Naka-Kon 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 May at the

Overland Park Convention Center Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As o ...

and Sheraton Overland Park Hotel at the Convention Center in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As o ...

. The name of the convention comes from the Japanese word for "center/middle".

Programming

The convention typically offers an Artist Alley, contests, Dealers’ Room, game shows, fashion show, maid cafe, panels, showings, video game rooms, and workshops.

History

Naka-Kon was founded in 2005 by members of the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

Anime Club. The convention moved to the

in 2012. Naka-Kon 2020 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 ...

. Naka-Kon held a virtual convention in March 2021, a smaller event over Labor Day weekend in September, and in 2022 moved to Memorial Day weekend in May. The 2021 convention had an attendance cap of 2,500, with 2022 having a cap of 6,000.

Event history

References

External links

Naka-Kon Website
{{Coord, 38, 55, 42, N, 94, 39, 19, W, region:US-KS_type:event, display=title Anime conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 2005 2005 establishments in Kansas Annual events in Kansas Festivals in Kansas Culture of Overland Park, Kansas Conventions in Kansas