New Con Smell: PopCult Anime Con

In two weekends we get another new convention on the New England scene, PopCult Anime Con. It is the subject of our second in the new irregular series New Con Smell, in which we profile a first-year convention and interview the founder, in this case Hemlock Inyx, the con chair.

PopCult Anime Con will be held August 20-21 at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel & Conference Center in Framingham, Mass. Local members of the nerd community will recognize it as the original home of Super Megafest, which this year will completely relocate both its Spring and Fall shows to the Royal Plaza in Westborough, Mass.

The guest list is fairly small, focusing on local cosplayers and artists, such as Lady Cels and Misa on Wheels, but guests have never been the biggest draw for most anime cons. People come to such cons more for events, and PopCult Anime Con has panels and of course a Masquerade (entry to which is still open, as of posting this, Aug. 4 at noonish).

Nerd Caliber: When did you decide you wanted to put on a convention, and why?

Hemlock Inyx: I actually started dreaming of creating my own convention about 10 years ago, when I started selling buttons at local New England cons. In fact a lot of people knew me first as PopCult Anime, the button dealer. The buttons were meant to raise funds for the con, and while they sidetracked me for a time, I never lost sight of my original goal — to create a convention for “my people,” taking all the lessons I learned from over 10-plus years of anime and geek convention experience. Of course taking the plunge is nerve-wracking, and I only felt ready to do it with the support of many of my close friends, who were very willing to join staff and help out in any way they could.

NC: Why this venue and why this location?

HI: I live and work in Massachusetts so it made sense to pick a location close by. And while we do have one large con in the area already, it is in early Spring, and late Summer was pretty dry convention-wise, unless you could travel out of state. My planning staff and I looked into Worcester first, and a few other locations, but really fell in love with the Framingham Sheraton and the staff there. The hotel is large and beautiful, with lots of meeting rooms and lounge space. But more importantly, the hotel was familiar with hosting geek conventions, as Super Megafest has had been there for a few years already. It’s so much easier to work with a hotel and event space that is well aware of what an anime/geek convention is, and about the enthusiastic people that go to them. As many people know, trying to explain cosplay and geek culture in general to the uninitiated can be frustrating.

NC: What thoughts or themes went into deciding which guests you decided to approach?

HI: As a first year con, we had to stick with what we could afford and handle with a limited staff. So we reached out to our friends who’ve we know for years who are regular fandom guests on the New England con circuit. We had sought out Misa on Wheels to be the inspiration for one of our con mascots, so of course we had to have her as a special guest. As we expand and grow, we are hoping to book both industry and fandom guests who have contributed to the anime and geek community by making it more inclusive and fun.

NC: What is the convention’s stance on cosplay?

HI: I’m from the old school of cosplay, where it was for the love of a character or show that people got dressed up and in character. And I want PopCult Anime Con to be a haven for all cosplayers. No shaming, no hate, just love and fun. This is why we wanted to have a mascot that reflected that anyone could and should be cosplaying if they want too. Which is why we were so happy when Misa on Wheels let us base a mascot on her. And we are also strong supporters of the “Cosplay is not Consent” campaign, agreeing that cosplayers should not accept inappropriate behavior from their peers.

NC: How many people do you anticipate will attend the convention?

HI: When planning we were hoping for 400 to 500 people, but being more realistic, since more people are wary of first year cons — with all the recent cancellations, we feel we are going to be closer to 200 to 300 people. With a large number of ticket sales at the door.

NC: What are your hopes and plans for next year, and beyond?

HI: We still have a lot of space in the Sheraton to expand into, so we are looking forward to taking up all the hotel meeting space. I’m also looking forward to developing some ideas I’ve had for a long time about guest panels and guest interactions. I would also love to find a great Professor Snape cosplayer and just have him hand out detentions all weekend. Eventually, we want to get to a point where we hit an attendance cap, as the goal isn’t to have a large convention, but a convention so well run, and so much fun, that we sell out our tickets quickly.

NC: What didn’t I ask that I should have?

HI: One of the most important things I want to share with attendees and potential attendees, is that we are geeks, pretty hardcore ones too. And we take every opportunity to be as geeky as possible, so while I am the “Con Chair,” I’m also the Ring-Bearer. We decided that PopCult Anime Con wasn’t just going to have a board, it was going to have a nine-member Fellowship, and I actually wear a replica of the One Ring, from Lord of the Rings. I also am the proud owner of a Most Excellent Phone Booth, and a Tardis door, which we will be happy use for as much con shenanigans as we can get into. So for us the goal isn’t just to put on a convention, but to take the standard fare of a convention to the next level of geekiness, and have as much fun as possible while doing it.