A-Kon consists of many volunteer managed teams each dedicated to operating a portion of this large convention. Each year, usually in February or March, they post a web page for volunteer sign-up. Volunteers work at least sixteen hours during the weekend and receive a free pass to the convention. Working for 20 hours, volunteers aged over 18 can receive a hotel room, shared with 3 other staff members.
Programming
While the focus of the convention was originally centered on animefandom and screenings of films and television series, many other activities take place encompassing various segments of geek and Japanese pop culture. These events include panels with American authors and artists, a console gaming room, tabletop gaming room, cosplay, scavenger hunts, martial arts demonstrations, an art show, and concerts by Japanese and SteamPunk bands. The convention also maintains a vigorous social network presence on Facebook and Twitter, having about 15,000[3] and 7,000[4] followers respectively, through which they post information and run contests throughout the year.
History
The name seems to be a play on the early anime series Project A-ko.[5] A-Kon 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7] A-Kon 2021 was also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9] A-Kon 2024 was postponed due to various issues including financial problems.[10]
Robert DeJesus, DNA Productions, Ben Dunn, Neil Nadelman, Lisa "Honey-chan" Nelson, Fred Perry, Monkey Punch, Tomoko Saito, Sue Shambaugh, Toren Smith, and Adam Warren.[15]
Will Allison, Ippongi Bang, Steve Bennett, Pat Duke, Ben Dunn, Newton Ewell, Tiffany Grant, Amy Howard-Wilson, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Kuni Kimura, Neil Nadelman, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Shawn the Touched, Elin Winkler, Robert Woodhead, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[22]
Will Allison, Arik Renee Avila, Steve Bennett, Tippi N. Blevins, Rodney "Largo" Caston, Meg Chittenden, Dementia7 Studios, DNA Productions, Duel Jewel, Pat Duke, Ben Dunn, P.N. Elrod, Newton Ewell, Melanie Fletcher, Fred Gallagher, Tiffany Grant, Yaya Han, Matthew High, Taliesin Jaffe, Daniel Kanemitsu, Kobushi Taiko, Steve Kyte, Edward Luena, Lee W. Madison, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Scott McNeil, Lindze Merritt, Millermuller Ballet, Phillip Nelson, Jonathan Osborne, Panther Comics, Eddie Perkins, Fred Perry, Radio Comix, Xero Reynolds, Joe Rosales, Stan Sakai, Jan Scott-Frazier, Diana X. Sprinkle, Michael Suarez, The Sun String Quartet, Valkyrie Games, Joe Wight, and Elin Winkler.[27]
May 30 – June 1, 2003
Hyatt Regency DFW Dallas, Texas
7,413
Will Allison, American Dream, Arik Renee Avila, Greg Ayres, John Barrett, Steve Bennett, Bob Bergen, Kei Blue, Samuel Bohon, Camino, Jonathan Clements, Dr. Comet, Robert DeJesus, Dementia7 Studios, Doug Dlin, DNA Productions, Duel Jewel, Lee Duhlig, Pat Duke, Ben Dunn, P.N. Elrod, Rod Espinosa, Rhonda Eudaly, Newton Ewell, Bruce Faulconer, Melanie Fletcher, Iain Gill, Tiffany Grant, James Hanrahan, Kyle Hebert, Matthew High, Amy Howard-Wilson, Ursula Husted, David Hutchison, Charlene Ingram, Daniel Kanemitsu, Kikimo-dan, Steve Kyte, Jaxon Lee, Joshua Lesnick, Bruce Lewis, Edward Luena, Lee W. Madison, Manga Graphix, Lee Martindale, Carol McAlister, Helen McCarthy, Mike McFarland, Scott McNeil, Stephanie Nadolny, Lisa "Honey-chan" Nelson, Phillip Nelson, Jana G. Oliver, Chris Patton, Eddie Perkins, Fred Perry, Walker Plagge, Monica Rial, Sally Ridout, Kai Robertson, Jan Scott-Frazier, Rikki Simons, Diana X. Sprinkle, Brian Stelfreeze, Strong Arm Productions, The Sun String Quartet, Nobuyuki Takahashi, Jonathan Tarbox, Temple Studios, Eric Vale, Valkyrie Games, Michael Vega, J. Shanon Weaver, Jochen Weltjens, Joe Wight, Elin Winkler, Amanda Winn-Lee, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[28]
