinceofRage/
Volt 44 [Chiptune Artist]
Volt 44 is a solo 8-bit project
from musician/programmer
Christopher Voss based out of
Salt Lake City, Utah. Music is
composed using Schism Tracker
as well as LSDJ, a sequencer
written for the Gameboy. Backed
by both male and female vocals,
Volt 44 is an eclectic blend of
synth pop and punk rock, with a
focus on hope in times of
darkness.
Website: volt44.bandcamp.com
Dsv101 [Chiptune Artist]
My name is David Vandal and I
have been a musician since an
early age when I started playing
guitar. I first heard of chiptune in
2011 and got hooked to the
unique timbre and sound all
together. My favorite release of
mine dropped in 2012 under the
title Deep Reflections In A Sham-
Snuggie. I currently write using
the gameboy software LSDJ with a mix of live instruments such
as guitar, bass, and the almighty Yamaha DX7. You can check me
out on bandcamp and soundcloud and that would be cool.
Website: dsv101.bandcamp.com
Madeline Actrice [Voice Actress]
Madeline
(aka
Peepsiboo) is
a smalltime
voice actress
with bigtime
heart and lots
of technical
know-how,
Elyria-born
and Akron-
local.
Her project
list is
exhausting,
but most
people know
her for her
YouTube channel, wherein she dubs fan-comics of popular shows
and webcomics, as well as some separate comic clips in
between. Over the course of a year and a half she went from
completely unknown to having 17,500 subscribers! More
important than a headcount, though, is her commitment to being a
positive role model for transpeople, and a visibly-out transwoman.
Website: youtube.com/user/angiesmod
SSD Engage [Electronic Band]
SSD Engage
is an
electronic
band from
Cincinnati,
Ohio,
comprised of
spOOked
(Michael
Bennett),
S.P.R.Y.
(Narayan
Choudury),
and
Disabletron (Jon Willingham). They make their sonic melting pot
from self styled 8-bit sounds derived from gameboys, other retro
video game consoles and original electronic beats. The addition
of a DJ mixer to the live performance brings the organic element
of a band setting into the new music paradigm of electronic
sound.
Website: facebook.com/SSDEngage
Cooshinator [Chiptune Artist]
Cooshinator
entered the
chiptune
scene in 2011
with a
Nintendo
Gameboy in
his knapsack
and a twinkle
in his eye. He
has since
won the world
three times
over and has
attracted
critics and
supporters
from every
corner of the
world with his
ethereal
demeanor and his seductive, daring approach to the postmodern
condition.
A localite Ohioatian, Chris "Casual" Calhoun, known by a small selection of academics as "The Observer", has been known to compose and—as observed by an elite few, although entirely unconfirmed—perform chip-music off of a Nintendo DMG, a system first introduced to the world in the infamous summer of 1973. He is currently nearing the completion of his doctorate in Pre-Swahili Confucianism with a focus in Hegelian Ante- Structuralism.
His music has been described as "enigmatic" and "seeping of innocence, lust, and wrath." He is best known for his extensive efforts in pioneering the "Post-Dance" genre, described by renowned saxophonist David Sanborn as "more a revolution of creative thought than a genre ... the most significant intellectual event of the century." And that is why Cooshinator is a talented musical artist who is worth checking out.
Website: cooshinator.bandcamp.com
Syrin [Cosplay Guest]
Syrin found out about
Steampunk in 2009, which
blossomed into a love of Anime,
Comic, and Horror conventions
(and the cosplays that followed!)
If not crafting and cosplaying,
she can often be found playing
fantasy-style RPG videogames,
playing music, or dancing. Syrin
actually started learning Middle
Eastern Dance (bellydance) in
2010 and adapted her own
version of fusion not long after.
She's excited to be at
Kabochacon this year, and can't
wait to see what happens!
Mogchelle [Cosplay Guest]
Michelle Mussoni, also
known in the Cosplay
world as Cospinay or
Mogchelle, started in the
costume world by just
being an average geek
attending a Japanese
Animation convention in
1999. Seeing all the other
people in costumes
around, just looked like a
fun time, like it was
Halloween all over again!
Her love for the artwork in
anime, video games, and
comic books made her
want to bring the 2D
images from the pages
and on the screen to real
life. She's also been
featured in several
national and international
magazines, and
interviewed by several
online entertainment news sources for her costume work.
Over the years she has won countless awards for both craftsmanship and performance, starting as a novice, and working her way up to the master level of competition as of 2003. In 2010 she had the honor of winning a chance at the Yume Cup at Anime Central, and was shipped off to New York City as the Mid-West representative in a nation-wide cosplay competition along with the very talented Alena VanArendonk from, “ ...And Sewing is Half the Battle!” to compete for the national prize of the Yume Cup! In 2012, she reached international award status by competing at the World Science Fiction Convention, where 2 awards were won, Best Re-creation, and a special Golden Quill award for a custom set of angel wings.
Every year she challenges herself to new techniques in the costuming and makeup world, and has created several of her own techniques as well, some which have made trained costumers and prop makers cringe, but then smile when they see it worked! Conventions across the country often ask Michelle to present a panel or workshop on how she does what she does. Those workshops vary from lightweight armor creation, molding and casting, wig design, wings, or character portrayal, with more being added every year, all in the effort to spread her love for DIY costumes for the average person who can't shell out thousands of dollars for wearable art.
She is open to a few slots every year for commissions to the public. She has done work for The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Manga/Starz Entertainment, Studio Ironcat LLC, and several other video game, comic book, and anime publishers across the country.
Also for 2015, she's adopted a non-profit organization to help fundraise for! For all of 2015-2016 25% of all print, accessories, and worbla profits are being given to Together We Rise! They're an amazing organization that works hard to help improve lives for children in the foster system in America! ♥
