It all began about 3pm on March 31, 2001. The day I discovered that an entertainment convention could be GREAT. I have been to several entertainment conventions over the past several years, and have walked away more jaded and broke due to the small fortune charged for entrance fee. But the I-Con renewed my faith that there are actually talented promoters in this world, who know what the fans want and give them more bang for their buck.
The I-Con has taken place for two decades at the State University of New York's (SUNY) Stony Brook campus on Long Island. Approximately an hour and a half from New York City (The Bronx), the convention boasts itself as the largest Sci-Fi convention in the Northeast. But non-Sci-fi fans are welcome, as this convention has attractions for comics, manga, anime, medieval fantasy, kung fu, role players, and all sorts of gamers.
It was unfortunate that I arrived late. Upon arrival I found tons and tons of cars, and found myself parking in the overflow parking area (which actually was closer to the entrance). I walked for about five minutes until I reached ground zero where sword fights and peasants in medieval attire walked about. I entered the Stony Brook student Activities Center to pick up my press badge and found tons of staff and con goers dressed from vampires to Sailor Moon.
I was really upset I had missed so many activities that occurred during the day like. Erin Grey from Buck Rogers was on hand for autographs and a Tai Chi class. I also missed Harlan Ellison and Arthur C. Clarke, and a great Star Wars Fan Spoof Marathon. There were some cool panels I wanted to attend like the Dubbing workshop with Toshifumi Yoshida of Viz, and State of the Anime Industry Panel. But what made me really angry with myself was that I missed a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture and a panel about the influence and history of the movie on Friday night...Oh! The humanity!
Anyway, I received my Pocket Schedule which was organized much like a TV guide, and I wandered around the campus looking for the building where Ayashi no Ceres, created by the great Yuu Watase, was going to be shown. After about ten minutes trying to find my way, a con volunteer named Randall, who is also an engineering student at the University, saw me wandering aimlessly and led me over to the proper building, the Javits Lecture Center. There I caught a magic show, and waited for Yuu Watase's masterpiece.
While waiting I ran through my Pocket Schedule to torture with more events I missed. And all I can say is that I can only imagine what was going on at the other buildings, after just spending about an hour or so in the Javits Lecture Center. There were bands performing, Live Action Role Playing, and the Star Wars Indy Film was all going on in this one building.
There were so many colorful people just in this building. People of all ages were present, from parents and their children, to older people enjoying the sci-fi and anime shows and panels. Unfortunately the time for the Ayashi no Ceres showing was shifted and I ended enduring the Hurlock Saga instead. But I am glad that this happened because it was going well on 5:30 by this point, so I decided to scoot on over to the dealer room (which could have been a little bigger), that was closing around 7. There I got some great pictures of anime fans in cosplay. And found some really great deals on anime and manga.
After all that shopping I was totally broke and it was getting dark. And even though events at the con were not ending until nearly 1 am, I was by myself and did not want to walk around campus alone, so I left very pleased, but sad that I had not taken full of advantage of the three day event. I definitely would encourage fans in the Northeast to take full advantage of this con, and try to stay for the full three-day event. It is worth the time and money to be around your fellow fans and receive the ultimate fan experience.
Next year, the I-Con comes of age, from April 19 through April 21, 2002, when the convention turns 21. For more information go to the official I-Con website www.ICONSF.org.
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