Oh wow, this is long overdue. Sorry about that! Since it’s been a while, this report will likely be a brief overview.
[ Particulars ]
Anime Impulse 2016 was a new local anime convention held alongside the Asian-American Expo held on January 16-17, 2016 at the Pomona Fairplex. I consider this as a hometown con, since I live very close to the venue. I heard about the event via invitation sent from my storenvy storefront contact page.
Parking was $10 per day during event days. Day 0’s set up parking was free. Surprisingly, I was allowed to drive up very close to the event site.
Tickets for the small convention overlapped and partnered with the Asian-American Expo, so the average ticket costs around $11 per day. This is very nice considering that this allowed a attendee to explore the core expo. Much like the rest of the expo, the convention took up a warehouse building for itself. Panels, stage shows, artist alley, maid cafe, rest zones, etc. were all merely divided either by a fence or signage. Therefore, noise levels largely intermingled with one another. This arrangement also made the convention quite small, but I didn’t mind it at the least.
Artist alley hours were the same as the expo, so this event by far had me experience the longest artist alley hours per day to date. Day one ran from 10AM to 10PM. Day two ran from 10AM to 7PM.
My table was located at C9, nearby the panel “room.” There was a fence that divided the row behind me. My brother was my helper again.
[ Preparation ]
I did not have any new material produced for this event. Because I was tabling solo, I brought my entire wire cube display with me. Somehow, the table was wide enough to accommodate it! I also have a new table cloth this time around, too.
[ Report ]
[ Day 1 ]
I recall spending a considerable amount of my free time in the day making watercolor artworks, haha. Otherwise, I was doing commissions, or took a few breaks to wander around the expo.
In the morning, there was a neat live band performing at the stage nearby. The most memorable song for me was their cover of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun’s opening song. I believe they covered Kekkai Sensen’s ending song, too? I can’t quite remember.
By lunchtime, a person visited tables inquiring to artists about placing lunch orders with them. The price was very fair, so my brother (the helper yet again) and I ordered one set. To our surprise, the meal came with a complimentary beverage. Thanks!!
[ Day 2 ]
My mom joined me to spend the day at the expo. She had me use the space behind my table to store her event goods, bags, etc. She also periodically brought us food too, haha.
Like yesterday, I spent my idle time making watercolor artwork. I also took on a few chibi commissions too.
I normally perceive the day as largely quaint (and it was, to a degree)… but there was a moment where one of the abandoned/vacant tables across from me that randomly got claimed by a couple of young middle school-aged girls. Using it as a brief rest spot to kill time is one thing, but then they figured they could peddle hand-drawn original artworks to attendees. One of their friends was loudly peddling their services… which was frankly quite obnoxious. I also doubt they possessed a seller’s permit either.. let alone paid for the table space, which is quite unfair (and rude!) to artists working in artist alley. They folded after a while, but for some time, I was subjected to the loud ceaseless peddling.
At the end of the day, I made a few print trades with my neighbor. Thank you!!
[ Conclusion ]
I set my performance bar fairly low for this event, because it was new and had a overlap of audiences. To my fortune, I did well in this event. I regularly attend the Asian-American Expo anyway, so being able to table in this convention was worthwhile.
I already purchased my table for next year, so I am excited to see this convention grow. :>