Will Allison, Arik Renee Avila, John Barrett, Steve Bennett, Samuel Bohon, Rick Bones, Camino, Michael Coleman, Zach Davis, Dementia7 Studios, Brad DeMoss, Doug Dlin, Do As Infinity (D-A-I), Lee Duhlig, Pat Duke, P.N. Elrod, Rod Espinosa, Newton Ewell, Bruce Faulconer, Steve Fellows, Fred Gallagher, Lauren Goodnight, Tiffany Grant, Alan Gutierrez, James Hanrahan, Kyle Hebert, Matthew High, Tony Hobdy, Amy Howard-Wilson, Ursula Husted, David Hutchison, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jonathan Klein, Steve Kyte, Mark Lancaster, Bruce Lewis, Lee W. Madison, Manga Graphix, Carol McAlister, Helen McCarthy, Mike McFarland, Scott McNeil, Stephanie Nadolny, Jonathan Osborne, Eddie Perkins, Walker Plagge, Psycho Le Cému, Xero Reynolds, Monica Rial, Sally Ridout, Kai Robertson, S. John Ross, Carrie Savage, Sean Schemmel, Jan Scott-Frazier, JE Smith, Diana X. Sprinkle, Brian Stelfreeze, The Sun String Quartet, Nami Tamaki, Jonathan Tarbox, Valkyrie Games, Michael Vega, J. Shanon Weaver, Jochen Weltjens, Joe Wight, and Elin Winkler.[29]
Tom Bateman, Ferret Baudoin, Steve Bennett, DJ Boss, Anthony Brownrigg, Robert DeJesus, Michael Dobson, Robin Atkin Downes, dream, Ben Dunn, P.N. Elrod, Newton Ewell, Melanie Fletcher, Fred Gallagher, Megan Giles, Kyle Hebert, Joel Heyman, Matthew High, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Tramell Isaac, Taliesin Jaffe, Kumiko Kato, Kobushi Taiko, Steve Kyte, Bruce Lewis, Masao Maruyama, Jonathan Mathers, Helen McCarthy, Mike McFarland, Vic Mignogna, Stephanie Nadolny, Phillip Nelson, Jonathan Osborne, Eddie Perkins, Fred Perry, Michael Pondsmith, Radio Comix, Xero Reynolds, Kai Robertson, Rooster Teeth Productions, Joe Rosales, Brian Ruh, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Yasufumi Soejima, Gustavo Sorola, Michael Suarez, Takahiro Umehara, Elin Winkler, Dan Woren, Toshifumi Yoshida, and ZZ.[31]
An Cafe, Peter S. Beagle, Steve Bennett, Bleedman, Brian Denham, Newton Ewell, Brian Glass, Kyle Hebert, Matt Herms, Samantha Inoue-Harte, ketchup mania, Steve Kyte, Bruce Lewis, Helen McCarthy, MELL, Vic Mignogna, Chris Patton, Wendy Powell, Scott Ramsoomair, Xero Reynolds, Rooster Teeth Productions, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Gustavo Sorola, Spike Spencer, David Stanworth, The Sun String Quartet, Jonathan Tarbox, Howard Tayler, Billy Tucci, Travis Willingham and Tommy Yune.[35]
Lynn Abbey, Vanessa "Vii" Arteaga, Keith Baker, Paul Benjamin, Steve Bennett, Anthony Brownrigg, Camino, John D. Carmack, Megumi Cummings, Steven Cummings, Camilla d'Errico, Brian Denham, Tim Eldred, Newton Ewell, Bill Fawcett, Melanie Fletcher, Anthony Gallela, Oscar J. Garza III, Yaya Han, Mohammad "Hawk" Haque, Kyle Hebert, DJ Infam0us, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Thomas W. Knowles, Steve Kyte, M. Alice LeGrow, Bruce Lewis, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Mike McFarland, Kevin McKeever, Vic Mignogna, Jody Lynn Nye, Ananth Panagariya, Chris Patton, Wendy Powell, Mike Resnick, Jeremy Ross, S. John Ross, Tony Salvaggio, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Jonathan Tarbox, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, Jonathan Thompson.[37]
June 4–6, 2010
Sheraton Dallas Hotel Dallas, Texas
17,596
