Jacon 2009: Celebrating 10 Years
Events
JACON 2009 has many wonderful new and returning panels, contests, and events.
Opening Ceremonies
Opening ceremonies will be held at 6:00pm on Friday, May 22nd in Main Events so that all convention attendees may attend. Open ceremonies is an event put on by the convention directors to introduce convention attendees to convention staff, guests, and update attendees on any changes to the convention schedule. For us, it is also the event where we hold the drawing to see who the lucky winners is of the Pre-Registration drawings.
Closing Ceremonies
Closing ceremonies will be held at 7:00pm on Sunday, May 24th in Main Events so that all convention attendees may attend. Closing Ceremonies is an event put on by the convention directors to hear from the convention attendees--what they thought of this year's convention. Following Closing Ceremonies will be JACON’s “Big Sayonara!” Party.
All panel and workshop rooms are located within the hotel's convention center. Your convention guide will contain a map of the convention center and location of all rooms where our events will take place.
At the convention, remember to check your YELLOW schedule grid for times and locations of all panels and workshops just in case we've moved things around or added something new.
All-Original Costume Contest
Time: Sunday, 3PM
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
Registration and Line-Up For Contestants
Time: Sunday, 2PM
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
Here’s something new for our cosplayers in our final year! This contest is built completely around the creative minds of those who dare to design their own fashion creations! For years now, we often received the question, “Can we enter original costumes in the cosplay?” With such apparent interest, we decided to give a nod to these creative individuals!
Read the All-Original Costume Contest
AMV Contest
Time: Saturday, May 23
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
Always popular and tons of fun, the music video contest and screenings show-off the editing talents of anime fan. Combining the great visuals of anime with the beat of popular songs, fan music videos are one of the fastest growing areas of anime fandom today!
Anime Date Auction
Time: Saturday, 7 PM
Sign-Up and Preview: 6:30 PM
Location: Special Events (Paradise IV)
Single? Need a date for the dance? Already have a date but want another one? Then we have an event for you! We are now hosting The Anime Date Auction, just before the dance, where you will have the chance to bid on a date with your favorite anime/game characters!
Read more about the Anime Date Auction
Anime Family Feud
Time: TBA
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
Now in its ninth year! The classic TV show with an anime twist. One hundred otaku are surveyed to find the top answers for the most offbeat questions we can think of. You don’t need a family to play, but friends who know anime and video games help to make teams of five to compete for fabulous prizes. (“Fabulous” open to interpretation.)
Animusical Idol 2009
Presented by Wasabi Anime
Time (Auditions): Friday, 3 PM – 6 PM
Time (Show): Friday, 8 PM
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
In 2005, Wasabi Anime brought Broadway to JACON with The Wasabi Animusical – and after three years of performances, they’re letting the fans produce the show! Animusical Idol is a competition for Cosplayers to show off their dance and stage skills by presenting an “animusical style” skit for JACON attendees. They will then be judged by the Wasabi Anime staff – with the winner taking home a trophy and prizes! Animusical Cosplay skits are lip synced (no singing!) to a song from a Broadway or movie musical and should feature anime, cartoon or video game characters.
For complete rules and information, please visit www.animusical.com.
Art Show
The art show is were artists may display their art for people to bid on for purchase. Artwork is normally artists' original work, numbered and signed.
For more information on the art show, please visit our the Art Show page.
Artist Alley
Artist alley is located outside of Main Events and is an area where artists may display and sale their works.
For information about acquiring a table, please read the Artist Alley Guidelines.
The JACON Bazaar
Time: Sunday, 5 PM- 7 PM
Have too much collectible clutter? Want to make a quick buck from your old anime goods? Or are you ready to score a great deal on some old, out-of-print manga? Then this is the event for you! Garage Sale, flea market, bazaar...whatever you want to call it, it means great deals for some of you, and some fast cash for others!
Read the guidelines and how to reserve table space.
