Setsucon

Last updated
Setsucon
StatusActive
Genre Anime, Manga, Japanese culture [1] [2]
Venue Blair County Convention Center
Location(s) Altoona, Pennsylvania
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated2007 [3]
Attendance2,038 in 2023 [4]
Organized byPenn State Anime Organization (PSAO) [2] [5]
Website http://www.setsucon.com/

Setsucon is an annual three day anime convention held during January/February at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania. [3] The convention's name comes from the Japanese word setsu, meaning "snow". It is organized by the Penn State Anime Organization (PSAO). [2] [5] The convention is family-friendly. [6]

Contents

Programming

The convention typically offers an anime music video contest, anime showings, artist alley, card-game tournaments, dance, dealer's room, Iron Cosplay, Itasha car show, manga library, masquerade, musical events, panels, tabletop gaming, video gaming, and workshops. [1] [5] [6] [7] [8] The 2008 host auction raised $1,200 and was donated to the United Way. Todd Haberkorn participated in the 2013 host auction, raising $510 for charity. [9] The host auction in 2014 raised nearly $500 for Child's Play. [10] [11] Richard Epcar and Stephanie Sheh participated in the 2015 host auction, along with several cosplayers, raising $800 for Child's Play. [12] Setsucon in 2018 had over 130 hours of convention programming. [2] The 2022 charity video game tournaments benefited the National Alliance on Mental Illness. [13] Charities the convention supported in 2023 were the Colon Cancer Coalition and Jared Box. [8]

History

Due to financial issues, the convention's first year in 2007 was reduced from three days to one day. [14] In 2008, the convention expanded to two days due to additional funding. [5] In 2010 on Saturday, Setsucon reached its venues capacity limit of 900 people before noon. [15] The artists' alley and dealers' room were expanded in 2014. [1] The dance was shut down early in 2015 because of complaints including poor behavior. [12] In 2017, the convention showed never before seen clips from anime licensor Pied Piper, Inc. of the dub for Skip Beat!. [16] In 2018, the convention moved to the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania. [2]

Setsucon due to the COVID-19 pandemic was scheduled to move to April for 2021, and would also have Friday programming. [17] [18] [19] Instead, Setsucon held a virtual event in April, and in 2022 returned to January with a three day event. [18] [19] [20] The 2022 convention had COVID-19 protocols including masking and vaccination/testing requirements. [13]

Event History

DatesLocationAtten.Guests
January 27, 2007Days Inn State College
State College, Pennsylvania 		288 [21]
January 26-27, 2008Days Inn State College
State College, Pennsylvania		D-Chan, Kyle Hebert, Dave Lister, and Chris "Kilika" Malone. [22]
January 17-18, 2009Days Inn State College
State College, Pennsylvania		About 600 [7] Robert Axelrod, Dave Lister, Chris "Kilika" Malone, Yuko "Aido" Ota, Ananth Panagariya, and This Place is Haunted. [23]
January 16-17, 2010Days Inn State College
State College, Pennsylvania		 M. Alice LeGrow, Chris "Kilika" Malone, and Vic Mignogna. [24]
January 29-30, 2011Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel
State College, Pennsylvania		 Todd Haberkorn and Chris "Kilika" Malone. [25]
January 28-29, 2012Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel
State College, Pennsylvania		Antipode, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Kyle Hebert, Uncle Yo, and Greg Wicker. [26]
January 26-27, 2013Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel
State College, Pennsylvania		1,300 [1] Antipode, Martin Billany, Todd Haberkorn, Cherami Leigh, Dave Lister, Uncle Yo, and DJ Zing. [27]
January 25-26, 2014Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel
State College, Pennsylvania		Nearly
1,500 [28] 		Antipode, Leah Clark, Richard Epcar, Todd Haberkorn, Kambrea Pratt, Thom Pratt, Ellyn Stern, Alexis Tipton, Uncle Yo, Greg Wicker, and DJ Zing. [29]
January 24-25, 2015Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel
State College, Pennsylvania		1,200 [12] Antipode, Richard Epcar, Rusty Gilligan, Stephanie Sheh, Ellyn Stern, Uncle Yo, and DJ Zing. [30]
January 30-31, 2016Toftrees Golf Resort & Conference Center
State College, Pennsylvania		Antipode, Chris Bevins, Natalie Hoover, Rachel Robinson, Uncle Yo, and DJ Zing. [31]
January 21-22, 2017Toftrees Golf Resort & Conference Center
State College, Pennsylvania		Antipode, Kira Buckland, DJ-R, Ralph "Ralfington" Edward, Erica Lindbeck, Keith Silverstein, and Uncle Yo. [32]
January 27-28, 2018 Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania 		Antipode, Leah Clark, Amber Lee Connors, Daman Mills, Micah Solusod, Lex Winter, and DJ Zing. [33]
January 26-27, 2019Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Antipode, Brianna Knickerbocker, E. Jason Liebrecht, Elizabeth Maxwell, and Lex Winter. [34]
January 25-26, 2020Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Antipode, Awesomus Prime, Kohei Hattori, Billy Kametz, Faye Mata, TiA, and Lex Winter. [35]
April 10-11, 2021Online conventionAntipode, Awesomus Prime, Heroes 4 Hire, Sarah Natochenny, and Lindsay Seidel. [19]
January 28-30, 2022Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Antipode, Awesomus Prime, Heroes 4 Hire, Brittany Lauda, n00neimp0rtant, Otaku Ongaku, Matt Shipman, ThaGataNegrra, and Lex Winter. [36]
January 13-15, 2023Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		2,038 [4] Antipode, Awesomus Prime, Aaron Dismuke, Kohei Hattori, Heroes 4 Hire, Sarah Wiedenheft, Lex Winter, [4] and Fake Idol Project. [8]
February 2-4, 2024Blair County Convention Center
Altoona, Pennsylvania		Antipode, Chris Hackney, Heroes 4 Hire, ThaGataNegrra, Lex Winter, and Anne Yatco. [37]

