[Alucard the Vampire]

Announcing Anime Midwest, a new convention for Chicago!

www.animemidwest.com
Pheasant Run Resort
July 15-17, 2011

You can join us on Facebook for the most updated information!

Pre-Registration:
$25 Early Bird Registration
$30 Pre-Registration
$35 At The Door

Guests So Far
Ellen McLain - GLaDOS, Caroline, Turrets
Sean Schemmel - Goku, King Kai
John Patrick Lowrie - Sniper (Team Fortress 2), Author
Samurai Dan & Jillian - Samurai Instructors
Micah Solusod - Soul from Soul Eater
LeetStreet Boys - Awesome Otaku Band

I'm personally most excited about Ellen (GLaDOS). That's one person that you won't get to meet at any other anime cons. Sean is also pretty cool, as is John. There's more guests to be announced, so don't think that's all we've got going on.

This post has been edited by Alucard the Vampire: 13 June 2011 - 01:46 PM

[GITS SAC Motoko]

Cool! Sounds great. I joined the group on FB. Can't wait for more updates. Can you also tell us when the site might be up and running?

[Exezer]

Cool...i joined the FB group too ....oh i would like to know that info too.

[excel excel]

Did you guys take the survey? I voted to have the con in the summer.

[Exezer]

Yep ....and i voted the same .....

[Alucard the Vampire]

Exezer, on 12 May 2011 - 07:28 AM, said:

Yep ....and i voted the same .....

About half of people have voted summer so far, and the next biggest was fall. So we might have to go with August if we can get a great space

[DarkMimi]

I would love to go, hopefully this year (if I'm working by that time and save up enough money). Not to mention, if it IS held in the city... McCormick Place? Very unlikely, but it would be convenient for travel.

[Soy Sauce]

I'm a bit confused on what's going on here. I'm happy that a new convention is coming out, but it's a little odd announcing a con that hasn't even completed or getting a location/dates/etc. yet.

Are you guys related to another convention that might be coming out, Anime World Chicago? They're coming out in August as well this year and IDK if you're the same con.

Hopefully the date is picked in a nice month. The only thing I can think of is the Mitsuwa Bon Odori festival which happens during mid August every year and many anime/cosplay Chicagoland people go there.

So we have ACen in May, Kollision Kon in November. Then there's my large gathering event, SoyCon, in July. Hopefully things will turn out well for this con.

[Alucard the Vampire]

Soy Sauce, on 12 May 2011 - 08:45 PM, said:

Hopefully things will turn out well for this con.

All good points, and I'm positive that we don't need to worry about how well things will turn out for us. I'm more concerned about not negatively affecting any other event. I know there's some other smaller events that time of year. I don't want to end up with dates the same time as another event - but it could be unavoidable. We sort of have to go with whatever the hotels say is best available. We don't have a ton of choice, XX

[Femme Fatale]

Took the survey. Hope this becomes successful.

[Snow_Storm]

Crossing my fingers that this will take place in July during the MLB All-Star Break so I can go! (I know it's gonna be in August but I can hope, right?)

Also gonna take the survey later in the day.

This post has been edited by Snow_Storm: 14 May 2011 - 11:14 AM

[The Fujoshi]

Wow another Chicago con!

Hoping it's in August too since I will be done with my community service as well as my job by then~

Not disregarding Snow storm's concerns da.

[gadgets]

Ramencon is on augest 19-21

[GITS SAC Motoko]

Took the survey. I'm hoping for July too..I'll be home for the summer and won't have to worry about any kind of homework or anything. ^^

[Lina]

I voted for Winter and Summer. I would much prefer winter because you have three Chicago anime cons within 6 months of each other and each is roughly 2 months apart. It would give plenty of people to save up money for the convention and if you do it in say February, that would be after OhayoCon which is pretty popular and just before ACen. YoumaCon is also popular and that's in the beginning of November. Also, there is Wizard World/Chicago Comic Con which is the second week of August and I know quite a few people attend that as well so I think August would be a poor choice to do the convention. In March there is C2E2 which is extremely popular among those who like comics as well as anime so I think winter may be your best choice, but doing it in say June wouldn't hurt as well since a lot of people who go to school will be done.

