Orobouros.net @ Ohayocon

The inaugural OhayoCon was held January 26th to 28th at the Sharadon Airport Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. It may very well be the most sucessful first year anime convention held, with more than 700 total attendees reported, smooth running, and a donation to the American Cancer Society in excess of one thousand dollars.

My thoughts on Ohayocon People I'd like to thank Links to other Ohayocon reports Other Con Reports and Pictures on Orobouros.net

Notes for the Pictures

These pictures were all taken on my Olympus 320-L Digital Camera. The pictures are presented in a gallery format; click on thumbnails to view the larger picture. I did lend my camera to people at various points during the convention, so some of the pictures are missing. You guys who borrowed my camera know who you are; let me know which picture I should send to you.
In regards to copyright, I have a few requests. You are welcome to keep any of these pictures for your own personal collection or distribution on the internet, provided the following:
  • The images are not to be altered in any way with the exception of croping, resizing, rotation, or mirroring.
  • These pictures may not be used for any commercial purpose.
  • If posted elsewhere, I would appriciate a photo credit and/or a link to my website, but this is not required. However, do not claim photo credit yourself.
  • Please do not link to more than a few pictures on my server from any other web page. A few is fine, but keep in mind that will strain my connetion. If I really have that many pictures you'd like to show on your web site, download them to your own server or even better link to my page.
  • If you are the subject of any of these pictures, and would like to be removed from my web site, please contact me and let me know. Your request will be honored in a timely fashon.
  • I reserve the right to revoke your use of my images for any reason at any time.

Generally, if you do want to use the picture in a way I restricted, I'm happy to let you go ahead and do it; all you need to do is ask. I ask these rules mostly for the protection of the people I photographed. I know of too many cases pictures were taken from a web site and altered or used in a way that insulted or was degrading to the subject of the picture, and I wish to have no part of that. This having been said, if you do alter a picture in an ok way, it's fine to inform me after the fact. ^_^
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Contact me:
email: gats@genrou.net
AIM: SaberX
ICQ: 55034079

Thoughts on Ohayocon

Ohayocon was certainly a great way to start the 2001 convention year! I was on staff, helping to organize and run the biggest event of the con, the Cosplay. Despite a lot of problems that are inherent to first-year con, we still pulled it all of really well. The biggest problem was a delay in the judging, which we used to entertain the attendees in a long time half time show. Besides working the cosplay, though, I was able to thouroughly enjoy the rest of the con, which was run very well. The video rooms were well set up, the dealer's room, though small, had a lot of interesting items, the panels were interesting, and perhaps best of all, I got to talk with many of the guests.
What I'll really remember about OhayoCon was that it reminded me why I go to cons. I got a chance to really just hang around with the people I get to see too seldomly, I got to be in a fun atmosphere charged with anime and manga goodness, I got some really cool stuff, I met new people, I felt the gratification of accomplishing something, and got to forget the worries of the real world for a while. It really helped that the con was so well run, and that the hotel was well chosen and used well. I arrived with high hopes, and was certainly not disapointed. When the con was over and the time had come to go back home, despite the fatige and hunger, I wished it could have gone on. On the ride back, all I could think about was the fun I had.
The hotel had a pool, hot tub, even a sauna for relaxing. It wasn't until Sunday morning that I got to make use of them, and at which time I was too tired to really do much than sit around, but it was still nice. The staff and guests were placed on the top level, ninth floor of the hotel, which was the club level. The free continental breakfast was really nice, as well as the free drinks. And for better or worse, on the same floor Friday night were wresslers from the WWF, who were in town to tape both RAW and SMACKDOWN! Even though Stone Cold didn't have time for a picture, I was lucky enough to have a short conversation with the Undertaker in the ninth floor lobby.
Some of the highlights of the con were the cosplay, of course, as well as the Steve Bennett roast and the opening ceremonies. The Roast was perhaps one of the most innovative convention events. It was nice to get to see a different side of one of the conventions guests in a formal setting. The opening ceremonies were also done well with a sucessful take on the "Iron Chef" theme. The cosplay went well, I belive, because all of us on staff made it a group effort. Every problem we encounted we solved in a serious discussion with many, many lighthearted jokes. We were also all new to running a cosplay, and it seems our fresh take on it did away with some of the old problems. Certainly, though, what cannot go without mention is the cosplayers themselves. All the entries were entertainig or amusing in some way, with a lot of good, well made costumes and innovative skits. This is one of the things that made the judging take so long, since there were so many good costumes. Even working registration Friday morning was fun, since I got to meet a lot of people, many of them locals for whom this was their first convention.
So overall, OhayoCon was a raging sucess. Perhaps not the best con I've been to, but certainly one of the most enjoyable. I'll certainly try my best to return next year, be it as a staff member or just a regular attendee. It certainly has potential to be a large con, with a lot of guests and a lot of good programing; it just needs to keep up a good, competent staff and a wisely chosen location. Let's hope the rest of this convention year can keep up with Ohayocon.

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All contents on this webpage and all images in the gallery are © 2001 Oliver Oberg
email: gats@genrou.net
AIM: SaberX
ICQ: 55034079
All pages and images reside on my server Orobouros.net.