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Setsucon is an annual three day anime convention held during January/February at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania.[3] The convention's name comes from the Japanese word setsu, meaning "snow". It is organized by the Penn State Anime Organization (PSAO).[2][5] The convention is family-friendly.[6]
| Setsucon | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Anime, Manga, Japanese culture[1][2] |
| Venue | Blair County Convention Center |
| Location(s) | Altoona, Pennsylvania |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 2007[3] |
| Attendance | 2,038 in 2023[4] |
| Organized by | Penn State Anime Organization (PSAO)[2][5] |
| Website | http://www.setsucon.com/ |
The convention typically offers an anime music video contest, anime showings, artist alley, card-game tournaments, dance, dealer's room, Iron Cosplay, Itasha car show, manga library, masquerade, musical events, panels, tabletop gaming, video gaming, and workshops.[1][5][6][7][8] The 2008 host auction raised $1,200 and was donated to the United Way. Todd Haberkorn participated in the 2013 host auction, raising $510 for charity.[9] The host auction in 2014 raised nearly $500 for Child's Play.[10][11] Richard Epcar and Stephanie Sheh participated in the 2015 host auction, along with several cosplayers, raising $800 for Child's Play.[12] Setsucon in 2018 had over 130 hours of convention programming.[2] The 2022 charity video game tournaments benefited the National Alliance on Mental Illness.[13] Charities the convention supported in 2023 were the Colon Cancer Coalition and Jared Box.[8]
Due to financial issues, the convention's first year in 2007 was reduced from three days to one day.[14] In 2008, the convention expanded to two days due to additional funding.[5] In 2010 on Saturday, Setsucon reached its venues capacity limit of 900 people before noon.[15] The artists' alley and dealers' room were expanded in 2014.[1] The dance was shut down early in 2015 because of complaints including poor behavior.[12] In 2017, the convention showed never before seen clips from anime licensor Pied Piper, Inc. of the dub for Skip Beat!.[16] In 2018, the convention moved to the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania.[2]
Setsucon due to the COVID-19 pandemic was scheduled to move to April for 2021, and would also have Friday programming.[17][18][19] Instead, Setsucon held a virtual event in April, and in 2022 returned to January with a three day event.[18][19][20] The 2022 convention had COVID-19 protocols including masking and vaccination/testing requirements.[13]
Event History
| Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 27, 2007 | Days Inn State College State College, Pennsylvania | 288[21] | |
| January 26-27, 2008 | Days Inn State College State College, Pennsylvania | D-Chan, Kyle Hebert, Dave Lister, and Chris "Kilika" Malone.[22] | |
| January 17-18, 2009 | Days Inn State College State College, Pennsylvania | About 600[7] | Robert Axelrod, Dave Lister, Chris "Kilika" Malone, Yuko "Aido" Ota, Ananth Panagariya, and This Place is Haunted.[23] |
| January 16-17, 2010 | Days Inn State College State College, Pennsylvania | M. Alice LeGrow, Chris "Kilika" Malone, and Vic Mignogna.[24] | |
| January 29-30, 2011 | Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel State College, Pennsylvania | Todd Haberkorn and Chris "Kilika" Malone.[25] | |
| January 28-29, 2012 | Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel State College, Pennsylvania | Antipode, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Kyle Hebert, Uncle Yo, and Greg Wicker.[26] | |
| January 26-27, 2013 | Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel State College, Pennsylvania | 1,300[1] | Antipode, Martin Billany, Todd Haberkorn, Cherami Leigh, Dave Lister, Uncle Yo, and DJ Zing.[27] |
| January 25-26, 2014 | Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel State College, Pennsylvania | Nearly 1,500[28] | Antipode, Leah Clark, Richard Epcar, Todd Haberkorn, Kambrea Pratt, Thom Pratt, Ellyn Stern, Alexis Tipton, Uncle Yo, Greg Wicker, and DJ Zing.[29] |
| January 24-25, 2015 | Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel State College, Pennsylvania | 1,200[12] | Antipode, Richard Epcar, Rusty Gilligan, Stephanie Sheh, Ellyn Stern, Uncle Yo, and DJ Zing.[30] |
| January 30-31, 2016 | Toftrees Golf Resort & Conference Center State College, Pennsylvania | Antipode, Chris Bevins, Natalie Hoover, Rachel Robinson, Uncle Yo, and DJ Zing.[31] | |
| January 21-22, 2017 | Toftrees Golf Resort & Conference Center State College, Pennsylvania | Antipode, Kira Buckland, DJ-R, Ralph "Ralfington" Edward, Erica Lindbeck, Keith Silverstein, and Uncle Yo.[32] | |
| January 27-28, 2018 | Blair County Convention Center Altoona, Pennsylvania | Antipode, Leah Clark, Amber Lee Connors, Daman Mills, Micah Solusod, Lex Winter, and DJ Zing.[33] | |
| January 26-27, 2019 | Blair County Convention Center Altoona, Pennsylvania | Antipode, Brianna Knickerbocker, E. Jason Liebrecht, Elizabeth Maxwell, and Lex Winter.[34] | |
| January 25-26, 2020 | Blair County Convention Center Altoona, Pennsylvania | Antipode, Awesomus Prime, Kohei Hattori, Billy Kametz, Faye Mata, TiA, and Lex Winter.[35] | |
| April 10-11, 2021 | Online convention | Antipode, Awesomus Prime, Heroes 4 Hire, Sarah Natochenny, and Lindsay Seidel.[19] | |
| January 28-30, 2022 | Blair County Convention Center Altoona, Pennsylvania | Antipode, Awesomus Prime, Heroes 4 Hire, Brittany Lauda, n00neimp0rtant, Otaku Ongaku, Matt Shipman, ThaGataNegrra, and Lex Winter.[36] | |
| January 13-15, 2023 | Blair County Convention Center Altoona, Pennsylvania | 2,038[4] | Antipode, Awesomus Prime, Aaron Dismuke, Kohei Hattori, Heroes 4 Hire, Sarah Wiedenheft, Lex Winter,[4] and Fake Idol Project.[8] |
| February 2-4, 2024 | Blair County Convention Center Altoona, Pennsylvania | Antipode, Chris Hackney, Heroes 4 Hire, ThaGataNegrra, Lex Winter, and Anne Yatco.[37] |
Setsucon is a member of the International Otaku Expo Association (I.O.E.A).[38]
Setsucon has sponsored a Costume Contest at Schlow Centre Region Library's BookFestPA event, run during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.[39]
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