JACON’s “Big Sayonara!” Party
Time: Sunday at 8:00 PM
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
The final event for the final JACON… come out and join our staff and volunteers for food, fun and a final good-bye to ten years of supporting Florida’s anime fandom. Bring cameras, memories and good cheer for the evening that marks the end of Central Florida’s Japanese Animation CONvention.
The final JACON costume & cosplay contest EVAH!
Sponsored by Wasabi Anime
Time (Sign up & Onsite Registration): Saturday, 3PM – 4PM
Time (Show): Saturday, 4PM
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
The final JACON costume contest brings back costuming and cosplay in one show! Compete as an individual or with a group to entertain and impress our judges and audience with your costuming (and if applicable) performance skills. Read the rules – and then sign up online!
Dare! The Transformers Panel ULTIMATE
Hosted by: Tom Croom & Joey Snackpants
Special Guest Hosts: Gregg Berger, Stan Bush & Richard Epcar
Time: Sunday, Noon
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
For years Tom “WasabiGuy” Croom and Joey “Your Favorite Anime Sucks” Snackpants have terrorized Transformers fans across Florida with over a dozen anime convention appearances, and this will be their final time doing it for JACON! Join an open discussion about G1, Bayformers, the sad world of Gobots – and hear once and for all why Beast Wars SUCKS! In order to make this the MOTHER OF ALL FLORIDA TRANSFORMERS PANELS – Tom & Joey will be joined by Gregg “Grimlock” Berger, Stan “The Touch” Bush and Richard “Armorhide” Epcar. A must for any and all Transformers fans at JACON!
Dealer's Room
Ahhh, the Dealer's Room. An anime fan's merchandising dream (and financial nightmare). JACON will feature a Dealer's Room full of Vendors hawking their anime-related wares! So come and find that Gundam model you've been looking for!
Gaming
Wasabi Anime’s RetroCade (Game Room #1)
sponsored by Wasabi Anime (www.wasabianime.com)
Time: Friday at 10AM through Sunday at 6PM (note: the room is closed 10PM-2AM on Saturday night)
Location: Key West (Game Room #1)
Join us for console gaming from yester-year as we present the RetroCade. Play classic game systems the likes of which you haven’t seen since the eighties and compete on “old skool” style tournaments. No hi-definition gaming here; just good old fashioned thumb mashing cartridge goodness!
Next-Gen Console Gaming (Game Room #2)
sponsored by Anime Festival Orlando (www.animefestivalorlando.com)
Time: Friday at 10AM through Sunday at 6PM (note: the room is closed 10PM-2AM on Saturday night)
Location: Key Largo (Game Room #2)
Looking for the game room for JACON? You found it! Play all the latest and greatest on PS3 and Xbox 360 in our console game room run by our friends at Anime Festival Orlando. Stop by the room during the convention to find the schedule of tournaments for the weekend.
Good Morning Karoake!
Presented by Florida SuperCon
Time: Friday, 10:00 AM
Location: Special Events (Paradise IV)
You woke up early to come to JACON – and you took a five minute shower before showing up (we hope). That’s not enough time to sing in the morning… so come sing with us! Join Mike and the team from Florida SuperCon as they host two hours of amazing and painful karaoke for your listening pleasure and torture. Impress the staff with how good (or bad!) you are and you may even win a prize!
The Macross Social
Time: Thursday, 8 PM- Midnight
Location:Special Events (Paradise IV)
A special Thursday night event!
Join us as we celebrate the wonderful anime legacy of Macross! Known to many U.S. fans as Robotech in the early years, Macross has continued to grow in popularity across the globe! The latest installment of the saga, Macross Frontier, has a huge following. We’ve decided that now, in our final year, it would be appropriate to honor one of the greatest anime series of all time!
Learn more about The Macross Social
The Manga Masquerade: The Final JACON Fantasy Ball
Sponsored by Wasabi Anime
Time: Saturday, 10PM
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
JACON’s “anime prom” returns for its fourth and final year. High School proms are meant as a formal occasion to say goodbye to one part of life and step into another and the Manga Masquerade invites anime fans of all ages to join us for a formal evening for one last goodbye. The theme of the dance will follow the popular Final Fantasy adventures, and will truly be a great way to enjoy JACON’s “endgame”. Light snacks and drinks will be served for those that attend.
