MechaCon
MechaCon mascots: Jett and Zee
StatusDefunct
GenreAnime, Manga, Transformers, and Japanese culture.[1][2]
VenueHyatt Regency New Orleans
Location(s)New Orleans, Louisiana
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated2005
Attendance18,645 turnstile in 2021[3]
Organized bySennin Productions, LLC[4]
Websitehttp://www.mechacon.com/

MechaCon was an annual three-day anime convention held during the summer at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the oldest active anime convention in Louisiana.[2]

Programming

The convention typically offered an artist's alley, cosplay competition, dealer's room, gaming, and maid/host show.[2][5]

History

MechaCon's inaugural weekend in 2005 is unique because Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the coast of Louisiana hours after MechaCon closed its doors.[6] The dealers room closed early and all but one guest made their flight. In 2006, as a special part of MechaCon's 2006 programming, Harmony Gold USA provided fans of the Robotech franchise with the first-ever public screening of the film Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. 100% of the funds raised from the screening was donated to The Salvation Army’s ongoing Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita recovery efforts.[7]

A 2019 press release announced that the final Mechacon, dubbed "Mechacon Omega," would be held in July 2020.[8][9] MechaCon 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10][11] The final MechaCon was held from July 23-25, 2021.[12]

Event history

Dates Location Atten. Guests
August 26–28, 2005 Hilton Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana		900 warmTiffany Grant, Limit Break Cosplay, Joshua Seth, Doug Smith, and Alec Willows.[13]
August 11–13, 2006 Hilton Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana		1,275 warmGarry Chalk, Lisa Furukawa, Brittney Karbowski, Limit Break Cosplay, Kevin McKeever, Scott McNeil, Richard Newman, Doug Smith, Kira Vincent-Davis, Brett Weaver, and Alec Willows.[14]
August 3–5, 2007 Hilton Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana		1,700 warmMichael Dobson, Richard Epcar, Lisa Furukawa, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Limit Break Cosplay, Mike McFarland, Kevin McKeever, Scott McNeil, Ellyn Stern, and Jonathan M. Thompson.[15]
August 1–3, 2008 Hilton Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana		2,200 warmGreg Ayres, Beau Billingslea, Steve Blum, John Chambers, Francesco Forni, Lisa Furukawa, Ilaria Graziano, Carl Macek, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Tommy Yune.[16]
July 24–26, 2009 Hilton Lafayette
Lafayette, Louisiana		2,850 warmChristopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Garry Chalk, Samantha Inoue-Harte, David Kaye, Kevin McKeever, Vic Mignogna, and Wendy Powell.[17]
July 16–18, 2010 New Orleans Marriott
New Orleans, Louisiana		3,700 warmChris Cason, Richard Epcar, Todd Haberkorn, Mari Iijima,[18] Mike McFarland, Kevin McKeever, Vic Mignogna, Tony Oliver, Wendy Powell, Ellyn Stern, J. Michael Tatum, Dan Woren, Tommy Yune,[19] and Robotech Convention Tour.[4]
August 26–28, 2011 Hilton New Orleans Riverside
New Orleans, Louisiana		4,500 warmAmelie Belcher, Steve Blum, Johnny Yong Bosch, Clover, Eyeshine, Lisa Furukawa, Kyle Hebert, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jonathan Klein, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Kevin McKeever, Scott McNeil, and J. Michael Tatum.[20]
September 7–9, 2012 Hilton New Orleans Riverside
New Orleans, Louisiana		5,000 warmAmelie Belcher, Eien Strife, Richard Epcar, Jason David Frank, Todd Haberkorn, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jonathan Klein, Brian "Kuragiman" Navy, April Martin, Carl Martin, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Vic Mignogna, Robby Musso, Daran Norris, Wendy Powell, Ellyn Stern, Jonathan M. Thompson, and Steve Yun.[21]
August 23–25, 2013 Hilton New Orleans Riverside
New Orleans, Louisiana		11,300 turnstileKaran Ashley, Johnny Yong Bosch, Steve Cardenas, Daniel Coglan, Jillian Coglan, Eyeshine, Walter E. Jones, Jonathan Klein, Cyril Lumboy, Jason Narvy, Paul Schrier, Hynden Walch, Greg Weisman, David Yost, and Tommy Yune.[22]
August 1–3, 2014 Hilton New Orleans Riverside
New Orleans, Louisiana		13,953 turnstileAmelie Belcher, Greg Cipes, Eien Strife, Tiffany Grant, Jonathan Klein, Brian "Kuragiman" Navy, Scott Menville, Jessica Nova, Khary Payton, Jessie Pridemore, Andrea Romano, Kelli Sarré, Spike Spencer, Tara Strong, Twinfools, Hynden Walch, and Greg Weisman.[23]
July 17–19, 2015 Hilton New Orleans Riverside
New Orleans, Louisiana		15,180 turnstileSteven Blum, Steve Kenson, Jonathan Klein, Kyle "Ex-Shadow" Mathis, Malinda "Malindachan" Mathis, Mike McFarland, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Courtney "Courtoon" Morelock, Nylon Pink, Brina Palencia, Austin Tindle, Greg Weisman, and Tommy Yun.[24]
July 29–31, 2016 Hilton New Orleans Riverside
New Orleans, Louisiana		16,567 turnstileAmelie Belcher, Caleb Hyles, Kazha, Courtney "Courtoon" Morelock, Jason Narvy, Khary Payton, Wendy Powell, Paul Schrier, and Steve Yun.[25]
July 28–30, 2017 Hyatt Regency New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana		14,808 turnstileAaron Dismuke, Richard Epcar, Caitlin Glass, Kyle Hebert, Caleb Hyles, Jonathan Klein, MeltingMirror, The Slants, Ellyn Stern, J. Michael Tatum, and Kimura U.[26]
July 27–29, 2018 Hyatt Regency New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana		16,495 turnstileAnjali Bhimani, Beau Billingslea, Fighting Dreamers Productions, Erika Harlacher, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Brina Palencia, Bill Rogers, and Marc Swint.[27]
July 26–28, 2019 Hyatt Regency New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana		15,897 turnstileLeah Clark, Kara Eberle, Kohei Hattori, Lindsay Jones, Jonathan Klein, Mela Lee, Keith Silverstein, TiA, Twinzik, and Hynden Walch.[28]
July 23-25, 2021 Hyatt Regency New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana		18,645 turnstileDani Chambers, Cynthia Cranz, Lisa Furukawa, Daman Mills, and Wendy Powell.[3]

