Nekocon is an annual three-day

anime convention An anime and manga convention (often called just anime convention) is a fan convention with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Anime conventions are commonly multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college cam ...

held traditionally on the first weekend in November at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

. It is Virginia's oldest anime convention. The convention's name comes from the Japanese word , meaning "cat".

Programming

The convention typically offers art shows, artist's alley, autograph sessions, card game tournaments, charity auction, concerts, costume competition, dances, dealer's room, fashion show, karaoke contests, kimono/tea ceremony workshop, maid cafe, music video contest, panels, Q&A sessions, role playing, tabletop games, vendors, video game tournaments, video rooms, and workshops. Nekocon's 2015 charity events benefited Be The Match. More than $7,000 was raised in 2023 for the Carolina Manga Library and Heritage Humane Society.

History

An attendance cap of 1,600 passes was instituted in 2003 due to fire code regulations. The convention held its first J-rock concert in 2009, hosting Suicide Ali. Virginia Air and Space Center provided content during the 2012 convention. Nekocon in 2017 had an Anime style cooking challenge with students from the Culinary Institute of Virginia. Nekocon 2020 was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Event history

References

External links

* {{coord, 37, 2, 13, N, 76, 22, 55, W, region:US-VA_type:event, display=title Anime conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 1998 1998 establishments in Virginia Annual events in Virginia Festivals in Virginia Culture of Hampton, Virginia Tourist attractions in Hampton, Virginia Conventions in Virginia