Nekocon 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 traditionally on the first weekend in November at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

. It is Virginia's oldest anime convention. The convention's name comes from the Japanese word , meaning "cat".

Programming

The convention typically offers art shows, artist's alley, autograph sessions, card game tournaments, charity auction, concerts, costume competition, dances, dealer's room, fashion show, karaoke contests, kimono/tea ceremony workshop, maid cafe, music video contest, panels, Q&A sessions, role playing, tabletop games, vendors, video game tournaments, video rooms, and workshops. Nekocon's 2015 charity events benefited Be The Match.

History

An attendance cap of 1,600 passes was instituted in 2003 due to fire code regulations. The convention held its first J-rock concert in 2009, hosting Suicide Ali.

Virginia Air and Space Center The Virginia Air and Space Science Center is a museum and educational facility in Hampton, Virginia that also serves as the visitors center for NASA's Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base. The museum also features an IMAX digit ...

provided content during the 2012 convention. Nekocon in 2017 had an Anime style cooking challenge with students from the Culinary Institute of Virginia. Nekocon 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 ...

Event history

References

External links

* {{coord, 37, 2, 13, N, 76, 22, 55, W, region:US-VA_type:event, display=title Anime conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 1998 1998 establishments in Virginia Annual events in Virginia Festivals in Virginia Culture of Hampton, Virginia Tourist attractions in Hampton, Virginia Conventions in Virginia