References

  1. ^ "MechaCon returns to Lafayette, LA in August" (Press release). AnimeCons.com. 2006-01-17. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  2. ^ a b c Stromquist, Kat (July 31, 2016). "Androids and anime: a day at MechaCon (slideshow)". Gambit. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b "MechaCon 2021 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  4. ^ a b "MechaCon Celebrates a Quarter Century of Robotech!" (Press release). Robotech. 2010-07-07. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  5. ^ Cannon, Adam (September 12, 2013). "An Inside Look at the World of Mechacon". The Paper Wolf. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  6. ^ Katrina's effects on the anime community, AnimeCons.com, 2005-09-05, retrieved 2018-07-30
  7. ^ Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles Charity Screening at MechaCon!!!, Harmony Gold USA, 2006-06-02, archived from the original on April 1, 2015, retrieved 2008-08-19
  8. ^ "Final MechaCon Anime Convention to Be Held in 2020". MechaCon. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  9. ^ Sampey, Morri (January 15, 2020). "Mechacon is irreplaceable, but Wizard World can fulfill Louisiana con-goers". The Vermilion. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  10. ^ "MechaCon Omega postponed until 2021". MechaCon. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  11. ^ "MechaCon 2020 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  12. ^ "MECHACON OMEGA: REDUX July 23-25, 2021". MechaCon. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  13. ^ "MechaCon 2005 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  14. ^ "MechaCon 2006 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  15. ^ "MechaCon 2007 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  16. ^ "MechaCon 2008 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  17. ^ "MechaCon 2009 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  18. ^ "Louisiana's MechaCon Hosts Singer/Actress Mari Iijima". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  19. ^ "MechaCon 2010 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  20. ^ "MechaCon 2011 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  21. ^ "MechaCon 2012 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  22. ^ "MechaCon 2013 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  23. ^ "MechaCon 2014 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  24. ^ "MechaCon 2015 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  25. ^ "MechaCon 2016 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  26. ^ "MechaCon 2017 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  27. ^ "MechaCon 2018 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  28. ^ "MechaCon 2019 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.

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