Abney Park, Robert Axelrod, Peter S. Beagle, Steve Bennett, David Brehm, Anthony Brownrigg, Jon Buran, Ewen Cluney, Sheldon Drzka, Melanie Fletcher, Esther Friesner, Terrance Griep, Yaya Han, Victor Hao, Malcolm Harris, Chris Hazelton, Kyle Hebert, Steve Horton, DJ Infam0us, Thomas W. Knowles, Steve Kyte, Bruce Lewis, Catherine Lundoff, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Kevin McKeever, DJ Midget, Jim O'Rear, Jan Scott-Frazier, Jonathan Tarbox, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, Jason Thompson, Ursula Vernon, Crystal Yates, Stephanie Young.[38]
June 10–12, 2011
Sheraton Dallas Hotel Dallas, Texas
18,447
Lynn Abbey, Vanessa "Vii" Arteaga, Clint Bickham, Blood Stain Child, Jennie Breeden, Brentalfloss, Robert Brown, Anthony Brownrigg, Jon Buran, Chloe Chan, D, Brian Denham, Melanie Fletcher, Kaja Foglio, Phil Foglio, Brad Foster, Esther Friesner, J. Grant, Terrance Griep, Priscilla Hamby, Kyle Hebert, Mark Hildreth, Steve Horton, Amy Howard-Wilson, Mel Hynes, DJ Infam0us, Cherami Leigh, Bruce Lewis, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Kevin McKeever, Elizabeth Moon, Mandy "AmazonMandy" Moore, Monty Oum, Michael Poe, Amy Reeder, Emmanuel "Master" Rodriguez, Jonathan Tarbox, Adande "sWooZie" Thorne, Laura J. Underwood, and Eric Wile.[39]
June 1–3, 2012
Sheraton Dallas Hotel Dallas, Texas
21,982
Curtis Arnott, AYABIE, Steve Bennett, Brentalfloss, Nathan Robert Brown, Anthony Brownrigg, CJ Cherryh, Ming Doyle, Sheldon Drzka, Sarah Elkins, Jane Fancher, Melanie Fletcher, Quinton Flynn, Scott Frerichs, Esther Friesner, Catherine E. Hajek-Harris, Bev Hale, Yaya Han, Kyle Hebert, DJ Infam0us, Nick Landis, Chris Layfield, Cherami Leigh, Pascalle Lepas, Russell Lissau, DJ MaRia, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Vic Mignogna, Elizabeth Moon, Jana G. Oliver, OZ, Meredith Placko, Tak Sakaguchi, Rikki Simons, Sleeping Samurai, Elizabeth Sloan, Jesse Sosa, Dirk Tiede, Harry Turtledove, Lisle Wilkerson, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons.[40]
Curtis Arnott, Martin Billany, Exist Trace, Esther Friesner, Todd Haberkorn, Kyle Hebert, Lee Martindale, Kristen McGuire, Vic Mignogna, Elizabeth Moon, Meredith Placko, August Ragone, Sleeping Samurai, Jesse Sosa, Sonny Strait, Take One Productions, Jonathan Tarbox, Cathy Weseluck, and Lisle Wilkerson.[41]
June 6–8, 2014
Hilton Anatole Dallas Dallas, Texas
26,377
Curtis Arnott, Martin Billany, Anthony Brownrigg, Darren J. Gendron, Caitlin Glass, Yaya Han, Kyle Hebert, Amy Howard-Wilson, Taliesin Jaffe, Nick Landis, M. Alice LeGrow, Lee Martindale, Helen McCarthy, Elizabeth Moon, Gilles Poitras, Lawrence Simpson, Michael Sinterniklaas, Ken Steacy, Take One Productions, Jonathan Tarbox, and J. Michael Tatum.[42]
June 5–7, 2015
Hilton Anatole Dallas Dallas, Texas
29,383
Curtis Arnott, Nathan Robert Brown, Scott Frerichs, Caitlin Glass, Kyle Hebert, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Nick Landis, Bruce Lewis, Kristen McGuire, Amber Nash, Trina Nishimura, Bryce Papenbrook, Tyson Rinehart, Anthony Sardinha, Take One Productions, J. Michael Tatum, and David Vincent.[43]
June 3–5, 2016
Hilton Anatole Dallas Dallas, Texas
32,639
Airship Isabella, Steve Bennett, Morgan Berry, Jennie Breeden, Nathan Robert Brown, D-Piddy, Rob DenBleyker, David Doub, Megan Emerick, Bill Fawcett, Frenchy and the Punk, J. Grant, Todd Haberkorn, Ben Hamby, Yaya Han, Kyle Hebert, Natalie Hoover, Mel Hynes, Jeremy Inman, Nicole Marie Jean, Ryuu Lavitz, Cherami Leigh, Marquis of Vaudeville, Carl Martin, Kyle "Ex-Shadow" Mathis, Malinda "Malindachan" Mathis, Helen McCarthy, Dave McElfatrick, Kristen McGuire, Matthew Mercer, Alex Moore, Rika Muranaka, Jim O'Rear, Steam Powered Giraffe, Take One Productions, Austin Tindle, LeeAnna Vamp, David Vincent, Kris Wilson, and Yousei Teikoku.[44]
