Anime Central
Anime Central- or ACEN- is Chicago’s annual Anime convention. It is usually held for three days in May down at the Rosemont Hyatt hotel.
The reason the convention is held at a hotel is not only for the space- but also because activities are going on literally all night long. Most con goers choose to grab a room at the Hyatt so they won’t have to go home to sleep. To get into the convention you need to purchase a badge to wear on your person at all times. There are various guards scattered about to make sure badge-less people can’t sneak in and attend the con for free.
What does one wear to an anime convention? The answer is really whatever you want- but some people choose to cosplay. Cosplaying is dressing up in costume as an anime character. It may sound really dorky- but it’s actually a lot of fun. If your costume is well made expect to be treated somewhat like a celebrity- people will be stopping you to snap pictures. You will probably even be called by your character’s name by the people you meet.
Some of the activites at Acen include: the mascarade, which is a cosplay event on stage where contestants are awarded for best costume and best skit, the dealers room, which is a huge building full of people selling anime merchandise, a video game room, viewing rooms with large screens, and artist alley, which is a place for artists to take commissions and sell their prints. There are more things to do besides those mentioned, most of them not even officially set up by the convention, but it would take too long to list them all here.
One other noteworthy thing available is the special guests- such as voice actors, directors, and famous manga artists- that come to the convention to sit on panels and sign autographs. They usually have very interesting anecdotes about the industry and their own personal experiences in being part of creating an anime. They are always happy to answer questions as well.
Everyone at the convention is very friendly- its really an optimal place to make friends. Since it’s an anime convention one can assume that everyone there are probably interested in anime- so that gives you something in common to start off with. If you happen to be cosplaying from a series someone else enjoys they may approach you to talk about it. It’s a very laid back environment, so expect strangers to randomly engage you in conversation or even run up and hug you!