Kintoki-con
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Uh...what's this about?
What ever happened to Kintoki Con? It was the best con I'd been to, granted small.
Wow this is still here. I don't remember if I even have the log in for this group anymore.
Well, we were considering another one this past year, but the killer these days is the cost of venues. The old Red Lion where SacAnime used to be before it moved to the Convention Center was a prime place that a lot of people loved and would have been perfect for a 2000 person con..... unfortunately it got bulldozed and is being converted into an assisted living facility.
Beyond that, after the Arena went in downtown, every downtown venture pretty much priced all the smaller cons right out of the market. The Hyatt Regency across from the Capitol that we had Kintoki-Con at in 2011 is now well over $100,000 for a decent weekend, which is impossible to work with. And outside of downtown, most of the other quality venues no longer exist, as most of the hotels where we COULD have had it, were bulldozed into parking lots or strip malls, and the other venues would only lend themselves to a 1 day con, not a weekend, or are either too small for a 2000 person con, or way too large (and, again, pricey).
So the short answer, after all that, is that if the right venue came along, I would love to do another one, but that does not seem to be happening at this current time.
Well, we were considering another one this past year, but the killer these days is the cost of venues. The old Red Lion where SacAnime used to be before it moved to the Convention Center was a prime place that a lot of people loved and would have been perfect for a 2000 person con..... unfortunately it got bulldozed and is being converted into an assisted living facility.
Beyond that, after the Arena went in downtown, every downtown venture pretty much priced all the smaller cons right out of the market. The Hyatt Regency across from the Capitol that we had Kintoki-Con at in 2011 is now well over $100,000 for a decent weekend, which is impossible to work with. And outside of downtown, most of the other quality venues no longer exist, as most of the hotels where we COULD have had it, were bulldozed into parking lots or strip malls, and the other venues would only lend themselves to a 1 day con, not a weekend, or are either too small for a 2000 person con, or way too large (and, again, pricey).
So the short answer, after all that, is that if the right venue came along, I would love to do another one, but that does not seem to be happening at this current time.
Ah, I guess that all makes sense.
A lot of us were wondering and concerned because this great con just up and disappeared. Well, I'm afraid I can't be much help as far as thinking of solutions. I'm not sure if the old Scottish Rites convention Center is big enough and cheap enough. I think it may be owned by someone else now though and converted into a language school.
Hmm... Maybe see where smaller cons are hosting like Sac Con? Though you have probably already looked into that.
A lot of us were wondering and concerned because this great con just up and disappeared. Well, I'm afraid I can't be much help as far as thinking of solutions. I'm not sure if the old Scottish Rites convention Center is big enough and cheap enough. I think it may be owned by someone else now though and converted into a language school.
Hmm... Maybe see where smaller cons are hosting like Sac Con? Though you have probably already looked into that. SacCon is run by the same owners as SacAnime, and they do often use the Scottish Rites. However, that only really works for a 1 day convention, which is more like a dealers room/flea market than a traditional con with guests, panels, workshops, dances, game rooms, etc, etc, which work best in hotels, or con centers connected to hotels.
The other thing is, when we were downtown, especially in the Hyatt across from the capitol, we were able to make ourselves a real destination convention, albeit a small one. We drew in quite a few people from the Bay Area, and the central and Southern Valley who came out for the entire weekend.
Getting those people from other areas interested to come in (and then return for Kintoki-Con 2), is what allowed us to have Japanese guests flown in like Ryusuke Hamamoto and Koge-Donbo, and Moon Stream, as well as top tier American Voice Actors like Richard Epcar and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, not to mention the slew of artists, musicians, fashion designers, writers, and more running panels and workshops.
So, while hotels like the Crowne Plaza Sacramento Northeast might be a possibility, it is also a total island (if you google where it is), and is not really central to other things, where our last two were central to Downtown and Old Sac with tons of after hours stuff. Also, Crowne Plaza has a maximum of 15,000 sqft of con space, where as the Hyatt has 27,000 in comparison.
I've thought about just trying to do a smaller one, but I am not sure fans would accept that after the first 2 were so much larger in space and scope.
I am interested to know what local fans think though.
The other thing is, when we were downtown, especially in the Hyatt across from the capitol, we were able to make ourselves a real destination convention, albeit a small one. We drew in quite a few people from the Bay Area, and the central and Southern Valley who came out for the entire weekend.
Getting those people from other areas interested to come in (and then return for Kintoki-Con 2), is what allowed us to have Japanese guests flown in like Ryusuke Hamamoto and Koge-Donbo, and Moon Stream, as well as top tier American Voice Actors like Richard Epcar and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, not to mention the slew of artists, musicians, fashion designers, writers, and more running panels and workshops.
So, while hotels like the Crowne Plaza Sacramento Northeast might be a possibility, it is also a total island (if you google where it is), and is not really central to other things, where our last two were central to Downtown and Old Sac with tons of after hours stuff. Also, Crowne Plaza has a maximum of 15,000 sqft of con space, where as the Hyatt has 27,000 in comparison.
I've thought about just trying to do a smaller one, but I am not sure fans would accept that after the first 2 were so much larger in space and scope.
I am interested to know what local fans think though.
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um... where is kintoki con??? i can't find a location :/
300 J Street, Sacramento, CA --> www.kintoki-con.com/location/h...