This post has been edited by Lina: 17 May 2011 - 11:58 AM

[KurolokiRoku]

So, three new cons in the same area? And here I was thinking anime was losing popularity for some reason.

I can't vote since I don't use facebook, but I think you guys should maybe not do it in August, since this other con that Soy Sauce mentioned already has a hotel for mid-August.

[MeliTza]

I'd say September would be a better bet, since it seems there are 3 other biggies in August... September might be nicer pictures for those of us with layered costumes too, hehe..

[Kokoro]

I agree with September or some other month. August is incredibly busy, not only with cons like Wizard World, Flashback Horror Weekend, etc, but with state fairs and other "summer-y" events. I'd probably be unable to attend another con in August. The only other con I know of in September is Madison's Geek.Kon.

[Hikari189]

September has Geek.Kon, Northern Michigan Anime Con, Cincinnati Comic Expo, and AWA. None of which are exactly close but they are already established cons that will potentially draw people away from the Chicago area (primarily AWA)

Speaking as someone who at one point was staffing 7 different cons, Fall is disgustingly oversaturated, Winter is pretty open but that's due to the competition with Christmas, Spring isn't awful but you'd be in direct competition with ACen and Summer is pretty jampacked as well. Really any month you go for is going to have competition, especially when you're trying to set it up in such a central location (I've found people from Chicago are far more willing to travel to cons than people in, let's say, St. Louis)

I'd argue that you should plan for next year. That way you have time to find a hotel and get contract details worked out and get a price that really works for you. Around this area, you're likely to be in contract talks for a couple of months unless you're independently wealthy and can afford to pay whatever numbers they throw at you. You'll also have more time to get guests that are actually going to make the attendees want to go to your con instead of some other one that you may be conflicting with.

Just some things that I've had to deal with working with other cons that you may want to think about.

[AcenFTW!]

How much will it cost to setup a booth, this seems promising and cool.

[Ayeka Sohma-Hitsugaya]

I'm asking a similar question as Soy Sauce. Are you guys aware of Anime World Chicago? Or are you guys the same convention? They're coming out in August too and they already have registration up and the guest list up.

[Kasin]

do u have a website?

[Alucard the Vampire]

Kasin, on 27 May 2011 - 01:09 PM, said:

do u have a website?

Work in Progress: http://www.animemidwest.com/

[The Phantom Tapper]

I definitely want to go at least one day. They finally put up the date and the place it will be at. The con is happening on July 15-17 at the Resort in St. Charles IL

[Lina]

Since it's in St. Charles, it will be more iffy for me to go. It's only 40 minutes away, but since I'd only want to go for one day, it might not be possible since I'm not going to request off work for it. I wish it weren't going to be in 1 1/2 months. Doesn't give me a whole lot of time to prepare. Oh well. If I don't go, then good luck with your convention.

And which hotel is it in St. Charles? I doubt there's a hotel called, "Resort". Unless it's supposed to be the Pheasant Run Resort.

[Rukariou]

Seems like such short notice. o.o I would have thought you would have waited until 2012. But, hey, what do I know, you guys might be super organized.

[The Phantom Tapper]

On the website it just said Resort, but I'm pretty sure they ment the Pheasant Run Resort

[Alucard the Vampire]

We're trying not to make a big deal of it until we finish our announcement emails, press release, and stuff like that, so that we can try to let everyone know at the same time.

[GITS SAC Motoko]

ANOTHER CON IN MY HOMETOWN???? HECK YEAH! That's what I'm talking about! And I'm so glad that I can go because it's in July and right near me. No school, no hotel money needed, (maybe a little to park, I think??) but still it's so close... thanks for putting it there and I hope it stays hehehehe~

[Mock-Kappa]

I would probably show up if it wasn't the same weekend as G-Fest.