Ani-Mia, Tia Ballard, Amelie Belcher, Morgan Berry, Chris Bevins, Johnny Yong Bosch, Justin Briner, Clifford Chapin, Amber Lee Connors, Daydreamernessa, Terri Doty, Megan Emerick, Eyeshine, Haenuli, Yaya Han, DJ HeavyGrinder, Kyle Hebert, Matt Herms, Brenda Hickey, Natalie Hoover, Chuck Huber, Caleb Hyles, Imza, Carl Martin, Kyle "Ex-Shadow" Mathis, Malinda "Malindachan" Mathis, Helen McCarthy, Joel McDonald, Kristen McGuire, Brandon McInnis, Erica Mendez, Matthew Mercer, Vic Mignogna, Miss Octopie, Alex Moore, Destiny Nickelsen, Jim O'Rear, Atelier Pierrot, QuantumDestiny, Svetlana Quindt, Rachel Robinson, Christopher Sabat, Jad Saxton, Sonny Strait, Ciarán Strange, Take One Productions, J. Michael Tatum, Austin Tindle, Alexis Tipton, Vitamin H Productions, Jessica von Braun, Sarah Wiedenheft, and Lisle Wilkerson.[45]
Acme, Felecia Angelle, Tia Ballard, Amelie Belcher, Morgan Berry, Chris Bevins, Jessica Calvello, R. Bruce Elliott, Chris Guerrero, Yaya Han, Erika Harlacher, Atelier Heidi, Haruka Kurebayashi, April Martin, Helen McCarthy, Joel McDonald, Phil Mizuno, Moderately Okay Cosplay, Tony Oliver, Rachel Robinson, Ian Sinclair, Evil Ted Smith, Ciarán Strange, Saki Tachibana, Take One Productions, Kaiji Tang, Vitamin H Productions, Christopher Wehkamp, Lisle Wilkerson, and Sarah Anne Williams.[47]
Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas Toyota Music Factory Irving, Texas
Bryson Baugus, Beku Cos, Burnout Syndromes, Darkarnival Butler, SungWon Cho, Cowbutt Crunchies, Ben Diskin, Kara Edwards, Ricco Fajardo, Sandy Fox, Katelyn Gault, Yaya Han, Kaye Cosplay, Lex Lang, Cherami Leigh, Erica Lindbeck, Madkid, Kyle McCarley, Helen McCarthy, Joel McDonald, Phil Mizuno, Nano, Tony Oliver, Cory J. Phillips, Atelier Pierrot, Matthew David Rudd, Ciarán Strange, Take One Productions, Kaiji Tang, Diana Tolin, David Vincent, Vitamin H Productions, Vraskaa, and Sarah Anne Williams.[49]
References
^Maurstad, Tom (2003-05-30). "All anime, all the time; Convention offers round-the-clock immersion in Japanese animation". The Dallas Morning News. A grand total of 380 people attended the first Project A-Kon, way back in 1990. This weekend, more than 7,000 will flock to the Hyatt Regency DFW for the annual festival devoted to all things anime. Meanwhile, the number of vendors and exhibitors has jumped from a few to a few dozen.
^Maurstad, Tom (1997-06-01). "Convention becomes a bazaar for the bizarre; Costumed 'anime' fans crowd the Project: A-Kon marketplace". The Dallas Morning News. In its eighth year, Project: A-Kon has grown into one of the largest conventions devoted to anime (Japanese animation) in the United States - this year, guests from around the country are expected to push attendance over 2,000.
^Lowry, Mark (1998-05-29). "Go like Speed Racer to Japanese animation festival". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 46. The ninth annual Project: A-Kon, "the convention for animation and pop culture" known as the mother of American anime festivals, takes over the Harvey Hotel D/FW this weekend.
^Wilson, Susan Scott (1999-06-04). "Anything goes in this animated world". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 17. Project: A-Kon 10, which press releases call a convention for animation and pop culture, is the best place to start learning about the definitely over-the-edge world of Japanese animation.
^Maurstad, Tom (2005-06-01). "Big draw for fans of anime". The Dallas Morning News. Going into its 16th year, Project A-Kon has grown into one of the country's oldest and most important conventions celebrating Japanese animation. For three days, beginning Friday, at the Adam's Mark Hotel downtown, there will be all things anime.