Uchi-con was my first con of the year and let me tell you con season 2017 started off right! Uchi-con was a free one-day convention hosted by the UCJAS, the Uchicago Japanese Animation Society, at the University of Chicago. For a sort and smaller con, there was no shortage on things to do! There were incredible vendors, panels, photo ops, and of course cosplayers to mingle with to fill up the day. I wish it was longer so I could've done more!
Since Uchi-con was hosted at the University of Chicago, I found a majority of the attendees were in college or around that general age. That isn't to say there were no kids or older adults, I just noticed most people were in the same age range. Because of this it was really easy for everyone to mingle and get to know each other, more so than at any other con I've been to.
What stood out most about this con compared to other conventions I've been to is the amount of networking that happened. I think it's because so many people were about the same age, but it felt a little more like a cosplay mixer than a convention--and I mean this in the best of ways! I got to meet so many new cosplayers I've never met before and whom I can now call friends of mine. I'm so excited to meet up with them at future events!
I also got to meet some super sweet vendors at this con! One of my personal favorite things about cons is meeting the vendors and artists working booths and talking about their art style and what they do. I had the pleasure of meeting some of the most lovely artists and other vendors who I can't wait to see again.
One really nice thing about Uchi-con was their photo ops. Eddie B Photos lent his incredible talents to cosplayers by taking pictures and printing out your very own cosplay prints! His work is absolutely outstanding and he was a pleasure to work with. Everyone I spoke with loved how their photos turned out and loved the overall experience.
Overall for the whole con, the only complaints I have are that registration took quite a while--remember to pre-register for this con! And that it was so short I couldn't attend all of the panels and events I wanted to go to. I think for registration, more people showed up than originally anticipated, which is a great problem to have! Also the volunteers were doing everything in their power to speed up the process, so I can't complain too much. I would say my second complaint isn't really a complaint, their panels and events were just too awesome!!
