There were plans to bring you a lot more of the inaugural anime convention in Kentucky...but the author made a silly promise to be somewhere else on Sugoi-Con's Saturday night. (Excuses begin here.)  So the author had to storm out of the convention on Saturday afternoon and rush cross-country to talk to people and eat free food on Saturday evening. Then he rushed back to Kentucky on Saturday night, only to find that the costume contest was over and all of the costumers were gone. And the author had to explain why he was wandering the halls in a rented tuxedo. So that's why there are no costume contest photos from Sugoi-Con on this site (the first time in three years that's happened). 

(Excuses continue.) And there was more real-world work for to do on Sunday. So (sigh), the author had to check out of the hotel on Sunday morning, jump in the car on Sunday afternoon and dash back home to keep the weekly-paycheck types happy. Almost.

It was still worth the effort to hang out with Midwest anime fans.

The last time the author was in the Cincinnati area and the trip didn't involve an airplane or a taxicab, he was at a sci-fi con. Tranquility Base was held in June of 1999 in some (presumably) expensive space in the downtown Cincinnati convention center, drew a couple of hundred people...and was never heard from again. 

In the meantime, a group of Ohio anime fans decided they wanted to hold their own anime convention in 2001 - but they couldn't wait that long. Instead, Sugoi-Con got its opening run in mid-November of 2000.

The convention ended up in Erlanger, Kentucky because there's no fun allowed in Cincinnati (that's closer to the truth than anyone wants to admit). Years ago, there was a beer named Erlanger; nowadays, the city is the home to a chapter of an organization that promotes the collection of beer advertising.

The odd sighting of the convention came from a friend who walked up to the author on Friday and said "I just saw Pete Rose!" The former Cincinnati Reds star had just left the Holiday Inn Cincinnati airport a couple of minutes before the author arrived. 

The author used to head to what was then called Riverfront Stadium to watch Rose in his prime, but anime conventions are more fun than baseball now. Less expensive, too...Rose and other 1970's stars of the Reds spent part of the weekend signing autographs for $30-$40 each. Cash. No one asked for a dime for autographs at Sugoi-Con.

Sugoi-Con wasn't just a small event, it was a tiny event. Sci-fi fandom has the phrase "relaxacon" to describe an event which is unhurried with no pressure and no rushing to get from one event to the other. The Kentucky event certainly fit that description, operating in an easygoing fashion. With only 400 people or so on hand for the weekend, things never got crowded. There was enthusiasm and a lot of youthful chattering in the halls, but no real feeling that anyone was going to take themselves or the event too seriously.

It was one of the few conventions this year where there was no wait for the elevators. 

Still, there were plenty of familiar faces, especially those who have built Anime Central. Many of the staff from the Illinois conventions were on hand to help run the Kentucky event (and one of the most popular exhibits in the dealers' room was the tape of the Anime Central costume contest).

And Akira Gajou was the revelation of this event. To think that such intense erotic fantasies come from a typical-appearing woman...

So, after 14 conventions in one year, what next?

First, the author hopes to keep up the same pace for a fourth year. Already there are plans to go to the same conventions in 2001 as in 2001, except for those weekends where favorite events are planned for the same weekend. (The choice between Anime Weekend Atlanta and Nan Desu Kan will be a tough decision.)

Second, the conventions keep growing and the number of events increases. Fans don't seem to mind going to the trouble of staging and attending these events. Oddly enough, the largest increase in the number of conventions has come in Virginia, which will hold four events in 2001.

As long as the economy stays good and whatever presidential administration we get doesn't turn oppressive, conventions should continue to thrive. They'll stay flawed, but they'll remain as special events in a world that too often can be hateful and mundane.