Katsucon is an annual three-day

anime convention An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activ ...

held during February at the

Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center is a hotel and convention center located at National Harbor, Prince George's County, in the U.S. state of Maryland. The hotel is situated along the shores of the Potomac, downriver from Washingto ...

National Harbor, Maryland National Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located along the Potomac River near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and just south of Washington, D.C. It originated as a multi-use waterfront devel ...

. It is traditionally held in February over

Presidents Day Presidents' Day, also called Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879 ...

weekend and was previously held in various locations around

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The basis of the conventions name is not clear, as "katsu" in the Japanese language has various meanings, including pork.

Programming

The convention typically offers anime music video screenings, an art show, artist alley, charity auction, costume contests, cosplay chess, dealers room, game shows, formal ball, karaoke, a maid cafe, masquerade, musical performances, panels, rave, workshops, video gaming, and video screenings. Katsucon has Japanese Culture programming known as the Japanese Cultural Institute. The convention runs programming for 24 hours a day. Katsucon's charity events in 2012 benefited the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

, Anime Aid, and Cherry Tree Maintenance Endowment Fund.

History

Katsucon started in 1995 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center, and moved to locations around the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...

after its third year due to growth. In 2002 the convention had a membership cap of 7,000 people, unsuccessfully attempted to move to the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, and in 2003 returned to the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. Katsucon ran for extra days in 2003 due to hundreds of attendees being trapped by road closures during the

North American blizzard of 2003 The Blizzard of 2003, also known as the Presidents' Day Storm II or simply PDII, was a historic and record-breaking snowstorm on the East Coast of the United States and Canada, which lasted from February 14 to February 19, 2003. It spread heavy sn ...

. Guests and staff ran panels and opened video rooms. Due to growth, the convention in 2005 moved to the Marriott Crystal Gateway and Sheraton Crystal City from the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. The hotels were unconnected and one had construction ongoing, which caused problems including the first two floors of the hotel having no heat, long dealers room lines, and panels being held in larger hotel rooms. The convention from 2006 to 2008 was located at the

Omni Shoreham Hotel The Omni Shoreham Hotel is a historic resort and convention hotel in Northwest Washington, D.C., built in 1930 and owned by Omni Hotels. It is located one block west of the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Calvert Street. The hotel is known ...

, but in 2007 suffered crowd control and logistics problems. For 2009 the convention returned to the Hyatt Regency Crystal City and suffered from overcrowding, even with an attendance cap of 6,000. Katsucon 2009 had over 300 volunteers on staff. The convention for several years had been experiencing problems with convention space, and in 2006 began discussions about moving to the Gaylord. In 2010 Katsucon moved to the

and the

February 9–10, 2010 North American blizzard The February 9–10, 2010 North American blizzard was a winter and severe weather event that afflicted the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England regions of the United States between February 9–11, 2010, affecting some of the same regions that h ...

occurred. Attendees traveling to the convention encountered icy conditions and congested traffic, with the weather preventing delivery of the cons badges on Thursday, delaying registration until Friday. The convention in 2011 released a revised Fan Art policy due to controversy over its wording. Due to an incident where a sex offender made contact with a minor at Katsucon 2010, the convention announced that it would attempt to check its pre-registration lists against sex offender databases, and deny attendance to possible threats. In 2012, the convention hosted the United States preliminary round for the

World Cosplay Summit is an annual international cosplay event, which promotes global interaction through Japanese pop culture. It developed from a cosplay exhibition held at the Aichi Expo in 2005. The WCS incorporated in 2012, by which time it had grown to includ ...

. The winner from the twenty-two teams entered was Coconut Bubble Sex Cosplay. The masquerade began seating late and was an hour late to start. Due to the convention's attendance growth they ran out of badges in 2012 and returned to the Gaylord in 2013. In 2013, the convention hosted the United States Eastern Regional qualifier for the World Cosplay Summit. The dealers room in 2013 suffered from crowding on Sunday, and they had to limit the number of attendees who entered. The February 11–17, 2014 North American winter storm occurred on the days before the convention, causing travel disruptions for attendees. The convention did not share the Gaylord with other events in 2014 and made the dealers' room larger. Registration experienced significant delays due to staff and organization issues. Katsucon again held events for the World Cosplay Summit. The dress code was changed by the convention and hotel for 2016. Katsucon 2021 was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Katsucon 2022 had COVID-19 policies that required masks and vaccination.

Event history

Notes

References

External links

Katsucon Website
{{coord, 38, 46, 54.5, N, 77, 0, 59.5, W, region:US-MD_type:event, display=title Anime conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 1995 1995 establishments in Virginia Annual events in Maryland Festivals in Maryland Culture of Washington, D.C. Tourist attractions in Prince George's County, Maryland Conventions in Maryland