This event does have a dress code – the rules can be found on Wasabi Anime’s website at
http://www.greenmustard.com/?p=388
Panels
Panels and workshops, from discussion on the anime industry and fandom to how to make your own anime plushie. At the Convention check out our Yellow Schedule Grid for times and locations of all our panels and workshops.
View the current list of panels and their descriptions.
ROCK ON! Guitar Hero World Tour Competition
Time: Sunday 10:30 AM
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
Just like last year’s Rock Band competition – this event is not just a video game contest, but one of skill and showmanship! Teams of no less than three compete with their band to be judged by our staff and the audience on 1.) how well they play the game, 2.) how well they dressed as a band and 3.) how much rock star showmanship they have. Contestants are permitted to cosplay famous bands or popular character to help their odds of winning! The final judging will be tense… but in the end, only “one will stand!” Note: Contestants must show up and be ready to perform at 10:30 AM in order to enter.
The Royal Flush Casino
Location: Paradise IV (Special Events)
Time: Saturday, 9 PM
Do you feel lucky? If so, then let the good times roll…along with the dice! Open during the masquerade, this event is designed to give our con goers a mellow, stylish atmosphere to relax in. There should be snacks, as well as a cash bar. You can slow dance to classic Vegas tunes, try your hand at some casino games, or just talk with friends.
Learn more about The Royal Flush Casino
“Shoot Me!”- A Cosplay Photo Shoot Contest
Exhibition and Awards Ceremony
Time: Saturday during the Costume Competition
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
Back for its 5th year, our unique Photo Shoot Contest is still going strong! We’re going to show off the entries we received in Main Events during our Costume Contest so even more of our attendees can enjoy these mini-masterpieces. So brush off your lenses, suit up, and let’s see those pearly whites!
Learn more about the Photo Shoot Contest
Stan Bush: Live in Concert!
Time: Saturday, 8:00 PM
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
He’s got “The Touch”! Stan Bush is known among Transformers fans of all ages as the singer and song writer for “The Touch” and “Dare!” from Transformers: The Movie. Stan will be playing a very special concert for JACON attendees that is sure to be one of the highlights of the convention! Stan will play all of his most popular songs from his albums, film and even Sailor Moon!
Stan’s website: www.stanbush.com
Wasabi Anime’s Otaku Insomnia! Rave
Time: Saturday, May 22nd at 11:30 PM
Location: Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
Wasabi Anime’s affectionately nicknamed “rave in a box” returns for its fifth year at JACON! Join us for a night of thumping music, zany visuals and more glowsticks than you can shake a stick at… get it? “Shake a stick”. “Glow stick”. We crack ourselves up.
DO YOU HAVE A SONG REQUEST? Post it here on the Wasabi Anime website so their DJs can see!
Note: the link is http://www.greenmustard.com/?p=404
"What The...?!?!"
Time: Friday, 11:00pm till Joey is done
Location:Main Events (Paradise Ballroom)
Your host Joey Snackpants, Esq. will take you through a roller coaster ride of the weirdest stuff he snagged in anime, short films, cartoons and music videos. Not seen since 2003, then it definitely raised an eyebrow, this year should leave you dumbfounded… This year heralds the final showing of THE COVERT OPERATIVES!!! Come celebrate the final occurrence of the idea Joey completely ganked from Anime Weekend Atlanta, he might even cry… but I wouldn’t bet on it.
TOGETHER! ALLIGENCE OR DEATH!! BIG CHICKEN!
The Yaoi PJ Party
Time: Friday Night, 9 PM- 3 AM
Location: Paradise IV (Special Events)
Are you ready for the Endgame? This is it! Our 6th and final year of the wildly popular JACON Yaoi PJ Party! Break out the confetti and get ready to celebrate! We have to go out in style, so we're going to bring back some classic moments, while whipping out some new surprises! Don't miss this last chance to party with our pretty boys while in PJs!
See what the Yaoi PJ Party has planned.
