Otakon ( ) is an annual three-day anime convention held during July/August. It stands for Otaku Convention. From 1999 to 2016, it took place at the Baltimore Convention Center in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

's Inner Harbor district; in 2017, it moved to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The convention focuses on East Asian popular culture (primarily

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

, music, and cinema) and its

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

. The name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsJapanese word '' otaku''.

Otakorp

Otakon is run by the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

-based

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Otakorp, Inc. whose primary purpose "is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment".

Programming

Typical Otakon programming includes anime and

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

East Asian films shown on big screens in multiple video rooms. Fan-produced content including fan-parodies and anime music videos (AMVs) are also shown. For several years, Otakon had a dedicated 35 mm film theater, but replaced it in 2008 with an HD theater to take advantage of the wider array of offerings in that format. Panels and workshops are held on subjects such as

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

, how to draw manga, and Japanese culture. Industry professionals announce new acquisitions, and expert guests discuss or show tricks of their trade and field questions from the audience. Many panels and workshops are conducted by fans rather than pros (ex. '' Create a Comic Project''). The convention also includes

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture ...

and a skit-based

Masquerade Masquerade or Masquerader may refer to: Events * Masquerade ball, a costumed dance event * Masquerade ceremony, a rite or cultural event in many parts of the world, especially the Caribbean and Africa * Masqueraders, the performers in the West ...

show, which in the years before the convention moved to Washington D.C. had taken place inside the

Royal Farms Arena CFG Bank Arena (originally the Baltimore Civic Center and formerly Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore Arena and 1st Mariner Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This venue is located about one block away from the Baltimore Conventio ...

History

Otakon 2020 was cancelled due to its venue, the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, being converted to a field hospital to treat

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

patients during the ongoing pandemic.

Event history

Locations

The first Otakon was held at a Days Inn in State College, Pennsylvania in 1994; 350 people attended.

Baltimore

From 1999 to 2016, Otakon was held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2011, the Baltimore city tourism agency,

Visit Baltimore Visit Baltimore, formerly the Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association (BACVA), is a quasi-public organization started in 1980 by then-Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer. The agency is charged with bringing in tourists and convention ...

, gave Otakon a "Customer of the Year" award for "demonstrat ngongoing commitment to Baltimore, bringing more than 27,000 attendees to the city every year, a much-anticipated event by the local community and media". Otakon has been a top convention for Baltimore since 2003. Otakon 2009 had an economic impact of $12.5 million in direct spending and booked over 4,500 hotel rooms. According to the ''Baltimore Business Journal'' on December 10, 2010, Otakon 2010 had 4,575 booked hotel rooms and an estimated economic impact of $15.3 million, up from $12.5 million the year before; in particular it had significant impact on food vendors.

Washington, DC

Beginning in 2017, Otakon moved to Washington, DC, to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Las Vegas

From 2014 to 2018, a spin-off convention also run by Otakorp had been held in January at the

Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino Planet Hollywood Las Vegas (formerly the Aladdin) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. The property was previously the site of an earlier resort known ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

. In 2018, shortly after the end of Otakon Vegas 2018, Otakorp, Inc. announced on the Otakon Vegas website that Otakon Vegas was going on hiatus for an undetermined amount of time and that Otakon Vegas 2018 would be the last Otakon Vegas held. Otakorp, Inc. described Otakon Vegas as being an "experiment" and stated that they were "taking some time to examine the results of this experiment, to rethink and reorganize the show logistics, and to determine how best to bring the show forward." They left the door open for a future Otakon Vegas by concluding that they "hope to return to Vegas in the future.""

Notes

References

External links

Otakon.com
{{coord, 39.28538, N, 76.61734, W, region:US-MD_type:event, display=title Anime conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 1994 1994 establishments in Pennsylvania Annual events in Maryland Festivals in Baltimore Tourist attractions in Baltimore Conventions in Maryland