Associations

Setsucon is a member of the International Otaku Expo Association (I.O.E.A). [38]

Setsucon has sponsored a Costume Contest at Schlow Centre Region Library's BookFestPA event, run during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. [39]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Klose, Jason (January 24, 2014). "Setsucon opens doors to fans of anime". Center Daily Times. Archived from the original on January 27, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hicks, Cherie (January 19, 2018). "Celebrating anime culture: Convention outgrows State College and moves to Altoona this year". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 Cowan, Laramie (26 January 2019). "Annual anime convention returns to Blair County". WJAC. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "Setsucon 2023 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Burnham, Caitlin (January 28, 2008). "Fans tap into animated identities". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Drumm, Amanda (January 17, 2020). "Anime abounds". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  7. 1 2 Bickel, Chris (January 15, 2010). "Anime convention visits State College". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 Keith, Cati (January 14, 2023). "Anime-zing weekend: Setsucon convention brings revenue, fun". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  9. ↑ Beatty, Lily (January 28, 2013). "Anime lovers unite at convention at Penn Stater". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  10. ↑ Faraji, YaaAsantewaa (January 29, 2014). "Penn State-made Anime Convention 'Setsucon' grows in size". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  11. ↑ Aamesh, Waiss David (January 23, 2015). "Anime, cosplayers on display this weekend at the ninth Setsucon convention". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 Aamesh, Waiss David (January 26, 2015). "More than 1,200 turn out for Setsucon at Penn State". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  13. 1 2 Pollock, Hannah (January 29, 2022). "Anime paradise: Setsucon returns to Blair County Convention Center". Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "Setsucon changes to a one-day event". AnimeCons.com. November 12, 2006. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  15. ↑ Bickel, Chris (January 19, 2010). "PSAO anime event draws large crowds" (PDF). The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  16. ↑ Ferreira, Samantha (February 26, 2017). "Pied Piper Releases Three New Skip Beat Dub Teasers Delays Release To June". Anime Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  17. ↑ "Setsucon 2021 - Celebrating Anime in Altoona This April". Anime News Network. September 24, 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  18. 1 2 Hazra, Adriana (January 24, 2021). "Setsucon Cancels In-person Event, Switches to Virtual Event in April". Anime News Network. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 "Setsucon 2021 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  20. ↑ Davidson, Danica (9 April 2021). "Setsucon Is Going Virtual This Weekend -- And It's Free!". Otaku USA Magazine. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  21. ↑ "Setsucon 2007 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Setsucon 2008 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Setsucon 2009 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Setsucon 2010 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Setsucon 2011 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Setsucon 2012 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Setsucon 2013 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  28. ↑ Hansberry, Cate (January 26, 2014). "Anime fans gather at Penn Stater for Setsucon". Center Daily Times. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Setsucon 2014 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Setsucon 2015 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Setsucon 2016 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Setsucon 2017 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Setsucon 2018 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  34. ↑ "Setsucon 2019 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Setsucon 2020 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Setsucon 2022 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  37. ↑ "Setsucon 2024 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  38. ↑ "Member Expo List". International Otaku Expo Association. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Setsucon Teams Up with Schlow Library for the 2021 BookFestPA Costume Contest". Anime News Network. June 22, 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

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